A Walk On The Northside: The Complex - providing an innovative space for artists

Located in the heart of Dublin’s northwest inner city, The Complex is a multi-disciplinary arts movement. As an open-plan warehouse space, which provides studios and performance/exhibition areas, The Complex is frequently transformed and reimagined by artists of all varieties.

Under the guidance of artistic director Vanessa Fielding, who has transformed many vacant northside sites into places for professional arts practice to achieve open plan and accessible engagement, The Complex has championed original, non-traditional art performances and exhibitions. “The space is versatile, and that’s how I want it to be,” says Vanessa, as she takes Hot Press on a tour around The Complex. “I’ve been a theatre maker for a long time and this is my scene. I like to take away the wall between audience and performer/player. I like the audience to walk around like you’re on a film set.”

The Upstairs Space’s open plan allows entertainers and artists to imagine their relationship with the audience in new ways. Vanessa paints a vivid picture of an in-the-round orchestral performance taking place the following night, and points towards other groups who have used the space. It has hosted everything from the three-week This Is Pop Baby festival, to plays, galleries and even rap concerts. The possibilities are hugely exciting.

Beyond this, The Complex also has wall-to-wall creativity in each of its nine individual studios, where a combination of guests and residents mean everyone from jewellery makers to architects can work separately in the same creative space. They also have an intimate Ground Floor Gallery.

“We wanted to have these spaces for professional artists,” Vanessa stresses. “Two thirds of our projects are from professional artists who we think are making art that has real, meaningful social value. I’ve been quite pleased with the politics of things that have come here. A lot of art can be vacuous and frilly, whereas the things that we’ve attracted seem to have a bit of kick-ass to them. I hope young people are experiencing things here and getting active because of them.

“But beyond that, we also like to give as much back as we get. We run community projects in the northside and we want to make what we do accessible to the local community.”

The Complex
15 Little Green Street (off Capel Street)
Tel: (01) 544 6922. thecomplex.ie