In pictures: STAMP launch at The Counting House
The Cork public finally got a glimpse inside The Counting House in the former Beamish & Crawford brewery this weekend for STAMP festival, which finishes up today.
The Counting House, a Tudor-style building on South Main Street, which was once the business and bookkeeping hub of Beamish & Crawford’s operations in the city centre, finally opened its doors to the public for an arts and design festival that began on Friday night and ends today.
In its heyday in the oldest brewery in Ireland employed 500 people and 8% of the city’s revenues came from the brewery.
BAM Ireland led the €30m redevelopment of the former brewery. The construction company owns the adjoining site where the first sod for the Events Centre was turned back in 2016 by then Taoiseach Enda Kenny. To date, no work has taken place on the venue.
STAMP Festival is a collaboration between four city-based art and design hubs: Sample-Studios, Benchspace, Cork Craft & Design, and Shandon Art Studio.
BAM also own the site on Sullivan’s Quay just across the river from The Counting House, which once housed Sample-Studios before they had to vacate and move to Churchfield. The Sullivan’s Quay site is empty, but planning permission for a hotel has been granted.
STAMP festival includes exhibitions, workshops such as making tiles, throwing clay and spoon carving as well as artist talks and film screenings. Food trucks will be set up on the plaza of The Counting House. For the curious, it's an opportunity to get a look inside a historic building that’s long been off limits.
You can read the full programme of events for STAMP here.
