Brought to you by Stamp 2022.

Cork is brimming with creative folk.

And now some of the city’s most talented people have joined forces to ensure that Cork continues to be a place where dreamers and makers thrive.

Four Cork organisations, Benchspace, Sample-Studios, Cork Craft & Design and Shandon Art Studios, have teamed up to use an EU project to celebrate and support local creativity as part of a new family-friendly pop-up festival, STAMP, taking place this May 13th-15th, 2022.

A jam-packed weekend programme of 55 art, design and craft events, exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations, panel discussions, screenings, and markets is planned, happening at 11 locations across the City Centre.

A festival with a difference

At STAMP, the emphasis is primarily on interaction and experiencing-by-doing or by making in order to gain a true taste and appreciation of what Cork’s local creativity has to offer.

This means opportunities for the public to try their hands at creative writing, printmaking, origami, life drawing, and botanical art and view fabric painting, woodturning and ceramics-making up close.

Highlights include a market in Emmett Place with demos taking place throughout Saturday and Sunday; a live Blacksmith’s forge presented by benchspace in TEST SITE (Kyrl’s Quay); and INTER_SITE at NIGHT – a light and sound installation that will see local artist collective INTER_SITE illuminate the windows of the former Argos building (Queen’s Old Castle) on Grand Parade, presented by Sample-Studios.

Other venues include Shandon Art Studio, Triskel Arts Centre, the Glucksman Gallery, The Address Hotel, The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion (Fitzgerald’s Park) and St. Luke’s Crypt.

Here are six free events to check out:

1. Made in Cork Art and Craft Market

Saturday, May 14th, Emmet Place, 10am-4pm

With stalls heaving with handmade high-quality crafts, gifts and décor, everything in this market will be handmade by local artists.

ENTRY FREE

2. ‘The Working Artist’ window exhibition 

The Queen’s Old Castle, Grand Parade, Cork, Wednesday, May 11th – Friday, May 13th

‘The Working Artist’, is a window exhibition celebrating the wide range of art, craft and design artists working in Cork and the work they do in enhancing the cultural life of both city and county. The exhibition will remain in situ for three days.

FREE

3. Drop-in Screen Printing 

Saturday, May 14th, The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion, Fitzgerald’s Park, 12.30pm

Drop-in Screen Printing for all ages with artist Aoife Claffey outside The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion in Fitzgerald’s Park as part of STAMP Festival,

The same event will run again at TEST SITE on Kyrl’s Quay from 3pm to 4pm.

ENTRY FREE

4. INTER_SITE AT NIGHT

Sunday, May 15th, 9pm – 12am

Head for the Queen’s Old Castle (formerly the Argos store on Grand Parade) to check out Cork-based collective INTER_SITE’s latest light and sound installation, presented by Sample-Studios.

ENTRY FREE

5. How to Make a Bowl

Saturday, May 14th, TEST SITE, Kyrl’s Quay, 2pm to 3.30pm

Join woodturner John O’Shea for this fascinating, free tutorial on how to turn a wooden bowl on a lathe. John will explain
his tools and techniques and answer your questions.

ENTRY FREE

6. Make Crowns and Bracelets

Sunday, May 15th, 2pm-4pm, TEST SITE

Sonia Caldwell from Kilcoe Studios will host this interactive workshop, inviting kids of all ages to make beautiful flower crowns and small bracelets using natural materials collected in West Cork.

ENTRY FREE

The STAMP festival, May 13th-15th, 2022, is now live with a full programme available here. Follow @empoweringcork on Instagram and Twitter for updates. 

STAMP has been made possible by Cork City Council’s involvement in the Cult-CreaTE EU cooperation project (INTERREG EUROPE), with the financial support of Cork City Local Enterprise Office (LEO) as well as from the Creative Ireland Programme.