Neglected Art Deco building in Cork gets 'punch of colour' in stunning makeover
A luxury department store teamed up with a local authority and an artist to transform a city centre building which had fallen into disrepair.
Brown Thomas enlisted the help of Corkonian Shane O’Driscoll to breathe new life into an abandoned space in Cork city centre.
Shane was tasked with reinvigorating the former ESB power station on Caroline Street, which is a few doors down from the Brown Thomas menswear entrance.
"The plan is to bring a punch of colour and shape into the city centre and give energy back to Caroline Street," Shane said.
"The building itself is interesting, but has fallen out of view due to the new buildings in the area. Hopefully my artwork will give it a new appreciation."
A member of Cork Printmakers and a former Art & Style artist with Brown Thomas, Shane said there is an creative revival happening across the city.
"I get to work with inspirational artists every day, which is something I don't take for granted," he said.
"There is a great revival in Cork at the moment and pride in the people to make it the best city we can. Creativity is a huge part of our culture and can be used to showcase what we have here."
The City Centre Placemaking Fund from Cork City Council was used to support the project. Shane said he was delighted when asked to take on the makeover of the Art Deco building.
"It’s exciting absolutely! It’s quite an honour to be asked to have my work displayed at this scale in my city. When Brown Thomas approached me to work on this project I jumped on it!"
Tonight...@brownthomas reveal possibly Cork’s largest piece of #StreetArt
— Richard Jacob (@IdahoNua) August 22, 2019
Take one neglected Art Deco substation, add one artist ( Shane O Driscoll ) and a great store’s will to improve a Street and.....
KAPOW !!
Call to Caroline Street, just in front of Idaho™️ pic.twitter.com/mvLr81WDqI
Huge congrats to @brownthomas @corkcitycentre and all the traders on Caroline Street for the fabulous rejuvenation of the street and the largest piece of #streetart in our city! #corkcityshopping pic.twitter.com/WeNmBf8yty
— Cork City Shopping (@corkshopping) August 22, 2019
Shane's street art has previously been seen at the Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival.
