Team, Board & Governance

Our mission is to enable contemporary visual artists with recognised potential to sustain a practice of quality and integrity. We do so by providing affordable residential and studio spaces, practical and evolving resources, professional support and development opportunities in a unique building in the heart of Dublin’s historic north inner city, with a local, national and international remit.

Team

Helen Carey – Director
Helen manages strategy and operations at Fire Station Artists’ Studios. She is also responsible for the continuing development of the organisation.

Julia Moustacchi – Programme & Outreach Manager
Julia co-ordinates FSAS’s arts programme. This includes the skills programme, awards, mentoring, curatorial residencies and socially-engaged art projects.

Helena Gouveia Monteiro – Digital Media Manager
Helena runs the Digital Media Centre, including our Digital Editing suites and equipment hire.

Cris Neumann – Workshop Manager
Cris runs the sculpture workshop, including the kilns, and maintains the building.

Ciaran Patterson – Building and Technical Officer
Ciaran supports the Sculpture Workshop Manager in maintaining the building and the workshop areas.

Susan Kennelly – Communications Manager & Administrator
Susan manages the communication of FSAS and its administration.

Board of Directors and members

The Members of the company are Anthony Haughey (Chair), Vivian Hansbury, Peter McKenna, Cian Murphy, Deborah O’Reilly, Lorcan Sirr, Mary Shine Thompson, Dominic Thorpe and Gay White.

Anthony Haughey chairs the board. He is an artist and a lecturer at the Dublin Institute of Technology where he supervises practice-based PhDs. He was a Research Fellow (2005-8) at the Interface Centre for Research in Art, Technologies and Design at the University of Ulster Belfast, where he completed a PhD in 2009. His work has been widely exhibited nationally and internationally.

Vivian Hansbury is a Dublin-based artist interested in notions of identity expressed through a process-led approach. The process of making and materiality are important elements of her sculptural practice. The emergent tactile quality of the finished works is a central concern. Ongoing research includes developing new materials that are more sustainable and have a less negative impact on our environment. Her approach involves combining traditional and experimental processes, combining weaving and cast elements to create more visceral works.
Specialising in sculpture, installation and video media, her solo art exhibitions have included ‘Bahi Kubo’ at The Complex, Dublin in 2023, ‘Internal Logic’, The Concourse Installation at the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2003, the Triskel Arts Centre and the Temple Bar studios in 1997. Also participates in group exhibitions such as ‘Sculpture In Context’ at Dublin’s Botanical Gardens. In 1998, won an Iontas Sculpture Award for an untitled piece of work and in 2001, received an Eigse Work of Promise Award for sculpture ‘Breath’.

Cian Murphy has worked at the Central Bank of Ireland since 2015. He is the Head of Function in the Markets Policy Division where he has policy oversight for investment firms; primary and secondary markets; trading venues; emerging risk; and shadow banking.  He also supports the Central Bank’s Director General for Financial Conduct in her role on the Board of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Cian represents the Central Bank at committees in ESMA and IOSCO, as well as the European Systemic Risk Board’s Joint Expert Group on Shadow Banking where he chairs the sub-group on policy. Previously, Cian spent 5 years working for HM Treasury in the UK, where he worked on public expenditure and financial stability issues. Cian spent two years on secondment to UK Financial Investments where we worked on the team that began the UK Government’s privatisation programme for Lloyds Banking Group. Cian has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Cork and a Masters in Marketing from London Metropolitan University.

Deborah O’Reilly holds a Masters Degree in Real Estate from TUD (formerly DIT Bolton Street), and is the owner and Managing Director of Macfar Property Management. In addition to overseeing the company’s strategic direction, she is an experienced Property Manager, Lettings Specialist, and Auctioneer. With a foundation in IT and previous experience overseeing the billing department of a telecommunications company, Deborah’s skills extend beyond real estate.

Deborah’s PSRA licensing and Business All Star accreditation underscore her commitment to industry standards. As a council member of the Dundalk Chamber of Commerce, she actively contributes to the local business community.

Dr Lorcan Sirr is a Senior Lecturer in the Technological University Dublin where he teaches and researches housing and related subjects. He is a frequent contributor to media discussion and debate on housing issues. For three years he was a columnist with The Sunday Times and now writes for all the major publications including The Irish Times, the Irish Independent, the Irish Daily Mail, the Sunday Independent and thejournal.ie. He is a board member of the Irish Refugee Council and sits on the Research Committee of the Residential Tenancies Board. Lorcan holds an MA in literature from the Katholiek Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, and an MA and PhD in planning and development from the University of Manchester.

Mary Shine Thompson recently completed her term as a member of Dublin City University Governing Authority and is a member of DCU Council of Trustees. Over the past decade she has supported DCU in embedding the visual arts in its culture. She formerly lectured in English and chaired Poetry Ireland, and continues to contribute to literary debate. She qualified as a barrister in 2016 and is a director of Restorative Justice Services.

Dominic Thorpe is an Irish visual artist who works primarily through performance art. He also works with drawing, video, photography, installation, collaborative and relational-based processes. Much of his work addresses contemporary and historical human rights and institutional abuses. His recent work has explored representations of perpetrators and perpetrator trauma through performance art. He has shown and performed work widely internationally and in Ireland, including at the Bangkok Cultural Centre, Performance Space UK, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Galway Arts Centre, SASA Gallery Adelaide and Mobius Boston. Thorpe has completed a number of residencies, including at the Nordic Arts Centre and Fire Station Artists’ Studios Dublin, and was the first artist-in-residence in humanities at University College Dublin. Thorpe has worked in a number of public collections including that of the Arts Council of Ireland.

Gay White is a Chartered Work and Organisational Psychologist, specialising in the development of individuals, teams and organisations. She is a HR executive with over thirty years business experience, gained through a variety of roles, in business, Learning & Development and HR, predominantly in the financial services and education sectors. She has delivered leadership development programs and facilitates learning at senior levels in organisations. She specialises in leadership and organization development, helping organisations to achieve sustained results. She has successfully delivered HR aspects of transformation programs at a strategic level.

Governance

Fire Station Artists’ Studios is governed by a voluntary board of trustees including former residents, practicing artists and professionals from the private and academic sector.

In September 2015, the Board of Directors committed to working towards compliance with the Code of Governance for Community and Voluntary Organisations www.governancecode.ie and with the Principles of Good Fund Raising drawn up by the Irish Charities Tax Reform Group (ICTRG).

Our Child Safeguarding and Welfare Statement can be found here.

Our Privacy Notice can be found here.

Legal Status

Fire Station Artists’ Studios was incorporated on 17 July 1989 as a company limited by guarantee. The company operates under the registered business name Fire Station Artists’ Studios. Our Company Number is 147539

The Revenue Commissioners granted charitable status to the company in December 1992 with the reference CHY 10179.

As per the Charities Act, 2009, the company is a registered charity since October 2014. By virtue of Section 2 of the Act, the directors of the company are deemed also to be the charity’s trustees. Our Charity number is RCN 20025786.

Click here to view the company’s Constitution (Memorandum & Articles of Association).

 

Financial controls

The company has six employees. The remuneration of the two highest paid employees lies within the range €41,000 – €63,000.

Click here to view the Directors’ Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2022.

 

Strategic Plan

Strategic plans guide the staff and board in bringing the organisation forward each year in each area of support for professional visual artists.

The board and staff at Fire Station Artists’ Studios adhere to a policy of reviewing and updating our strategic plan on a regular basis. This keeps us focused and allows us to evolve while remaining connected with all our stakeholders.

Read FSAS Strategic plan 2022-2027 here.

Our mission

Our mission is to enable contemporary visual artists with recognised potential to sustain a practice of quality and integrity. We do so through providing affordable residential and studio spaces, practical and evolving resources, professional support and development opportunities in a unique building in the heart of Dublin’s historic north inner city, with a local, national and international remit.

Our Values

PROGRESSION

We are ambitious for the organisation and for others: for the artists who live and work with us, for the arts community as a whole, and for society at large. We create an environment that supports innovation and enquiry, and we provide opportunities to artists to develop their practice.

NURTURE

We support artists at critical stages in their careers through the provision of affordable live/work spaces and facilities, as well as providing them with opportunities for professional development. We also seek to foster a better understanding and appreciation of the arts as a vital part of a healthy society and vibrant economy.

COMMUNITY

A community of people has a shared interest or ambition and works together for the common good. Being part of a community gives a unique sense of belonging. We seek to create that kind of connection and to play our part in the communities we belong to, particularly for the visual arts community at home and abroad and our local community.

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