This article is from page 46 of the 2012-02-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 46 JPG
THE Ennis Access to Space Initiative (EASI) should be about paving the way for new businesses to come into Ennis, rather than using vacant building in the county capital as a vehicle for promoting and cultivating artistic endeavour.
Calls for this business-led approach to the EASI project that was launched at a public meeting in Ennis was championed by a spokesperson for Limerick City Council that has pioneered the ‘Occupy Limerick Space’ initiative for artists.
“We are looking at evolving our scheme more into pop-up-shop type scenarios where people would sell arts and crafts,” Mary Grace revealed.
“It would allow people to go in and test the market with low overheads and they may potentially become a rent paying tenant of that landlord down the road.
“That’s where this scheme needs to go if we want to keep our towns and cities vibrant. The requirement is for a business-led focus. We have to be looking at creating sustainable business models.
“It’s fine having a place that’s tem- porarily active in the current climate, but we need to get business models in there that can sustain themselves in the future.
“We need someone with a business mind who’s saying ‘can I set up a business out of this in a couple of months time’. ‘Can I be a future tenant for this landlord’. ‘Am I in a position to pay him a rent if I can make a go out of this’,” added Ms Grace in outlining her vision of what the longterm goals of the Ennis initiative should be.
In backing EASI, Ms Grace said it was up to landlords to see “potential in their vacant properties” rather than looking on them as a problem. “We had to decide to be innovative and come up with a solution,” she said, “and we were very lucky to get one landlord, who was a huge fan of the scheme.
“He promoted it to everybody else. He went to talk to his fellow landlords to get them on board. If you can get someone like that, that’s an asset.
“If you can get estate agents who are committed to it, that’s another major asset because we did find that there was one particular firm in Limerick – Rooney Auctioneers who were very good at selling and very good at encouraging landlords to come on board with the scheme.
“The next challenge is finding suitable vacant properties. All properties out there aren’t immediately suitable. Some of them need work to be done to them. Just because properties are vacant doesn’t mean you can take it straight away.
“Creatives need to be reminded of their duties: active occupancy – to keep the place clean and tidy. It’s always important that people remember their responsibilities.
“The responsibility in all cases is to the landlord. We have to ensure that their asset is protected,” she added.