Yvonne Condon completing her artwork on Prince’s Street. Photo: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

Art worthy of Princes

Cork city centre has just become even more beautiful with the addition of a very special piece of art on Princes Street.

The piece, painted bold and bright on a meter box, was done by dynamic Cork artist Yvonne Condon who is known for her uncompromising imagery and breakneck speed.

Yvonne, who is partially sighted and has a hearing impairment, paints on a large scale and had recently been looking for an outdoor location for her next masterpiece.

The meter box on Princes Street was an ideal location for Yvonne and with the support of Cork City Council and its ‘Reimagining Cork City” programme, Princes Street’s traders, Arts and Disability Ireland (ADI) and Crawford Art Gallery, this project was made possible.

Yvonne is interested in documenting life as it happens, creating highly detailed snapshots in time despite her limited eyesight.

She focuses on people and faces in her work and is inspired by such artists as German photographer August Sander.

Yvonne is a Crawford Art Gallery supported studio artist.

Supported studios are sustained, creative environments that foster and support the art practice of individuals with health or social needs.

The studios enable marginalized individuals to develop their professional practice while promoting artists in the marketplace and building audiences outside health and social care settings.

Irish supported studios have been described as precious ecosystems, without which many artists would be deprived of the means to make their work.

Supported studios in Ireland include Crawford Art Gallery, KCAT in Kilkenny and the Arts Ability Studio group in Wexford.

These studios aspire to enable people with intellectual disabilities to have a meaningful, creative presence within the cultural life of their communities.