A new $60 million Irish arts centre has just opened in New York

A brand spanking new, state of the art Irish Arts Centre has just opened its doors in New York's Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood.

The new space will be used to nurture and showcase the best of Irish and Irish-American talent in New York and will boast a theatre space, classrooms and studios. It also includes a spacious ground-floor café run by Hell's Kitchen's Ardesia, styled with furniture by Irish craft furniture designer Orior.

The new space is located just around the corner from the old Irish Arts Centre which was housed in an ageing building which closed its doors at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.

The centre, which has been in the pipeline since 2006, opened this week with a special launch event that included a performance from Irish artist Camille O'Sullivan.

Irish Arts Center Executive Director Aidan Connolly spoke on the new building saying, "The new Irish Arts Center is a dream realized and a tribute to the broad coalition of people in New York and Ireland who have brought it to life, at a time when we so eagerly need a place to come together with inspiration and hope.

"But it's only the beginning. Our opening season is a statement of promise and possibility. We invite artists and audiences of all backgrounds to see themselves in this welcoming new home."

The new arts centre has even received the seal of approval from our Taoiseach Micheál Martin himself. The politician visited the centre in September ahead of its grand opening.

"The Government of Ireland is proud to have supported this new building, which is a new cultural landmark in New York, a celebration of Ireland-US relations and a platform for creativity, innovation and diversity," he said.