Ireland was honoured in 2018 with the task of curating the Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition. Selected to represent Ireland was the Free Market project, which sets out to ‘highlight the generosity, humanity and possibility in the common spaces of Ireland’s market towns’ focusing on these places and how they can still be so important for interaction and community.

Speaking in October 2017, Minister Humphreys noted ‘The ‘Free Market’ team has proposed a very relevant exhibition on the common space of market towns in Ireland. As we know, these spaces are hugely important for rural communities in our country, and for economic and social engagement in our towns. However, this is also a theme with global resonance, and there is no doubt that the team’s research will be of interest worldwide. 2018 offers an unprecedented opportunity for contemporary Irish architecture to gain the international recognition it deserves, building on Pillar 5 of the Creative Ireland programme on unifying our global reputation.".

The Free Market Exhibition is doing a tour of Ireland and through the Creative Ireland Programme, Cork County Council has been able to secure the exhibition for Macroom. The exhibition took place in July 2019 and was most successful.

Please note that the details of events listed above are provided by the relevant Local Authorities.