PlaySpaces is an ambitious community arts project by artist Chris Finnegan, commissioned and produced by Cork Midsummer Festival and developed in collaborating with children across Cork City. Responding to Cork Child Friendly City consultancy, this creative participatory project reimagines children’s place in urban spaces. Public spaces and buildings are designed primarily for adults – this project invites children to become co-creators of their urban environment, designing play spaces that are welcoming, inspiring and, most importantly, genuinely theirs.
This exhibition in Sample-Studios Gallery: The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion features its own child-friendly Play Space – a Space Disco! Families are invited to take a set of headphones featuring a playlist designed by local DJ Stevie G and explore. The lights, the disco ball, the display, and even the colour-changing floor are all designed by children, for children.
The front section of the gallery takes visitors on a behind-the-scenes journey documenting the multi-year collaborative design process, featuring drawings, working models, photographs, and collages created in workshops with local children. Parents and children alike can explore the drawings and models created from children’s imaginations, reflecting what they want to see in the city to transform it into a space for children.
Chris Finnegan has worked closely with children from settings across Cork City including Múin Afterschool, St. Vincent’s Primary School, and The Crann Centre to transform these designs into a multi-site, city-wide PlaySpace trail as part of Cork Midsummer Festival 2026! The designs featured in this exhibition will prompt families to explore the secret hideaways and imaginative play installations across The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion, Cork Opera House, St Peters, Cork City Library, and The Everyman.