ABOUT
GRAPHIC STUDIO DUBLIN (GSD) is a non-profit organisation with charitable status, established to provide studios, promote printmaking, and support the exhibition and sale of fine art prints. The organisation manages both Graphic Studio Dublin and Graphic Studio Gallery from two separate locations and receives core funding from the Arts Council of Ireland.
GRAPHIC STUDIO DUBLIN, Fine Art Printmakers, was established in 1960 to teach traditional printmaking skills (then unavailable in Irish art colleges), and to provide studios and technical assistance to artists to make fine art prints. Its five founders were Patrick Hickey, Leslie MacWeeney, Liam Miller, Elizabeth Rivers and Anne Yeats. The studio provides full printmaking facilities for over 100 artists, as well as running Education, Visiting Artists and Friends Programmes.
GSD facilitates the following print techniques: aquatint, etching, photo etching, drypoint, stone and plate lithography, linocut, woodblock, mokuhanga, screenprinting, carborundum, blind embossing, letterpress, bookbinding and mezzotint. Technical assistance and education of artist members in the above printmaking techniques is core to our ethos.
GSD artist members have access to significantly subsidised studio facilities, training, and an opportunity to exhibit their work in the Graphic Studio Gallery. An art historical analysis shows some of Ireland’s most established and successful artists have collaborated with Graphic Studio Dublin, including Tony O’Malley, Louis le Brocquy, Alice Maher, William Crozier, Martin Gale, Anne Madden, Seán McSweeney, Gerard Dillon, Patrick Collins, Patrick Scott, Felim Egan, Brian Bourke, and Mary Farl Powers.
GRAPHIC STUDIO DUBLIN OCCUPIES TWO PREMISES
- Studio: Distillery House, North Circular Road, Dublin 1.
- Gallery: Cope Street, Temple Bar.
STUDIO
Distillery House was built as part of the Findlater Mountjoy Brewery in 1852. It was the second largest brewery in Dublin after Guinness, and occupied an entire city block. It is accessed through Distillery Court, off North Circular Road, adjacent to Mountjoy Square.
Comprising 7,000 square foot, over four floors, two of which have been maintained open-plan as significant printing facilities (2nd and 3rd floors). These top two floors house etching presses (one of which is the largest in Ireland), woodblock presses and equipment, and the lithography printing area.
The first floor incorporates the administrative & reception office of Graphic Studio Dublin, a beautiful print-room/education room/multi-purpose space complete with 19th century cast iron columns, and a large kitchen/dining room for artists which also contains a small (but growing) library of books on print-making and contemporary art. This floor also contains the IT and new media area. It facilitates print-makers working in new media such as digital imaging equipment and also enables members to access e-mail, print images and proposals.
The ground floor comprises acid rooms, lithography stone stores, plate cutting rooms, and paper storage. All floors in Distillery House have plan chests for the storage of members’ prints, and Graphic Studio Dublin’s archives. Full access, including a lift to all floors is available.
GALLERY
Graphic Studio Gallery opened in 1988, in Cope Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 and has become an essential cultural feature of the city. Dublin’s first fine art print gallery, it holds the largest stock of fine art prints, for sale in Ireland, and frequently works with private, corporate and public clients on specific projects. It supports artists through a busy exhibition schedule of up to 11 national and international exhibitions annually. Its programme includes talks and print demonstrations, that provide engagement for the public, with artist printmakers. The sale of work at the gallery provides financial assistance to artists, and also raises essential funding for studio facilities.International links
Graphic Studio Dublin has collaborated with major cultural partners in Ireland and abroad, including the OPW, National Botanic Gardens, National Gallery of Ireland, Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Chester Beatty Library, IMMA, National Museum of Ireland and Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane to showcase the highest level of fine art printmaking (by our own members, and other international artists). Recent international partnerships include projects with Glasgow Printmakers (Scotland), Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris (France), The International Mokuhanga Association (Japan) & KCCC Lithuania.
CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS
We partner with corporate organisations through commissions, sponsorships and project support including Ipsos B&A, Mason Hayes & Curran, IPUT Real Estate, HLB Ireland & The Royal Dublin Society.
STUDIO & GALLERY STAFF
GSD Executive Director & Company Secretary: Laura Garbatavičiūtė
Studio Director: Robert Russell
Studio Administrator:
Studio Technician: Michael Timmins
Programme Coordinator: Michele Hetherington
Education Officer: Vaida Varnagiene
Gallery Director: Peter Brennan
Gallery Administrator: Elke Thönnes
Gallery Administrator: Helen O’Sullivan
GSD Finance & Bookkeeping: Justin Smith
BOARD
Thomas Hanney (Chair), Ailbhe Barrett (Artist Member), Joan Campbell (Property Solicitor), Cristina Ciampaglione (Artist Member), Dean Haughey (Accountant), Ed Miliano (Artist Member), Paul Fitters (Artist Member), Sarah Walsh (Artist Member) and Ruth Wilkinson (Marketing Officer).
Thomas Hanney | Chair of the board
Thom Hanney has over four decades of diplomatic and governmental experience, representing Ireland at the highest levels across Europe and internationally. He most recently served as Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the European Union from 2020 to 2024, following ambassadorial and senior leadership roles in Austria, Belgium, NATO, and with the United Nations. His career spans key political and strategic postings, including Deputy Permanent Representative in Brussels, Chair of Coreper I during Ireland’s EU Presidency in 2013, and Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium.
He played a pivotal role in North-South cooperation on the island of Ireland as Joint Secretary to the North South Ministerial Council, an institution established under the Good Friday Agreement. Thom also served in the Department of the Taoiseach as Deputy Sherpa for European Council meetings and was centrally involved in Ireland’s multilateral development efforts through Irish Aid. His diplomatic service began in 1978, with international postings in Stockholm, Riyadh, and Bonn, and a key disarmament role at the UN in Geneva.
Thom is deeply committed to international cooperation, peacebuilding, and European affairs. He brings to the board extensive leadership in multilateral engagement, institutional governance, and cultural diplomacy. A native of Dublin, he is married to Paula Fitzmaurice Hanney and has three daughters.
Appointed to the Board of Directors in January 2025.
Ailbhe Barrett | Artist Member
Ailbhe Barrett is an award winning artist, working in both painting and printmaking. She has been a member of Graphic Studio Dublin since 2014, having been a member of Limerick printmakers prior to this.
She feels that Graphic Studio is a very important institution for the Irish arts. She is keen to work towards increasing awareness and appreciation of this, as well as developing and increasing links with other art institutions both at home and abroad. She believes there is great potential to build on what is a lively and enthusiastic hub for artists, art professionals, collectors and art lovers alike.
Appointed to the Board of Directors in November 2022.
Dean Haughey | Accountant
Dean Haughey is a Chartered Accountant and Managing Director of HFA Consulting, an accountancy practice with a large client base in the Arts and Media sector.
Dean was 11 years with Gaby Smyth & Company where he worked & trained, taking over as practice Tax Manager in 2009, until 2017. From there he set up Txfree Chartered Accountants, which has recently expanded and rebranded as HFA Consulting.
Appointed to the Board of Directors in November 2022.
Joan Campbell | Property Solicitor
Joan’s professional career was in law, first as a practising solicitor in Dublin and subsequently as a practising barrister.
When she retired from legal work, Joan joined the Board of Green Foundation Ireland, a charity working in the environmental sector. Joan developed her interest in the well-being of the natural world and how an ecocentric legal system might operate. Joan is also a director of O’Cualann Cohousing Alliance CLG, a housing charity (CRO548891|CHY22281). Joan has a degree in English from Trinity College Dublin and is a strong supporter of the Arts in general, especially the visual arts and the theatre.
Appointed to the Board of Directors in November 2023.
Paul Fitters | Artist Member
Paul Fitters studied Horticulture in Wageningen University in the Netherlands and came to Ireland in 1994 to work in the Department of Biology in Maynooth University. In 2003 he became a lecturer in the Teagasc College of Amenity Horticulture in the National Botanic Gardens. Paul became a Teagasc representative member of the 6th Governing Body of Dublin Institute of Technology (2010 – 2015). Paul joined the Graphic Studio Dublin in 2010.
Appointed to the Board of Directors in June 2025.
Cristina Ciampaglione | Artist Member
Her work ethic reflects a deep commitment to fostering contemporary art and cultural exchange. Cristina has been recently appointed as the Project and Partnerships Manager for Arts and Education with the British Council Ireland.
She previously worked as Communications & International Liaison Officer for the Irish Street Arts, Circus, and Spectacle Network. Cristina has also worked as Project Manager for The Walls Project (organisers of the Waterford Walls International Street Arts Festival) and curated visual arts exhibitions and residencies as an independent professional, in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture in Dublin.
Appointed to the Board of Directors in June 2025.
Ed Miliano | Artist Member
Ed Miliano was born in New York and received a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. He is based in Dublin and makes paintings, prints and sculpture. His work is often based on nature. Ed lived in Tokyo, Japan from 2014 until 2018, an experience had a lasting effect on his work. While in Japan, he studied Mokuhanga printing with a master printer and continues to make woodblock prints, combining them with collage.
He is a member of Graphic Studio Dublin since 2022 and shows regularly at the Graphic Studio Gallery, SO Fine Art and with Stoney Road Press. In 2022, he showed a major painting called Nothing Gold Can Stay at the RHA. The painting was made on 100 panels. It was painted during the pandemic. The title comes from the Robert Frost poem of the same name. Ed has had two one-man show at the Oliver Sears Gallery in Dublin —The Nature of Time in 2014 and Woods in 2016. In 2018, No Ordinary Place, Paintings from Japan was shown at the Ballinglen Gallery in Co. Mayo. In 2012, he exhibited Diary at the RHA as part of the Futures 12 exhibition. He painted the view from his studio every day for over a year. The piece includes 366 oil paintings and is over 10 metres long.
His work is in many private collections including Belmond Grand Hibernian, Department of Foreign Affairs, Joseph Walsh Studios, Office of Public Works, Opera Ireland and XL Group plc.
Appointed to the Board of Directors November 2023.
Ruth Wilkinson | Marketing & Events Specialist
Ruth Wilkinson is a creative and accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience spanning event management, marketing strategy, and arts programming across both the higher education and cultural sectors. She currently serves as Marketing Officer at the Institute of Art, Design + Technology (IADT) Dún Laoghaire, where she leads on event planning, publicity, digital strategy, and campaign execution to support student recruitment and brand visibility.
Prior to her current role, Ruth held key positions in several prominent galleries in London and Dublin, including Scream Gallery, where she served as Creative Director & Gallery Manager, and John Martin Gallery. Her work included curating exhibitions, overseeing gallery operations, participating in international art fairs, and launching new commercial art and lifestyle ventures. She has also contributed to a number of media publications on contemporary art and collecting, and is known for her thoughtful and engaging approach to audience development and stakeholder collaboration.
Ruth holds a Diploma in Marketing, Advertising, PR & Sales Management from Dublin Business School, as well as a National Diploma in Fine Art from IADT. With a strong track record in digital communications, event programming, and cross-sector project management, she brings an agile, people-focused approach to creative leadership.
Appointed to the Board of Directors in December 2024.
Sarah Walsh | Artist Member
Sarah grew up in Donegal and studied Fine Art Painting and Printmaking at Galway RTC (now GMIT) and Education at NCAD.She works in watercolour, acrylic and lithography and explores shape, space and pattern through subjects that are largely man-made: ordinary, old or functional.
Sarah joined Graphic Studio Dublin, initially as an open access member, then as a full member in 2022. Since then her lithographic work in the studio has become an integral part of her art practice. She has taken part in a number of studio exhibitions and in PNI projects.
Appointed to the Board of Directors in November 2023.
More information, including information on Governance, HERE
We are non-profit organisation, with charitable status. Charity No. CHY 9124; RCN. 20022839. Further details on governance are available via the above link.