Irish Arts Center

Irish Arts Center (IAC) is a national and international home for artists and audiences of all backgrounds. Based in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, Irish Arts Center presents, develops, supports, and promotes work from established and emerging artists, providing cultural experiences that are innovative, collaborative, diverse, authentic, and emotionally and intellectually transporting, meet the highest standards of excellence, and celebrate our common humanity in an environment of Irish hospitality.  Founded in 1972, throughout our history the Center has also provided community education programs and access to the arts for adults and children of all ages and ethnic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. 

Irish Arts Center has recently completed construction of a $60 million landmark new permanent home, including a state of the art flexible performance and arts space for the presentation and development of work across a range of disciplines, including music, dance, theatre, film, visual arts, literature and the humanities; classrooms and studio spaces for education programs, development, and collaboration; technology to stream and distribute content on the digital platform; and an avenue-facing lobby café that will be a hub for hospitality and interaction between artists and audiences.  As part of a second phase, IAC will renovate its adjacent existing 51^st Street building to provide a second, intimate performance space—the historic Irish Arts Center theatre—optimized for the most intimate live music and conversation, recordings, podcasts, master classes and special events, and a beautiful new courtyard entrance on 51st Street where the historic Irish Arts Center and the new building will meet.  

Thanks to the fortitude, discipline, creativity, and generosity of our people, Irish Arts Center has maintained stability throughout COVID-19, despite the interruption of construction and the suspension of in-person programming, and is ready to provide a beacon of hope for artists and audiences as part of New York’s cultural restoration.