The Dock is delighted to announce the appointment of Mary Conlon as the new Director. Mary will step down from her current position as Artistic Director of Ormston House in Limerick to take up the new role in Leitrim in May 2023. Mary will take over from the outgoing Director, Sarah Searson, who has led The Dock since 2015 in enhancing the organisational structure, artistic quality, visitor and audience experience, and national reach and reputation of the centre.
Commenting on the appointment, The Dock Chairman, Seamus Newcombe said:
“The Board of The Dock are thrilled to welcome Mary Conlon as its new Director. Mary comes to us with an exceptional track record of achievement in her previous role as Director of Ormston House in Limerick. I have no doubt that the same enthusiasm, innovation and ideas that she brought to Ormston will help shape the ongoing strategic development of The Dock and its impact on communities and audiences in the coming years. We wish to sincerely thank our outgoing Director, Sarah Searson, for her artistic vision and commitment to the organisation, particularly during the challenging years of the pandemic, when she led with an ethos of care to reassure staff, artists, and audiences alike.”
Commenting on her new appointment, Mary Conlon said:
“I am delighted to be appointed Director of The Dock. It is an honour to be entrusted to lead the next phase in growing this key resource for artists and communities in Leitrim and the wider region. I look forward to working with the team on developing a new strategic framework and multidisciplinary programme of national importance, rooted in local conversations and place. At the same time, I am excited to expand the international connectivity of the centre, particularly in relation to the role of the arts in climate action, social cohesion, and well-being in rural contexts. I would like to thank Sarah Searson for her exceptional leadership over the past eight years and for the legacy of artistic excellence she has built throughout her tenure. I wish her every success in the future.”
About Mary Conlon
Mary is the founder and Artistic Director of Ormston House, a meeting place for the arts in the heart of Limerick city. In that role, she has overseen exhibitions and projects with over 400 artists – aged 8 to 82 – from 35 countries. She was Artistic Director of the Creative Europe project, Memory of Water, developing artist-led, community-centred projects in six international cities, and recently worked with four local authorities on an Invitation to Collaboration project along the River Shannon. She served three terms on the Board of Directors of EVA International, Ireland’s Biennial of Contemporary Art, and is currently an elected member of the Executive Committee of Trans Europe Halles, a network of 140 grassroots cultural centres in 40 countries.