BENCHMARK is a multifaceted arts and heritage project produced by the Linenhall Arts Centre in which award-winning writer Mike McCormack is working with ten Mayo-based writers and ten visual artists from Engage Art Studios to explore aspects of bench marks and surveying in the context of local heritage.

A bench mark is a simple and elegant crows-foot-shaped mark which is carved into stone walls in our built environment all around the country. They were created during the 1800s to mark the height above sea level at particular locations and were used by ordnance surveyors to map the terrain.

The Linenhall Arts Centre is a fine example of successful adaptive re-use and the project theme resonates with the Linenhall Arts Centre insofar as the 18th century façade of the Linenhall building is home to a beautiful surveying bench mark. Many more of these bench marks survive in Castlebar and in towns all around Mayo, carved into stones on buildings, bridges and other structures of note, while others have disappeared as towns have developed. 

The BENCHMARK PRELUDE exhibition will present details on a number of historic structures which retain bench marks in Castlebar.

Funding from Creative Ireland Mayo for this project is gratefully acknowledged.

Exhibition Continues Until 25th October 2019.

Open Daily 11am-5pm.