Backwater Artists Group was founded in 1990 by graduates of the Crawford College of Art and Design. It has always been our aim to provide safe and secure studio space for artists wishing to remain and work in Cork city. The group studios are located in the Wandesford Quay complex along with Cork Printmakers & The Wandesford Gallery, between Sharman Crawford Street and Clarke’s Bridge. There are a total of 29 studios, 23 of which are Painting/Mixed Media and 6 Sculpture.

Backwater caters for over thirty five artists, ranging from the more established to the emerging. We are an artist-run organisation with an artist-led Board of Directors who are dedicated to improving the working conditions and support structures for visual artists and to this end we provide access to computer, framing and photography facilities, all of which are necessary to the establishment of a professional art practice. In keeping with our ethos we award two six-month Ciarán Langford Memorial Bursaries to graduates of the Crawford College annually to assist them in the transition from student to professional artist.