Hen’s Teeth is bringing colour back to Dublin 8

As we see places like the Tivoli and the Bernard Shaw leaving southwest Dublin, it’s easy to think that the culture we know and love from the area is slowly draining away. However, Hen’s Teeth gallery is on the move to Dublin 8 to prove us all wrong and bring back some colour. 

Rosie Gogan-Keogh, Greg Spring and Russell Simmons founded Hen’s Teeth in 2016, as an offshoot of creative agency Greedy Pig. “We decided we’d start an agency,” explained Rosie, “and start working with brands and use what I had learned from my previous job, which was creating content and putting that together with what the lads had done at Greedy Pig, which was art directing and running events.”

The gallery was set up in Fade Street, but now due to the end of their lease they’re moving to Fumbally Lane in Dublin 8, which is an area very close to their hearts. 

“I grew up there, I went to school there, the lads used to live there, so we feel like that’s an area that’s very close to all of our hearts and we feel at home there,” Rosie said. “That area is developing really quickly but it’s got so much going on and so much interesting history and so much interesting culture, so to grow our business as a part of that really makes perfect sense.” 

Rosie also told us how the lack of art spaces and studios in Dublin 8 influenced their decision. 

“Places like the Bernard Shaw moving made me think of how that was the first place I worked on an event, and how it provided that space for people to try things. The value of having somewhere like that for young people in the city is so important. That’s a huge part of our thinking; how can we get young people into the space to do things.”

Their new home will have a permanent gallery, a studio space and a cafe, as they expand and move into food, which is their passion. “I think it’ll become a lot clearer to see the connections in all the things that we do, from working with brands to working with artists to creating experiences and events,” said Rosie.

Their first exhibition after their opening on November 7th will be with Irish artist Niall Sweeney. Hen’s Teeth are clearly a fan of his, as Rosie points out pieces of his work on the office walls. “He has done a lot of work with Panti Bliss, so he’s more established and it’ll be a good show!” 

After Sweeney’s exhibition, there will be many more events to come, from art exhibitions to magazine launches, which Rosie and her fellow directors are incredibly excited about: 

“At this really critical time in Dublin culture we feel really excited to add something to the city because there are so many incredible artists and musicians and chefs here.”