Cork 2005: There was no creative passivity in last week's What If? presentation by Cork Community Art Link.

This project took over the Triskel Arts Centre, the adjacent Christchurch courtyard, the neighbouring Bishop Lucey Park and the associated laneways between the lot of them. And then moved on to the main streets.

A collaborative exploration of public space by 15 community groups in the city, this was a thronged, layered catalogue of usage and experience. Space became arena: by insisting on movement through the different areas of performance and exhibition (including a much-decorated burned-out car), the event incorporated the ordinary as well as creative interpretations of the ordinary. Maps were physically re- orientated to reveal the streets, the benches, the services they represent; local authority statements of intent were matched with actions; asylum seekers joined learning networks and youth encounter programmes in statements about Cork life as it is lived. And life, in all its variety, is what was on offer, articulated as art, as graffiti, as theatre, as video, as narrative or archive material, as dance or sound effects and, above all, as enthusiasm despite hardship, disability or disadvantage. What a pity this great realisation of a great idea got so short a time in the sun!