Over €1.7 million awarded to help Dublin artists create and innovate

The Arts Council has released the latest round of bursary award scheme, which has awarded 258 artists a collective €4.3 million

Comments News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 13:29, 29 Jul 2026 Updated 13:29, 29 Jul 2026 View Image Guitarist rehearses and records in his music studio (Image: Joby Sessions/Total Guitar magazine via Getty Images)

Dublin artists have been awarded over €1.7 million to provide them with the time to think, research, reflect and engage with the art that they practice.

The Arts Council has released the latest round of bursary award scheme , which has awarded 258 artists a collective €4.3 million. Out of this, €1,705,785 will be disturbed to 100 Dublin artists.

Providing a grant of up to €20,000 per artist, the Arts Council's bursary awards provides funds on behalf of the state. The awards aim to emphasise the value and benefit that an extended process of engagement can bring to an artist’s development.

The works and learnings developed through these awards have been shown to benefit both the individual artist, audiences and the wider arts ecosystem in Ireland. Bursaries are awarded across a range of artistic disciplines, reflecting the diverse and fluid nature of arts practice.

Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan said: “Ireland's reputation as a cultural powerhouse is reliant on strong state supports to artists. In providing over 250 artists from right across Ireland with time and opportunity to develop their artistic practice, these awards recognise the intrinsic value of the arts and the benefits they bring to our society.”

Director of the Arts Council, Moling Ryan commented that the scheme is “central to how the Arts Council supports the arts in Ireland”. “We recognise the necessity for artists to have the time and resources to make great art. These awards will support artists to further develop Ireland’s vibrant, creative culture,” he said.

Artforms eligible for grants include arts participation, circus performing, literature in Irish and English, music and visual arts. Successful grant applications also include children and young people's arts as well as street performance and spectacle.

This funding annoucementrelate to round one of the Arts Council’s 2026 bursary award scheme, with round two still to be revealed. A full list of recipients can be found on the Arts Council’s funding decisions page .

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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