Successful applicants will receive a solo exhibition at LHQ Gallery in 2025 with a bursary award of €3,000 to support the production of their work
A new award has been launched to support emerging visual artists in County Cork.
The Emerging Visual Artist Award 2024, run by Cork County Council, will provide artists with a financial bursary and the opportunity for a solo exhibition at the local authority’s LHQ Gallery.
According to the council, the aim of the award is to further the emerging artist’s practice at “a key stage” in their early career by allowing them the time and money to create a new body of work and the opportunity to exhibit it.
Successful applicants will receive a solo exhibition at LHQ Gallery in 2025 with a bursary award of €3,000 to support the production of their work. The council’s Arts Office will also provide professional curatorial support as part of the development process, with the opportunity for the successful applicant to also receive professional mentorship.
The Mayor of the County of Cork, councillor Frank O’Flynn, said that the council is “delighted” to be able to provide opportunities to artists who are at a critical juncture in their careers.
“Recent graduates in any field, particularly emerging artists, can benefit from support and opportunity in their careers. We hope to nurture visual art talent in Cork County, and we look forward to seeing the results of this new award,” Mayor O’Flynn said.
Chief Executive of Cork County Council Valerie O’Sullivan said that is important that arts and culture are supported, given their significance to people’s lives and to society.
“This is an award which we hope will further an emerging artist’s practice. By providing support for the development of a new body of work, and the platform to stage it, the artist will further establish themselves in the visual art sector,” Mrs O’Sullivan said.
The council said that applicants for the award should be at the early stage of their career, regardless of age, and have created and exhibited an original body of work and be able to demonstrate a commitment to developing their career as a professional artist.
Eligible artists must currently live in Cork County or be originally from Cork County (as defined by the current county administrative boundary), but now living elsewhere.
For full guidelines and application form, those interested in applying can contact arts@corkcoco.ie. The deadline for applications is the May 3, 2024.