Cork County Council Calls for Applications to its Emerging Visual Artist Award
The Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Joe Carroll is encouraging visual artists who are embarking on their career to apply for an award to help further their practice and highlight their work.
Cork County Council’s Arts Office has announced that applications are now open for the second year of the Emerging Visual Artist Award. It provides an artist with a financial bursary and the opportunity for a solo exhibition at Cork County Council’s LHQ Gallery.
Mayor Carroll said,
Méara
We are delighted to once again offer this opportunity to visual artists at the start of their career. It is a crucial time in anyone’s career, finishing studies and entering the sector can be a challenge. Exhibitions help propel a visual artist’s career and with this award we hope to nurture visual art talent in Cork County.
The inaugural award went to Isabel English, a visual artist and educator who is from Charleville. Her work consisting of sculpture, text and photography will be exhibited at Cork County Council’s LHQ Gallery this Autumn.
To be eligible, applicants should be at the early stage of their career, regardless of age, have created and exhibited an original body of work and can 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 live elsewhere.
Successful applicants will receive a solo exhibition at LHQ Gallery in 2026 with a bursary award of €3,000 to support the production of the work. Cork County 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.
LHQ Gallery is based in the County Library on Carrigrohane Road. Recent exhibitions at the gallery have included solo shows by Seiko Hayase, Elize de Beer, and Evgeniya Martirosyan. The Gallery shows work by visual artists at all stages of their careers. The LHQ Gallery programme is supported by The Arts Council of Ireland.
Full guidelines and an application form can be found by clicking the link below. The closing date for receipt of completed applications is Friday the 30th of May, 2025. Applications will be assessed by a panel.
For queries, email the Council’s Arts Office at [email protected]