Fingal County Council in partnership with the RHA announce the RHA School Studio Award 2026
The Fingal County Council Arts Office, in partnership with the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA), have announced the return of the RHA School Studio Award. This prestigious award provides one professional artist with a funded studio space in the RHA for two years beginning at the end of October 2026. Exact dates to be confirmed.
This award is open to professional practising artists at all career stages working in Visual Art. To be eligible, applicants must have been born, have studied or currently reside in the Fingal administrative area.
Applications will close on the 1st of May at 4 pm.
Recipient of the RHA School Studio Award 2025, Eileen O'Sullivan, has encouraged artists to apply:
About Eileen O'Sullivan:
Eileen O’Sullivan is a contemporary artist, graduating from the NCAD MFA Fine art programme in the National College of Art 2025. Since graduating from the BA from NCAD in 2015, O’Sullivan has developed a notable practice, exhibiting her work both nationally and internationally, with two solo exhibitions in Ireland. O’Sullivan has been honoured to be shortlisted for the Hennessy-Craig Award from the Royal Hibernian Academy and has her work included in the Irish state collection. Her work has been showcased in esteemed institutions such as Trinity College Dublin and The National University of Ireland.
Eileen is an experienced art engagement facilitator. She has been an invited artist in Residence at the National Gallery of Ireland, with whom she has worked for as a panel artist since 2018. She has worked with community groups, schools and galleries. Eileen is passionate about facilitating others to engage with art and practice their own creative skills. Eileen has worked with commercial galleries SO Fine Art Editions and Hang Tough Contemporary Gallery.
Artist statement
I am interested in the politics of making and mending. I use an expanded approach to painting that incorporates sculptural elements, archival references, and participatory methodologies.
Drawing from spaces such as hardware shops, haberdasheries, and galleries, I explore the intersections of domestic labour, care, and material culture. Manuals like *The Home Mechanic* and second-hand repair guides serve as both conceptual and visual anchors for me, forming anachronistic dialogues between past and present acts of fixing.
Employing materials such as oil paint, Velcro, linseed putty, found furniture, and child-adjacent craft materials, I embrace deskilling, questioning hierarchies in materials and in distinctions between skilled and unskilled labour. I value slippages and processes to highlight the attainable, but often privileged, benefits of repair: satisfaction, economy, and joy, while acknowledging that such acts require time, space, and skill.
About the RHA:
The RHA School is a purpose-built facility within the RHA Gallery, consisting of individual studios, open plan drawing studios and a library. It is an artist-led space for the provision of skill-based learning in Visual Art. Central to the RHA Schools activity is peer learning, where knowledge and experience can be passed from artist to artist. The RHA School supports both traditional and contemporary approaches to art making, and its offerings aim to enhance the skill set of artists working in the varied and shifting arena of current art practice.
Artists wishing to be considered should apply by completing the application form linked below. An application should include the information below.
1. A current CV. PDF document only. Maximum file size 500k.
2. A brief description of your art practice. Max. 300 words. PDF document only.
3. A covering letter detailing your intentions for the allocated period at the Fingal County Council Studio Award, including an artist statement and work plan, giving details of what materials and processes you use and any other requirements you have.
4. Up to six images of your work, no larger than 1mb each in size. JPG files only.
5. A list of images submitted clearly marked with the title of the piece, the medium and the dimensions. For video artists, please include on this list the web addresses (e.g., YouTube or Vimeo) to access your work. Any questions or requests for further information can be forwarded to [email protected]
Applications will close on the 1st of May at 4 pm.
The application form can be found here: Application Form - RHA Gallery
Or please see: www.fingalarts.ie
Previous Recipients:
2025 (current) - Eileen O'Sullivan
2024 - Eileen Leonard Sealy
2023 - Aoife Dunne
2022 - Eleanor McCaughey