Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council invites emerging artists to submit proposals for the creation of new work to be performed in public spaces in the County. We would like ideas for work that explores and imagines what the future of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown might be like.  

We welcome applications from professional artists, or a team of two or more artists/creatives working together across any of the following artforms: 

This opportunity is for emerging artists who have a connection to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. We will fund up to five new performance-based projects, with a budget of €10,000 each.

dlr Public Arts Programme 

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is committed to supporting public art that connects with and makes an impact on communities across the County.  

‘The Story We Tell Tomorrow’ is our Public Arts Programme, funded through the Per Cent for Art Scheme. The programme will support a series of public art projects between 2025 and 2027 across a range of artforms.  

We want you to think about how the County – with its mix of towns, villages, communities, geography, culture and innovation – might evolve in the future. How might things like climate change, digital technology or social changes affect how people live, work, study, and enjoy life here? 

We are looking for creative, bold ideas that push boundaries, spark imagination and engage the public.  

Public Performance 

The new work you develop should be ready to perform live in June 2026 in a public space in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County. 

We are especially interested in performances in areas of the County such as: 

You can choose the exact location as your project develops, but it must be within the County. 

Budget 

Each selected project will get a budget of €10,000 (inclusive of VAT) to create and present a new work. Your proposed budget should cover: 

Artist fees: Payment for your time to create the work and for any additional collaborators/contributors.  

Production costs: Things like equipment hire, materials, wardrobe, technician fees and communication. We recommend that you allocate 20% of your budget to staging the performance of your work. This amount may be higher based on the nature of your proposed performance.  

Travel and transport: These costs should not make up a significant portion of your budget. Please note that international travel cannot be funded with this budget. 

Insurance: Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for details. 

Contingency: We recommend that you set aside 5% of your budget for unexpected costs. 

Additional Support 

dlr Arts Office will provide some production support and advice for the public performances. Performances will be documented by dlr for future promotion. 

 

If your proposal is selected, you may be able to use the Studio Theatre at dlr LexIcon in Dún Laoghaire for free while developing your work. The Studio is a modern, flexible, black box theatre space with professional lighting and sound systems, WiFi and moveable seating. Access to the Studio will be managed through the Arts Office and will be subject to availability. Please note that the space does not have a technician, so if you need any specialist support such as a sound engineer, this would need to be accounted for as part of your budget. Please note that the Studio Theatre should not be proposed as a space for hosting performances.

You can access the full commission brief on our website.

This opportunity is for emerging artists who have a connection to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County. To be eligible you must: 

Be an emerging artist 

 

This means you are in the early stages of your career in your chosen artform. You may have some experience, but you are still developing your practice and not yet widely known or established. 

 

You could be just starting out as an artist, or switching to a new artform and still developing your practice. 

 

You will need to explain why you consider yourself an emerging artist in your application. 

 

AND 

 

Have a connection to the County 

 

You must meet at least one of the following conditions: 

 

Artists who have received a grant or bursary from dlr Arts Office before, including the Emerging Artist Bursary, can still apply.  

We welcome applicants who represent the diversity of Irish society. We encourage applications from all areas of the community regardless of your gender, sexual orientation, civil or family status, religion, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller Community, or socio-economic background.   

 

Please note: The selection panel reserves the right to decide not to accept applications from artists/artistic teams who they consider well-established in their careers. 

Click 'Apply' on the right hand side of this page. You’ll be asked to provide information about:

Your project idea: Tell us what your project is about and how it connects to the theme. We want to know what you hope to create and what approach you will take to translating your ideas into a new artwork for public performance. Please include details of any audience you would be particularly interested in targeting. 

You and your artistic team: Please tell us why you consider yourself eligible as an emerging artist for this opportunity based on the criteria outlined in the brief. Provide details about who will be involved in the development and performance of this new artwork such as your creative and technical team.

Project Timeline: Please outline the key tasks and activities you will undertake to develop the artwork and put on a performance, mapped out between mid-January and June 2026. Please include an estimate of the number of hours/days to be allocated for these different phases.

Budget: A breakdown of how you will allocate the €10,000 to create and present your performance. This must include a fee to you as the artist(s) and to anyone else you will be working with.

Examples of past work: Share three to five examples of relevant projects you have worked on. If you have created or presented work outside of formal art settings or for the outdoors, please include this. You

can upload files (pdfs, word documents, images etc.) or share weblinks. Any written work shared should be limited to 10 pages. Image files should be limited to ten and uploaded as low resolutions jpegs or in one PDF attachment with captions. You can share up to three weblinks to YouTube or Vimeo or sound files. Please make sure to include passwords for any which are not public.

CV(s): Please upload a CV for you and your team members showing your experience, skills and achievements to date. 

Up to two letters of recommendation related to your arts practice from professionals you have worked with. These can take the form of an email, with the permission of the referee.

This is a single-stage application process.  

All applications will be reviewed by a selection panel made up of performing arts professionals and members of the Arts Office team. 

Each application will be scored out of 100 points. To be considered, your application must score at least 80 points. 

The top five applications that score over 80 will be awarded a commission. This means that not all applications which are awarded 80 or above may be successful. 

We will form a panel from applications which score over 80 marks. We may use this panel to commission further projects if additional funding becomes available within a one-year timeline. 

The panel’s decision will be final. We will let you know by email whether your application was successful or not. 

1. Creativity and quality of your idea (40 points) 

 We will look at: 

2. Feasibility of your proposal (40 points) 

 We will look at: 

3. Your previous experience (20 points) 

 We will look at: 

Submission and Selection Process 

You are responsible for the cost of developing proposals for this one-stage commission opportunity. 

Applications should be made through the online application platform dlrcoco.submit.com. If you have any difficulty completing the online application or have an any access needs, please contact us by email arts@dlrcoco.ie or telephone (01) 236 27 59. 

If necessary, the selection panel may contact you to ask for more information about specific details in your application. 

Finance 

If you are selected for this project, we will issue a contract for you with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. You may be required to supply a current Tax Clearance Certificate or Tax Clearance Access Number before signing the contract. It will need to be valid for the period that the project is taking place.  Please note that all projects awarded are VAT inclusive. 

Health and Safety 

You must comply with Health and Safety standards and activities and artworks/performances will be subject to Health and Safety checks. 

Freedom of Information 

The Freedom of Information Act 2014 applies to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. This Act gives people the right to request information held by public authorities and the right to have personal information held about them corrected or updated where the information is incomplete, incorrect, or misleading. 

If you feel that any of the information you submit as part of your application is confidential or sensitive, you should let dlr Arts Office know. You must clearly state why you think the information is confidential or commercially sensitive, and why it should not be released as part of a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2014. 

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 

Data protection laws mean that your personal data should generally only be stored where there is a lawful basis, such as your consent, or where there is a legal obligation. Any information you provide for this application will be held for one year from the date you submit it and will only remain in the ownership of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Arts Office. We will only use the information you give in your application to administer and managing the process for these projects, including the selection process (this may include several external panel members who will read your application). You may withdraw your consent to the retention of the information relating to your application at any point by sending an email to arts@dlrcoco.ie 

Insurance 

We must make sure that any external person or company working with us on a project has insurance cover in place. If you are selected for a commission, you will need to have Public Liability Insurance in place up to a limit of €6.5 million. Public Liability Insurance covers your legal liability to pay damages to members of the public for injury, loss, or damages which occur because of your activities. The insurance policy must indemnify Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. If you employ another person to work with you, you will also need Employers Liability Insurance to a limit of €13 million (this will only be needed if the person working with you does not have an insurance policy of their own). These are standard insurance policies and several companies in Ireland provide them for artistic activities. 

Garda Vetting 

It is a legal requirement that all persons working with children, young people and vulnerable people are subject to Garda Vetting. In accordance with national child protection policy, Children First National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children, those working with children must have a child protection policy, proper procedures and a child safeguarding statement in place.