Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Arts Office (dlr) is seeking expressions of interest from professional artists, who are already working in or are interested in working in healthcare settings. This training opportunity will build artists’ capacity to engage with older people in local healthcare settings through their artistic practice. This opportunity is open to artists from any artform. 

dlr Arts Office has invited Sarah Cairns and Tess Leak to deliver three lively and comprehensive sessions for professional artists. The training will provide opportunities to explore ways of collaborating and delivering multi-sensory projects in healthcare settings, inclusive of people with cognitive and other differences. Participating artists will receive vital dementia and communications training specific to their needs in the healthcare settings. This experiential training will include ‘hands-on’ creative practices. 

This opportunity is part of the ‘Let’s Get Social dlr Programme 2024-25’. Funded by the Creative Ireland Programme under the Health & Wellbeing in the Community Scheme and the HSE, supported by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. 

Background  

dlr Arts Office has been working with local services and national organisations to deliver arts and health programmes in our County since 2007. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County has one of the fastest ageing populations in the country. We are seeing increasing need for skilled artists to work with older people in healthcare settings across the County. This opportunity builds on two previous Creative Ireland funded ‘Creativity in Older Age’ programmes and our HSE funded Arts and Health Programme, aiming to build capacity and sustain the creative practice that has evolved locally in our County in creativity and wellbeing. 

 

What does this training opportunity offer? 

This opportunity will offer ten artists, three training sessions in dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire with Sarah Cairns and Tess Leak. We will provide lunch and artists will be given a small fee of €100 per session (payable on attendance).

In 2025 we will be offering the opportunity for participating artists to apply for funding for creative projects in healthcare settings to put this training into practice. 

Dates and Times 

All three sessions will take place in dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin. 

How do I apply? 

Proposals must include the following: 

An expression of interest that details the following: 

Closing date for proposals: 2pm, 12 August 2024  

We will use these criteria and marks to select the artists:  

Timeline: 

Invitation call out: Week of 1 July 

Closing date for queries: 2pm, 7  August 

Closing date for proposals: 2pm, 12 August 

Assessment period: Week of 12 August 

 

Late applications will not be assessed. 

More information about the trainers. 

Sarah Cairns has been working with people with dementia for over twenty years as an Activities Director. She holds a masters in Dementia Studies, a diploma in Older People in Dance and Person-Centred Dementia Care and, since 2007, has worked nationally as a Dementia & Communication Educator and Training Consultant. For the past ten years she has sat on the steering committee of the Arts for Health Partnership Programme in West Cork, for which she also acts as dementia advisor. Sarah is particularly interested in finding ways to support residents to achieve agency, empowerment, connection and belonging through culture, meaning-making and creative activities. 

 

Tess Leak is an interdisciplinary artist who has worked with the Arts for Health Programme in West Cork and in community contexts for the past fourteen years. With artist Sharon Whooley she is creator/curator of participatory projects The Museum of Song and The Museum of Birds and Beasts, in collaboration with national cultural institutions and older residents in community hospitals. From 2021-2023 Tess was lead artist for the Irish Hospice Foundation's Compassionate Culture Network in Cork County, working with groups to explore loss and grief through creative practices. She is a member of the Vespertine Quintet and facilitating inclusion through creativity is at the heart of all her work. 

Late applications will not be assessed. 

 

Please note that the pass mark required for this opportunity is 70%. If none or not enough of the proposals submitted reach the minimum marks required, we may decide to look at a different way to use this funding. 

 

Queries? 

Please contact Máire or Ciara in dlr Arts Office by: 

emailing arts@dlrcoco.ie or phone (01) 236 2759 

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.

Data protection laws mean that your personal data should generally only be stored where there us 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 manage this process, including the selection process (this may include 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.