We invite professional artists to apply for an exhibition in the Municipal Gallery, dlr LexIcon as part of our Open Call for exhibitions. These exhibitions are funded by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
About the Open Call Exhibition
The Open Call is an opportunity to apply for an exhibition of work which you have already created – the work does not have to be created especially for dlr LexIcon. The work you submit in your application must be new to the audience in Dublin and the general M50 area (for example North Wicklow, South Dublin, Fingal, Kildare). It should have been created within the last five years and should not be older work. If your work has been shown in a commercial gallery anywhere (rather than a public gallery), then you may submit it.
Please note: the Open Call Exhibition opportunity is different from our Visual Art Commission which is for the creation of completely new work.
Professional artists, curators, and arts organisations are welcome to apply. Proposals may be for solo, two person, or group shows.
If you are selected, you will receive:
- A fee for you as the artist - €6,500 for established artists / €4,300 for emerging artists
- An exhibition at the Municipal Gallery, dlr LexIcon, Dún Laoghaire
We will select three exhibitions, one for each year from 2027- 2029. Each exhibition will run for eight to ten weeks. The exhibition dates will be agreed with the selected artists, we will look at the overall Gallery Programme when deciding the dates. One exhibition opportunity will be for an emerging artist.
Closing date for applications: Monday 3 November 2025 at 2pm
How to apply
If you have any trouble with the online application or have an any access needs, please contact us. You can do this by email arts@dlrcoco.ie or telephone (01) 236 27 59.
We will ask you to tell us about your previous work and your ideas for the exhibition. You will need to fill in an application form and upload digital files that give more detail about your work. This will include your CV and images of your work. Please allow time for this and do not start making your application very close to the deadline.
We will accept one application per person. This can be for a solo or group exhibition. You cannot make two applications.
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 read all the information below before you make your application
About the Gallery and our Visitors
The Gallery is on the third floor of dlr LexIcon, Haigh Terrace, Moran Park, Dún Laoghaire. It is funded by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and managed by the Council’s Arts Office. We provide opportunities for people of all ages to engage with the visual arts. Gallery visitors are a mix of library users, local people, local arts community, tourists, and day visitors.
The Gallery is not supervised, and it is a busy space. We ask you to think about this when making your application and to consider how your artwork is made and presented. Most of the time, we will insure the artwork while it is in dlr LexIcon. If your work is delicate, we may only agree to exhibit it if you are happy to take the risk. You would need to sign an indemnity letter for dlr County Council and accept that the work is uninsured by us and is exhibited at your own risk.
All artworks must be suitable for a general audience, including children and young people.
Gallery Learning Programme
The Gallery Learning Programme is part of our exhibition programme. It includes workshops, demonstrations, talks, and screenings. The Project Room beside the Gallery is where activities from the Learning Programme take place. You may be asked to participate in a maximum of two events, for example a tour of your exhibition or perhaps a workshop. You would be paid an additional set rate for any Learning Programme event you take part in.
Accessibility and Exhibition Labels
Our Gallery is in a public library, your work will be seen by a broad audience, including people who do not regularly visit galleries. We aim to make exhibitions accessible and welcoming to all.
Each exhibition will have a large board (A0 size) with a description in Plain English, hung on the wall inside the entrance to the Gallery. Museum-quality labels will be used for artworks, and you may choose between two sizes:
The label text will be at least 11-point sans serif font (simple modern font) to make sure that it is easy to read.
If you would like to include more information about your work, we will put this onto an A4 sheet and have copies available in the Gallery for visitors.
There is seating in the Gallery for every exhibition, and you must be happy to have seats in the Gallery area. There are two specially made benches, each seat three people.
Lighting is important and we do not programme exhibitions which need very low levels of lighting in Gallery One. Gallery Two was designed to show screen-based work. There is a wall-mounted projector permanently installed in that space. The lights may be left low or off to show film/video work in Gallery Two.
If you are selected, your contract will include clauses around accessibility and labelling. If you would like to talk to us in advance to see if your exhibition is a good fit, please contact us.
You can do this by email arts@dlrcoco.ie or telephone (01) 236 2759.
What will you get?
- A fee for you as the artist: €6,500 for if you are an established artist / €4,300 if you are an emerging artist.
- Marketing material and PR (dlr Arts Office will take care of any print and online PR for your exhibition).
- Professional art technicians will install your work.
- Exhibition opening event.
- The support of a curator if you need this (to a maximum amount of €1,000 per exhibition).
- The cost towards the transport of your artwork by art handlers, up to the value of €750. You must help us organise the transportation. We will not fund international travel for this exhibition.
- Insurance of the artworks while in the Gallery. If an artwork is too fragile to be covered by our insurance, you may be asked to insure it or remove it from the exhibition.
Additional Information
- You will be responsible for any framing or display costs for the exhibition and any additional expenses involved in making the work. The work must be ready for exhibition when it arrives in the Gallery.
- We do not handle the sale of work. However, if you are selected, you are welcome to put a price list into the Gallery and sell directly from the exhibition. We do not take any commission on the sale of work.
- The selection panel may decide to show two solo exhibitions at the same time. This will only happen if they feel that the two exhibitions will work well together in different parts of the Gallery (Previous examples include exhibitions by Denis Kelly/Ben Readman; and Fiona Hackett/Catherine Delaney).
How to decide if you are an Established or an Emerging Artist
Established Artist
You will have been working professionally for several years, with a strong track record of exhibitions, awards, or recognition. Your work may be widely known, and you sell and/or exhibit your work regularly. You may be represented by a gallery.
Emerging Artist
You are at an early stage in your professional career as an artist. You may have some experience showing your work, however you are still developing your practice and building a reputation in the art world.
How will we select the artists?
The applications will be assessed in two stages in a competitive selection process. This means that applications are marked in comparison to each other. We will use the same Scoring System for Stage One and Stage Two.
In Stage One, a group of independent art experts, who do not work in the Arts Office, will review your application. This group includes working artists. A shortlist of all applications that receive over 70 marks out of 100 in this assessment will move on to stage Two. We will not consider applications that receive less than 70 marks.
In Stage Two, the Arts Office team will assess the shortlisted applications. We will mark them and the highest scoring ones will be selected. The minimum mark required at Stage Two is 80 out of 100.
We will keep a list of all the shortlisted applications that score over 80 marks at Stage Two for two years. We will use this list to select more exhibitions if we receive more funding. We will start with the applicant who has the highest score.
The decision of the selection panel will be final and will be based on the scoring system that is outlined below. If no application reaches the minimum marks, we will not choose an exhibition from this process. We will then use a different selection process instead.
Scoring System:
1. How suitable your exhibition is for a gallery in a public library: (40/100)
- The panel will assess if your exhibition idea fits into the Gallery Programme. They will look at the medium and themes of your work. Arts Office team members with specialist experience will assess how your idea fits within the Gallery Programme.
- Please think about who the visitors are to the Gallery in dlr LexIcon. The audience is a mix of library visitors, local people, local arts community, tourists, and day visitors. The work submitted must be suitable for viewing by adults and children.
2. Quality of your previous work (40/100)
- The panel will assess your track record as an artist as shown in your application, including your technical skill with materials and technique. This mark will be based on your CV, support material and references.
- If you are an emerging artist, we will take that into account. Please include letters of recommendation from arts professionals whom you have worked with which support your work as an artist.
3. Your previous experience of delivering similar exhibitions/projects (20/100)
- Please give examples of past exhibitions or projects that are similar in size and type to this opportunity.
- Your examples should show that you managed and delivered the project on time and within budget.
- If you are an emerging artist and do not have direct experience of a similar exhibition, you may include relevant experience from smaller projects, collaborations, or other creative work that shows your ability to plan and deliver a project.
Key dates
Gallery visit with DLR Arts Office: Tuesday 7 October 2025 at 6pm
Online information meeting: Wednesday October at 11.00am
Deadline for applications: Monday 3 November 2025 at 2pm
Successful applicants informed: mid-February 2026
Exhibitions: 2027,2028 and 2029
Gallery information meetings
We will hold two information meetings to give interested artists a chance to hear about the Gallery and what is needed for this application:
In person
There will be an in-person gallery visit with Arts Office staff on Tuesday 7 October 2025 at 6pm.
Online
There will be an online information meeting on Thursday 9 October at 11.30am.
Please contact us by email
arts@dlrcoco.ie or phone (01) 236 27 59 to book a place on one of these information meetings.
If you are unable to come to these meetings, you are welcome to visit the Gallery yourself at another time. The opening hours are:
- Monday-Thursday: 10am - 8pm
- Friday and Saturday: 10am - 5pm
- Sunday: 12 noon to 4pm
Use of AI in the creation of artwork
We want our audiences to know how artworks are made. If you’ve used any kind of artificial intelligence (AI) in creating your work — even just a part of it — please let us know when you submit your application.
This includes tools like:
- DALL·E, Midjourney, Runway, ChatGPT, Adobe Firefly, or similar
- Any software or app that uses AI to help generate images, text, video, or sound
Please tell us:
- If you used AI in creating the artwork you are submitting.
- If you are selected, if you plan to use AI in developing the work before the exhibition.
If your work is selected, we will note on the exhibition labels that AI was part of the creative process.
Insurance
We must make sure that any external person or company working with us on a project such as this 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 (cover) 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.
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 Visual Art Commission, and selection process (this will include several external panel members who will read your application).
You may withdraw your consent for us to keep your application information at any time by sending an email to
arts@dlrcoco.ie