International Curator Residency Open Call, submission deadline 5pm on Friday 10 April 2026. A new opportunity supported by NSF & The Guesthouse nationalsculpturefactory.com/programme/in...

Online Workshop | Tips for Applying to the Agility Award 2026 with Camilla Fanning Thinking about applying for the Agility Award but not sure where to start? This short online workshop https://visualartists.ie/advert/online-workshop-tips-for-applying-to-the-agility-award-2026-with-camilla-fanning-2

Congratulations to Clara McSweeney, NSF Curatorial Resources Development Manager, who is joint winner of the 2025 RDS Taylor Art Trust Award, alongside Vicky Ochala. Judges praised both artists for ‘Theatrical Work’ and ‘Masterful Blend of Art and Science’

'Stolen Sealskin' is open in Sample-Studios gallery, The Lord Mayor's Pavilion, 11am-4pm until 30 November. This solo exhibition by Sarah Lou Kinneen draws from the enduring migratory legend of the Selkie through an immersive installation that drifts between myth and memory.

Open Call | Ballinglen Residency Scheme from Cork County Council The Cork County Council Ballinglen Residency Scheme provides a Bursary Award for a visual artist to avail of a residency at Ballinglen Arts Foundation for a two week period. visualartists.ie/advert/open-...

Irish Times Q&A with Corban Walker RESIST runs at Solomon Fine Art, Dublin, until this Saturday 15 November www.solomonfineart.ie/news/271-iri...

NSF in partnership with Cork International Film Festival and Sample-Studios are delighted to announce that 'Stolen Sealskin', a solo exhibition by Sarah Lou Kinneen, will open in The Lord Mayor's Pavilion, from 14-30 November. The Opening Reception will take place from 1-3pm on Friday 14 November

Job Vacancy | Engagement Assistant at Golden Thread Gallery GTG is hiring an Engagement Assistant to support visitor experience at the gallery. visualartists.ie/advert/job-v...

Art Futures: Navigating Career Pathways in the Fine Art Sector. Saturday 1st November. Presented by Doherty Sculpture Park, hosted at @tudublin.bsky.social www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/art-future...

We're delighted to announce the 𝗗𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲. It includes talks from Guest Curator Dr. Selina Guinness, a Publishing Talk Series + DABF's wider event programme. DABF is free, event tickets are limited, booking essential. Explore the programme: bit.ly/47LaV9O #DABF25

Deadline approaching! Our friends at Benchspace Cork are inviting applications for the 2025 Dearcán Bursary. Deadline: 5pm, Friday 24 Oct 2025.

New NSF Professional Development Series Cornerstones of The Career of an Artist include the Studio, the Residency, the Network, the Gallery; all which require planning and coherence - building blocks are the subjects of this series of talks/discussions.

Open Call | International Architecture Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia from Culture Ireland Culture Ireland and the Arts Council are inviting expressions of interest to curate Ireland’s representation at the 20th International Architecture Exhibition at Venice, visualartists.ie/advert/open-...

Ciara Sheehan works with diverse media, including sculpture, ceramics, metal, textiles, sound and digital drawing. Her work draws influence from Celtic mythology and contemporary feminist discourse and her own lived experiences.

Calling the Cork arts community; 2025 Graduate awardees are coming to National Sculpture Factory for their awarded time on our factory floor - are you an accommodation provider? Our artists are looking for mid - week accommodation (digs) for short duration.

Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 Review: A Living Laboratory, by Alex Pentek nationalsculpturefactory.com/magazine/ven...

Culture Night at NSF. Friday 19 September - 6-9pm Cork-born performance and multimedia artist Norah Dineen presents SEEN/UNSEEN (Before Your Eyes), a continuous 6-9pm performance within an installation on the National Sculpture Factory floor, amidst working artist studio spaces.

Culture Night at NSF. Friday 19 September - 6-9pm Cork-born performance and multimedia artist Norah Dineen presents SEEN/UNSEEN (Before Your Eyes), a continuous 6-9pm performance within an installation on the National Sculpture Factory floor, amidst working artist studio spaces.

Cork County Council's LHQ Gallery is inviting submissions for an annual open-call winter exhibition which will run throughout November and December 2025. Entry Deadline: 28th September 2025.

Our friends at Cork Printmakers are hiring a part-time Communications and Marketing Officer - follow the link below to read the full job description and find out how to apply visualartists.ie/advert/job-v...

Nuala O'Donovan has been creating a new body of work during the past few months with us at the Factory, including some of her largest structures to date. You will be able to see these at the Lavit Gallery's group exhibition New Irish Art, opening this Thursday 4th September

maud cotter | maelstrom Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda 23rd August - 1st November

Some rarely seen images of the Factory Floor from the 1980s. In 1989, our founding members, Vivienne Roche, Maud Cotter, Danny McCarthy and Éilis O’Connell, established the NSF to provide artists with large studio spaces, equipment, technicians, training, and residencies.

Michael Quane's Fallen Horse and Rider was commissioned by Midleton Urban District Council in 1994. The Kilkenny blue limestone sculpture was created by direct carving, where an artist works directly on a piece of stone or wood as opposed to with preliminary models or casts.

Attention all mural artists! Cork City Council is commissioning a mural on the facades of the historical pavilion situated along the newly designed Marina Promenade. Deadline: 12pm 8th September 2025 Budget: €9,000 Commission Queries: [email protected]

An t-Oileanách. Sited outside The Blasket Centre on the Dingle Peninsula, Michael Quane’s life-sized sculpture of Tomás Ó Criomhthain depicts the writer pulling his hat and coat about himself, braced against the wind.

Horses and Riders by Michael Quane was commissioned for the Annabella roundabout, Mallow in 1995, carved from a 25-ton block of limestone. The sculpture, depicting two figures on horseback circling each other, has since been relocated to a nearby site on the Cork to Mallow Road.

Michael Quane Artist Talk 16.08.2025 | 3:30 - 4:30 As part of the events of Heritage Week in a presentation by NSF and Cork City Libraries, sculptor Michael Quane will talk about his work and his field as a stone carver whose work is exhibited nationally and internationally.

We'd like to welcome you in for Cork Heritage Open Day 2025! Saturday 16th August, open 12pm through 4pm, guided tours of the building will take place on the hour hour starting at 12pm, last tour 3pm

Congratulations Sophie! NSF artist Sophie Longwill has been commissioned by @corkoperahouse.bsky.social to create a permanent installation commemorating their 170th anniversary, supported by Fleetwood Paints in partnership with Sample-Studios. www.echolive.ie/corknews/ari...

Working through lunch on a Tuesday. NSF ceramic artist Nuala O'Donovan, assembling one of her largest teasels to date.

Announcing the 2025 Graduate Residency Award recipients. Img 1 - Ciara Sheehan - TUS LSAD, Sculpture & Combined Media Award Img 2 - Criss Constantin - MTU CCAD, Fine Art Award Img 3 - Megan Fahy - MTU CCAD, Contemporary Applied Art Award Img 4 - Tara Myers - SETU, Fine Art Award

NSF artist, Ben Reilly, is currently splitting his time between the Factory and his residency in Skibbereen at Uillinn. You can visit him this Saturday 12 July from 12 noon to 2pm for an Open Studio, alongside Uillinn's two other resident artists Tanya de Paor and Murrough O'Donovan.

Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre has announced the winners of its 40th anniversary awards, and among the recipients are NSF artists Sophie Longwill and Ben Reilly, winning the the Morgan O Driscoll Fine Art Auctioneers Award www.echolive.ie/corknews/ari...

Ceramicist Sally Cush recently joined us on the Factory floor; today's packing day as she gets vases ready to send to Millcove Gallery ahead of their Excellence in Irish Ceramic Exhibition. Check out those absolutely gorgeous colours and textures 😍

Workshop | Two-part Plaster Mould-making for Slip Casting with John Rainey at Flax Art Studios Create a two-part plaster mould and slip cast to produce a test piece. visualartists.ie/advert/works...

Deadline reminder: 5pm, Monday 30th June 2025 NSF is partnering with Kunstverein Aughrim on their Creative Producer programme – a training and development initiative supported by the Arts Council through the Creative Production Supports scheme. Read more: kunstverein.ie/Open-Call

The Score & Other Works by James L Hayes Sat 14 June - Sat 19 July | GOMA Waterford Official launch: Saturday 14 June 6 - 8pm, all welcome!

To mark the end of an intensive period of research & material exploration, glass artist Maeve Lynch opened her studio and installed her work throughout the NSF. This served as a test site for newly developed work and work in progress and an opportunity for discussion with peers.

Congratulations to the graduating classes of MTU Crawford College of Art and Design 2025! Don't miss their end of year shows, opening today and tomorrow. @mtuartsoffice.bsky.social @mtu.ie

Some behind the scenes from the Factory floor. NSF artist Rachel Doolin is taking the Seedarium to glór, Ennis, for her upcoming exhibition Heirloom, running 14th June - 6th September

📣 Submissions for #IFIDocFest are now open! We're on the look out for Irish feature length documentaries for this years edition of IFI Documentary Festival, coming up in September 2025. Submissions must be made by 18.00 on Friday, July 4th 2025. More info ➡ ifi.ie/ifi-docfest-...

Sophie's work looking fantastic here 😍

I'm working on a piece about arts funding in Ireland, and I'm looking for people's experiences in dealing with various funding bodies. Let me know your thoughts (good or bad), bugbears, frustrations, and any weird quirks in the application processes that you think don't make sense. 📄 DM or reply. ✅

Congratulations to the SETU BA (Hons) Visual Art Degree 2025 students! Their exhibition opened yesterday evening, running May 22nd - 30th at the College Street Campus, Waterford.

Open Call | Soundscape for People's Park from Limerick City and County Council Limerick City and County Council would like to commission an artist to create two audio islands for the public to sit, rest, and enjoy commissioned sounds in noise polluted areas of visualartists.ie/advert/open-...

Sorcha Browning's residency with us is coming to an end and she has very kindly shared some studio shots from her time on the Factory floor. We're eager to see where her process takes her, and what she gets up to next 😁

Sorcha Browning, one of our graduate residency awardees, is showing her installation EDEN for three days only alongside DREAMSCAPE by Ailbhe Reilly Tuite as part of Cork Fringe Festival. 9-10-11 May | Laneway Gallery, Shandon Street

Huge congratulations to Cotter & Naessens Architects, sound artist David Stalling, poet Michelle Delea & curator Luke Naessens who represent #Ireland at the 19th Biennale Architettura in Venice 👏 Their piece 'Assembly' will be exhibited in Venice from May - November '25 with a national tour in 2026.

ASSEMBLY, curated by Cotter & Naessens Architects opened earlier this week, representing Ireland at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale - congratulations to everyone involved! Ireland at Venice is an initiative of Culture Ireland in partnership with @artscouncilireland.bsky.social