The Makers Exchange, Studio Project at Dún Laoghaire Baths

• Access to a studio in dlr Baths from early October 2026 for 14 months.  
• Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council will cover the cost of the studio’s rent and utility bills.  
• Opportunity to create with older people that live in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County.
• Support from the partners throughout this residency project. The partners will help reach older people in the County to get involved, this can be done in a number of ways to ensure that a wide variety of older people are aware of the project.
• A monthly fee of €2,000 to help support the designers/makers practice. This is the maximum amount available, it will be divided if more than one designer/maker applies to work together. 
• A materials budget of €5,000 in total.  
• €1,500 towards the cost of training or mentorship. This is to assist the designers/makers to develop their collaborative arts practice and think about how it may impact their work. 
• We will engage a photographer to document the project over the 14 months. This documentation may be publicly exhibited towards the end of the project.

• This opportunity is open to professional designers/makers.
• We welcome applications from applicants with experience in creating work with people.
• We encourage applications from designers/makers who would like to work together. 
• We welcome applicants who represent the diversity of Irish society. We encourage applications from all areas of our 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. 

• We expect the designer/makers to be ready to take up this opportunity in early October 2026 for a period of 14 months.
• We expect the designer/makers to make good use of the studio for the timeframe.
• To create a positive, inclusive and welcoming experience for any older people and wider public that are involved.  
• To work with older people through their crafts practice.
• To offer opportunities for the wider community to engage with the project at key points. We would like to see opportunities for people to engage with the studio project as part of Bealtaine ( May) 2027 and dlr Social Inclusion Festival (September/October) 2027.

• Apply Here: Applications must be made online through the Submit portal. 
• If this is your first time to apply on the this portal, you will need to register.  
• Click on this Guide to learn how to register and use the system. 
• We understand that some applicants may have access needs. Please contact us to discuss how we can help you apply: mdavey@dlrcoco.ie or telephone (01) 236 2756. 
• Download brief with full details about the project. 

You will need to include the information listed below. 

1. C.V. Please outline your designer/maker experience, please include examples of creating art with people. If you have experience working with older people please make sure that this is on your C.V. 
2. If you intend to work with other designers/makers, we will need their C.V/s. 
3. A statement to give us a sense of your ideas and starting point for your time in the studio. Tell us about how you plan to use the 14 months, and what this opportunity will mean for your career. We would like to get a sense of what older people and the wider public may expect to experience by working with you. Please mention what medium/craft(s) you plan to work in and any other creative professionals that will be working with you. 
4. A budget. Please list the costs of any resources that you may need (for example materials or equipment hire). We understand that you will not yet know exactly what you need before you start, however, we need to see that you have thought about how you plan to use this opportunity. 
5. Examples of previous work. We would like to understand more about your work. You can help us by adding photographs, audio files, videos, written texts or other examples that help us get a sense of your work. Please include examples of work where you have collaborated with older people to create art. 
6. The name and contact details of two referees. Please make sure that one of these people has worked with you on a similar project.