Exploring and Thinking Award 2025 - 2026

• To support artistic ambition in cross-artform collaborations, professional development and the research and development of new work in early childhood arts.
• To reach new early childhood arts audiences in under-served communities and neighbourhoods.
• To stimulate dialogue between the Dublin local authorities, Dublin Children and Young People’s Services Committees (CYPSCs), artists, early childhood educators and organisations.
• To build on current research investigating practice across artforms, professional disciplines and context. 
• To generate advocacy in early childhood arts. 

• Access with an emphasis on marginalised children. 
• Quality of practice that is evidence and standards based. 
• Positive impact on artistic practice and the wider early childhood sector.
• Focus on Artist that is responsive to emerging and established practitioners. 
• Sustainability with actions that are achievable, realistic and measurable.

One Bursary Award will be granted per local authority with a total of four Awards available. These Bursaries are open to:

• Individual professional artists who wish to develop their practice in early childhood arts.
• Artists practicing in all artforms.
• Artists making work with and/or for marginalised children. 
• Artists must be resident in or planning to deliver bursary funded work in one of the Dublin local authority administrative areas, or articulate how this bursary will impact one or more of the areas — Fingal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Dublin City, South Dublin.
• All successful bursaries need to be completed by year end 2026. We reserve the right not to allocate funding and to allocate partial funding. The fund is limited and all eligible applications will be evaluated on a competitive basis against the criteria set out in this document.

Proposals can include but are not limited to:

• Professional development, including travel. 
• Seed new ideas and partnerships.
• Access mentoring. 
• Research and development of new work. 
• Residencies. 

• Call out: Week of 11 August 2025
• Closing date for queries: 2pm at 24 September 2025
• Closing date for receipt of applications: 2pm at 1 October 2025
• Assessment period: Week of 6 October 2025
• Successful applicants notified: Week of 20 October 2025
• Bursary range for 2025: €4,000 - €5,000

Apply online: dlrcoco.submit.com. Include the following:

• Curriculum Vitae/s of lead artist and collaborators (if relevant).
• A proposal in response to the bursary criteria, identifying the local authority area you are resident or working in. (max word count 1,500).
• Three examples of relevant artistic projects in support of proposal. One copy of supplementary information is sufficient per application. Accessible file types: .doc, .docx, .pdf, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .svg, .tif, .tiff, .aac, .aiff, .flac, .m4a, .mp3, .ogg, .wav, .wma, .3gp, .avi, .flv, .m4v, .mkv, .mov, .mp4, .mpg, .webm, .wmv, .ppt, .xls, .xlsx, .zip.
• All documents of selected work must be clearly titled.
• Links to moving image/film/sound recordings (the combined length of your film/ audio must not exceed 10 mins in length).
• Budget Breakdown, outlining other income received if relevant.
• Timeline outlined.
• Official letters of support or acceptance are required with proposals for the following: Mentorship, Masterclasses, Collaborations, Residencies.
• Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Julie Clarke - Fingal County Arts Office

Youth & Education Officer

E: Julie.clarke@fingal.ie

T: 01 890 5000

Máire Davey - Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Arts Office

Assistant Arts Officer- Participation and Learning

E: mdavey@dlrcoco.ie

T: 01 236 2756

Sinead Connolly - Dublin City Arts Office

Assistant Arts Officer

E: Sinead.connolly@dublincity.ie

T: 01 222 5455

Orla Scannell - South Dublin County Arts Office

Arts Officer

E: oscannell@sdublincoco.ie

T: 01 414 9000