THE SIX 2024 PRIZES & FIVE WINNERS ARE….
RDS Taylor Art Award €10,000
The RDS Taylor Art Award is a cash prize of €10,000 and is awarded as first prize in the RDS Visual Art Awards to the person the judges believe to be the most promising emerging visual artist in that year. All visual art disciplines will be considered for this award, which comes with some rich history having been awarded since 1860. Some of Ireland’s most respected artists have won the award over the years including, Walter Osbourne, William Orpen, Mainie Jellett, Norah McGuinness, Séan Keating, Dorothy Cross and James Hanley.
And the 2024 winner is SORCHA BROWNING
R.C. Lewis-Crosby Award €5,000
The R.C. Lewis-Crosby Award is a cash prize of €5,000. All visual art disciplines are considered for this prize which is the result of a bequest from Robin Lewis-Crosby, a former President of the RDS and Taylor Art Trustee for many years. The arts were always a key part of his life and he took a deep interest in the RDS Visual Art Awards. Before he died, he created a new award in his name for painting; a skill he wanted to encourage. When he died in 2008, he endowed a significant amount of money in his will to be managed by the RDS in order to ensure that the R.C. Lewis-Crosby Award would continue. In 2015 the Award which was formerly a painting prize, was opened to all visual art forms and increased to €5,000.
And the 2024 winner is AVA LOWRY
RDS Members' Art Fund Award €5,000
This award funded by RDS Members, is open to all visual art disciplines and all exhibiting artists will be automatically considered for this prize.
And the 2024 winner is KEARA SIMONSEN
RDS Mason Hayes & Curran LLP Centre Culturel Irlandais Residency Award (value €8,000)
The winner will have full-time access to a room and studio space for three months (June, July, August of year following their year of exhibition in the RDS) in the Centre Culturel Irlandais in the heart of Paris. This award has a non-cash equivalent value of €6,300. A cash award of €1,700 will be paid to the winner as part of the prize. Flights will also be organized by the CCI. Applicants for this award must tick the box on the RDS Visual Art Awards online application form to be considered for the Award. They must also state on the application form how the residency award would assist them with their creative practice and outline the focus of the residency. The judges will select the shortlist of candidates suitable for the award and the final decision will be made by the Director of the Irish Cultural Centre, Nora Hickey M’Sichili from those artists who applied for the award. This decision is based on the work presented to the competition as well as the written statement. On completion of the residency, the RDS will ask the successful resident to complete a report on how the residency award assisted them with their practice.
And the 2024 winner is FIONN TIMMINS
RHA Graduate Studio Award €7,500 value
The winner of this award will have 24-hour, full-time access to a (non-residential) studio space (inclusive of utilities), for one year in the RHA, Ely Place, Dublin 2. The winner must be able to take up the studio during the allocated time frame and will have free access to all RHA School classes and master-classes for the duration of the year. This award has a non-cash equivalent value of €5,000 and comes with a cash stipend of €2,500 (sponsored by the RDS Members' Arts Fund). Applicants for this award must tick the box on the online application form to be considered for the Award. They must also state on the application how the studio award would assist them with their creative practice and include an outline of their plans for the year. The winner will be selected by the RHA School Principal in consultation with the RHA Director from those artists who applied for the award. The decision is based on the quality of the work as well as the written statement. On completion of the residency, the RDS will ask the successful recipient to complete a report on how the studio award assisted them with their practice.
And the 2024 winner is MARY MADELEINE McCARROLL
RDS Graphic Studio Dublin Emerging Visiting Artist Award €5,000 value
The winner of this award will be offered a two-week residency with a Master Printer at Graphic Studio Dublin. It will allow the recipient to explore the medium of printmaking as part of their emerging practice, and give them an opportunity to exhibit at GSD's bi-annual Visiting Artist Exhibition. The winner must be able to take up the studio during the allocated time frame and will have support to create a series of two small or one medium original art fine art editions printed by professional printers at Graphic Studio Dublin. All materials and costs are covered by Graphic Studio Dublin. Each edition will be split between the artist and GSD with an artists’ proof being acquired for the RDS Arts Collection. The prints will be exhibited alongside the other Visiting Artist works in the bi-annual Visiting Artist Exhibition at the Graphic Studio Dublin Gallery Dublin. On completion of the residency, the RDS will ask the successful recipient to complete a report on how the studio award assisted them with their practice. This award has a non-cash equivalent value of €4,500 and comes with an artist cash stipend of €500.
And the 2024 winner is SORCHA BROWNING
The other artists exhibiting at RHA Gallery for the next nine weeks include: CAHAL O’CONNELL - MISS MARY JANE / CLAIRE RITCHIE / HEATHER HUGHES / KYLE FAIRBANKS / and STELL DE BURCA
FURTHER INFORMATION: https://www.rds.ie/rds-foundation/arts/vaa
(Dublin, 22 November 2024) Winners of the annual RDS Visual Art Awards were announced tonight at the RHA Gallery Dublin for the launch of the nine-week exhibition that celebrates ten emerging Irish artists. The ceremony at the gallery was hosted by the Chairperson of the RDS Foundation Board, Dr Andrew Power. There were two live performances by artists Mary Madeleine McCarroll who hosted a live drawing session of writings and symbols that were erased and redrawn on blackboards, accompanied by a Junkanoo drum soundscape - and Derry artist Cahal O’Connell as his drag persona Miss Mary Jane performed a cover of Nickelback’s ‘Rockstar’ - both are exhibiting artists as part of this annual exhibition.
This year’s awards were announced by Chairperson of the judging panel, Mary McCarthy, Director of the Crawford Gallery, Cork and presented by the RDS President, John Dardis. The quality of this year's applications was outstanding, and the ten artists included in this exhibition went through a rigorous two-stage selection and judging process. They are a real tribute to the professionalism and talent of the emerging artists coming into the professional visual arts sector. This year, the RDS Visual Art Awards partner with the RHA Gallery, where you can view the exhibition until 18 January, 2025.
The RDS Visual Art Awards applications were reviewed by a team of five professional curators: Paul McAree (Curator at Lismore Castle Arts), Eamonn Maxwell (Visual Art Curator and Advisor), Rayne Booth (Visual Art Curator and Producer), Sarah McAuliffe (Curator, RHA) and Benjamin Stafford (Curator, Visual Carlow). Between them they longlisted 120 graduates to move forward to the second stage of the competition which was later shortlisted to the ten artists who now exhibit their work at this annual exhibition.
A judging panel of five visual art professionals reviewed these shortlisted candidates before selecting the final 6 winning artists. The 2024 show is curated by acclaimed artist Colin Martin who is also the Head of the RHA School. The full expert judging panel is chaired by Mary McCarthy (Chair of the 2024 VAA panel and Director, Crawford Gallery Cork), and members also include Eithne Jordan (RHA Nominated Judge), Janice Hough (IMMA Nominated Judge), Gary Coyle (National Gallery of Ireland Nominated Judge) and Irish artist Colin Martin (Professional Artist & 2024 RDS VAA’s Exhibition Curator).
Commenting on the talent this year, the 2024 RDS VAA judging panel, chaired by Mary McCarthy said; “As a jury we were bowled over by the diversity and quality of all the shortlisted artists. The exhibition demonstrates the significance of the RDS Art Awards and how quickly it has established itself as a key cultural moment in the Irish Visual art scene. The works engage with contemporary issues of identity, environment and the body politic. We anticipate they will resonate with the exhibition’s various publics. We are very excited about the future of Irish art based on this exhibition.”
Dr Andrew Power, Chairperson, RDS Foundation Board said; “Since its establishment in 1731, the RDS has been dedicated to cultural and economic development in Ireland. The RDS Foundation, with its focus on Agriculture, Arts, Enterprise, Equestrian, Science and Technology is how we seek to archive that goal. The RDS Foundation Visual Art Awards provide a platform for graduates, from across the country, to showcase their work. With a total prize fund of more than €40,000 it continues a long-standing RDS tradition of supporting emerging Irish artistic talent. The prestigious RDS Taylor Art Award has been presented by the RDS since 1860 and is still one of the most important awards for emerging visual artists in Ireland today.”
Colin Martin, Artist and RDS Visual Art Awards and Exhibition Curator said: “The RDS Visual Arts Awards is an exciting and dynamic exhibition that brings together the innovative and relevant art practices of an emerging generation of visual artists where platform, practice and audience meet. The alchemy of these interwoven strands has a storied history and has forged the careers of many of today’s leading voices in contemporary visual arts. This year 10 emerging artists will exhibit at the Royal Hibernian Academy. These artists are a dynamic and innovative group that articulate, challenge and expand our visual culture and will form the new wave of artistic voices in Irish Contemporary Art.”
