Applications are now open for the 2025 residency. Apply here.
The closing date for all applications is the 4th of April 2025 at 4 pm sharp.
This residency is available from the 6th of July to the 31st of July 2025 (inclusive).
The RHA School in partnership with Áras Éanna are delighted to offer a visual artist residency on Inis Oírr for the month of July.
Áras Éanna Ionad Ealaíne is the most westerly arts centre in Europe, located on the small Gaeltacht island of Inis OÍrr in Co Galway. The centre supports artists through its Artist in Residence programme. We offer artists the time and space to develop their practice and show new work in the unique environment of this island, which has a population of just under 300 people.
We welcome applications from visual artists to come and live and work on Inis Oírr and provide up to ten residencies each year. Each residency includes an on-site private apartment and a self-contained studio, and access to our galleries and theatre. The successful applicant will receive a €1000 stipend funded by Ealaín na Gaeltachta.
The last RHA | Aras Eanna artist in residence was Tina O'Connell who was awarded the residency in 2024.
Artist testimonial:
The summer residency with Áras Éanna and the RHA provided an invaluable opportunity to immerse myself in a deeply reflective and creative space. Having just completed my degree, the residency allowed me time to process my artistic journey and explore new ideas in a setting that felt both inspiring and restorative. The peaceful landscape of Inis Oírr, particularly the holy well, Tobar Éinne, offered a profound sense of tranquility and connection. My father was a fisherman, and as children, he would bring us across the water from Doolin to Inis Oírr in a currach he built himself. Years later, a local man on the island bought the currach, and during my residency, he told me that it still rests on the beach in Inis Oírr today. This unexpected reconnection with my past evoked strong memories of my childhood and times spent with my father and grandfather, deeply influencing the work I created. The warmth and generosity of the islanders, along with the support of Áras Éanna’s staff and the welcoming environment fostered by Aisling and Dara, made the residency an enriching and unforgettable experience.Image courtesy of the artist.