Deadline: 08-Sep-2025
The dlr Arts Office in partnership with Blackrock Education Centre wish to engage six artists for the Primary Arts Programme.
The programme supports children, artists and teachers to create, explore and encourages creative, process-based play in the classroom. They are open to applications from artists from all artforms. The dlr Primary Arts Programme is one of the oldest artists in schools’ programmes in the country to support thousands of primary school children and their teachers.
This programme expects artists to: create a positive, inclusive and process-based arts experience with the children and teacher in the classroom; give the children and teacher lots of opportunities to explore and learn; not worry about a final output or product, as the programme is about experiencing creativity and the processes involved; and share what happens in the classroom on the dlr Primary Arts Blog for the wider school community to enjoy.
The programme will run during the academic year from October 2025 to May 2026. Schools apply to take part, and six classes will be chosen. Six artists will be matched with six different teachers and their classes. The programme funds 24 hours for the artist to work with the children and teachers in the classroom and provides payment for the artist’s time to plan with the teacher, research, and contribute to the programme’s blog. There will be three meetings with the artists and teachers in Blackrock Education Centre on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, from 4-6 pm for an introductory session; Tuesday, January 20, 2026, from 4-6 pm for a mid-project session; and Tuesday, May 12, 2026, from 4-6 pm for an evaluation session.
Each artist will be paid €1,528 for 24 contact hours in the classroom, €550 for research and preparation, €300 for feeding into the blog, and €275 for five meetings to plan with the class teacher. Artists will also be paid €100 for each meeting they attend in Blackrock Education Centre.
This opportunity is open to professional artists with experience working with children in the classroom. The programme welcomes applications from artists with experience in creating art with children with disabilities and encourages any artist who can facilitate in the Irish language to indicate this. The programme also welcomes artists who represent the diversity of Irish society, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, civil or family status, religion, age, disability, race, or membership of the Traveller Community, or socio-economic background.
To apply, you will need to submit a CV outlining your arts experience, a statement about why you want to work on the programme, examples of previous work, and the name and contact details of two referees. Your CV should include examples of creating art with children in the classroom, and you should specify any experience working with children with disabilities or facilitating in the Irish language. The examples of previous work should include examples from a school environment. One of your referees should have worked with you on a similar project. The deadline for applications is 1 pm, Monday, September 8.
Applications will be assessed by a panel with representatives from the dlr Arts Office and an experienced primary school artist. The applications will be marked based on a scoring system, with a minimum qualifying mark of 80. If no applications reach this mark, a different selection process will be used. The top six applications will be selected, and a panel may be formed from other applications that score over 80 for future projects.
For more information, visit Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.
