This Thursday marks the start of Dublin Gallery Weekend, featuring 100 artists, 40 galleries, and 60 events in one city.
There are tours on both Saturday and Sunday. One can join a tour without needing to book in advance. Additionally, there are events, such as artist talks.
Feltmakers Ireland guild member Annika Berglund has a piece at the Olivier Cornet Gallery‘s ‘An Ode to Giants’, a group show featuring the gallery’s artists, who have been asked to respond to their favourite artworks from three Dublin museums: IMMA, The National Gallery of Ireland and The National Museum of Ireland. This exhibition launches on Friday at 6:30 PM..
When: Thursday, the 6th through Sunday, the 9th of November.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For content-related questions, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
Nine of the Sow’s Ear Collective will have their work exhibited at the dlr Mill Theatre in Dundrum, South Dublin. Included in the show are Feltmakers Ireland members Fiona Leech and Sandra Reynolds. The collective’s work encompasses a range of media, including art, ceramics, felt, embroidery, and more.
When: The show runs from the 2nd of November to the 10th of January, 2026.
The opening is this Sunday, the 2nd, from 4 to 6 PM. All are welcome to attend.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For content-related questions, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
There is still time to apply to the annual international Loewe FoundationCraft Prize.
Even if you are not interested in applying, please take a look at the online exhibition of the previous winners and shortlisters of this fine craft award; their work is truly inspiring! Each listing includes a video tour of the artist’s studio. And while there doesn’t YET appear to be any works using the technique of feltmaking, there are makers who utilise other textile methods.
The Loewe Foundation Craft Prize celebrates “excellence, artistic merit and newness in modern craftsmanship. A panel of experts will select the winning entry, which will receive a €50,000 prize, from a shortlist of 30 artists. All finalist works will be presented in an exhibition in Singapore, opening in spring 2026.”
Submissions are open until the 30th of October, 2025.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
This is the last week to catch Sculpture in Context at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland. The exhibition runs through this Friday, the 10th of October and includes the work of over 90 artists.
Note: The RTE program will only be available for viewing within Ireland and will only be up for 21 days from the original transmission date.
Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
The dlr (Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council in Dublin) invites professional artists to apply for an exhibition in the Municipal Gallery, dlr Lexlcon.
This is an opportunity to apply for an exhibition featuring work that has already been created and does not have to be developed specifically for dlr LexIcon. But it must have been made within the last five years.
They will select three exhibitions, one for each year, from 2027 to 2029.
Additional Info:
One can apply if one is a professional artist living in Ireland, working in the visual arts or in contemporaryfine art-led craft.
One can apply as an individual artist. One can apply as a group of artists who work together or as a group of artists who would like to exhibit together.
One can apply if you are a curator working with one or more artists.
Closing date for the Open Call: Monday, the 3rd of November, 2025 at 2 PM
Gallery information meetings: They will hold two information meetings to give interested artists a chance to hear about the Gallery and what is needed for this application:
In-person – There will be an in-person gallery visit with Arts Office staff on Tuesday, the 7th of October 2025, at 6 PM.
Online – There will be an online information meeting on Thursday, the 9th of October at 11:30 AM.
Please contact them by email arts@dlrcoco.ie or phone (01) 236 27 59 to book a place on one of these information meetings.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
Several of Feltmakers Ireland members are participating in this year’s Culture Night – Friday, the 19th of September.
Art Exhibition – Sutton, Co Dublin
Guild members Sandra Reynolds and Fiona Leech are amongst the artists who are exhibiting as part of Sow’s Ear Collective at the Bayside Community Centre. “Taking Shape” is the second group exhibition from the Sow’s Ear Collective, a gathering of multidisciplinary artists working across painting, sculpture, textiles, and more.
When: 7 PM – 10 PM, on Friday, the 19th of September.
Tamzen Lundy and her colleagues at GATHER Kildare will be hosting an open night. Watch live demonstrations of traditional and contemporary skills, including feltmaking, wood carving, and glassmaking.
When: 4:30 PM – 6 PM, on Friday, the 19th of September.
If you are a guild member who is participating in a Culture Night event, please let us know – FeltmakersIE@gmail.com
Disclaimer for Feltmakers Ireland Blog
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
Guild member Astrid Tomrop-Hofmann has been invited to exhibit her work at the Shoreline Arts Festival, in Portumna, Co Galway. The Visual Arts Exhibition is displayed in the beautiful and historical museum, The Irish Workhouse Centre.
The show runs from Monday, the8th of September, through Sunday, the 21st.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
‘Warped and Wasted Exhibition’Textile TalksTextile Challenge
Seam Collective, a contemporary textile collective of textile practitioners based in the southwest of the UK, has three items of interest: an exhibition, a series of textile talks, and a textile challenge.
The Exhibition
Firstly, they have a group exhibition, ‘Warped and Wasted’, which focuses on textiles, sustainability, and collaboration.
Secondly, the Seam Collective will host a series of Textile Talks, both in-person and online, on Friday, the 3rd of October. The collective and invited peers in the fields of textiles, visual arts, and sustainability will discuss issues of textiles and sustainability, adding to the critical dialogue around sustainable arts practices locally, nationally, and internationally.
Finally, the Seam Collective is once again hosting their annual online challenge, #SeptTextileLove. (They have been doing this challenge for nine years!) You can visit Instagram to see the work they are sharing from the exhibition, re-share it with a 💛, or contribute your own posts that relate to the daily prompts. They request that you include the hashtags #SeptTextileLove and #SeptTextileLove25 in your caption, and tag @seam_collective. There are also new daily hashtags, such as #STL25Day1, #STL25Day2, and so on, making it easier to find posts.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
The ‘Common Threads exhibition’ opened on Thursday, the 7th of August at the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland’s (DCCI) National Design & Craft Gallery, Castle Yard, Kilkenny. The show curated by Sarah Ross features a mix of work from Feltmakers Ireland and the Quilters’ Guild of Ireland.
The turnout at the opening was great, and we all had the opportunity to see an amazing array of works by both feltmakers and quilters. Seeing the two types of crafts side by side was very illuminating; they represented very different ways of making, yet both featured intricate and fantastic work. As a feltmaker, I gained a deeper respect for the skill and patience required to create the quilted artworks on display.
Photos of the Gallery
At the opening, Feltmakers Ireland was represented by at least 14 of our members, who enjoyed the buzz and the lovely weather.
From left to right: Eithne O’Dea, Hilary Delaney, Joanne Foley, Mary O’Rourke, Claire Merry, Hélène Dooley, Sandra Reynolds, Annika Berglund, Fiona Leech, Jane Fox, Siobhan Healy Ryan, Sharon Wells, Leiko Uchiyama, and Deirdre Crofts. Editor’s Note: We apologise if we have noted anyone’s name incorrectly.
The exhibition was opened by the head of the DCCI, Mary Blanchfield, followed by a speech by Moya Gerarthy of the Quilters Guild of Ireland. After that, it was my turn. Our blog mistress, Juliane, asked me for my written notes, but since I only had keywords, the gist of it was that the two sets of works looked great together!
Annika Berglund and Mary BlanchfieldAnnika Berglund, Moya Gerarthy, Mary Blanchfield, and Sarah Ross
Then, I talked about the symbology of how wool is made, where wisps of wool combine into a strong whole through pressure and agitation, and I drew parallels to how our members come together and form a community. Finally, I extended a heartfelt thank you to the DCCI and our curator, Sarah Ross, who selected the work and worked with the gallery personnel to create a stunning exhibition. She spoke last and talked about the (massive) work involved in picking and how impressed she was with the quality of work on show.
We heartily recommend a visit to the gallery before the end of the show, which runs until the 1st of November.
~~ Annika Berglund, Dublin Ireland.
Portraits of Members
Annika BerglundDeirdre CroftsLeiko UchiyamaSiobhan Healy RyanSandra ReynoldsJoanne FoleyChristine JordanSharon WellsFiona LeechRamona FarrellyTamzen Lundy with the poster for the exhibitionLidiia NecheporenkoEithne O’DeaClaire MerryJuliane GormanNeasa RyanEmily A ThompsonHilary Delaney
Some more information about the show:
A contemporary textile exhibition exploring connection through fibre and form. This contemporary textile exhibition delves into the theme of connection—between people, materials, and traditions—through the tactile language of fibre and form. The exhibition will run from August 7 to November 1, 2025, offering visitors a rich sensory experience that celebrates both innovation and heritage in Irish textile art, showcasing the intricate and expressive work of artists from Feltmakers Ireland and The Quilters Guild of Ireland.
From our press release:
“This show is a testament to the creativity and technical expertise of the members of Feltmakers Ireland. Each piece tells a unique story, a vision realised in the medium of wool. It is a celebration of the diversity of feltmaking across Ireland. We are proud to showcase work that not only honours our craft but also pushes the boundaries of contemporary textile art.”
Feltmakers members included in the exhibition:
Annika Berglund
Christine Jordan
Claire Merry
Deirdre Crofts
Eithne O’Dea
Elaine Peden
Emily A Thompson
Fiona Leech
Heather Byrne
Hélène Dooley
Hilary Delaney
Jane Fox
Joanne Foley
Juliane Gorman
Karena Ryan
Leiko Uchiyama
Lidiia Necheporenko
Neasa Ryan
Ramona Farrelly
Sandra Reynolds
Sharon Wells
Siobhan Healy Ryan
Tamzen Lundy
Some Work from the Exhibition
Appreciation
Thank you to the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland, curator Sarah Ross, the Quilters Guild of Ireland, and the National Design and Craft Gallery of Ireland. Also, thanks to Annika for writing up the recap for the guild.
Thank you to the Gallery for the professional photos of the space, which we ‘borrowed’ from Instagram. Lastly, thank you to the members who shared their pictures via Instagram or WhatsApp. We apologise if we missed any artists’ works.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
This year’s annual international Loewe FoundationCraft Prize is now accepting applications.
Even if you are not interested in applying, please do check out the online exhibition of the previous winner and shortlisters of this fine craft award; their work is inspiring! Each listing includes a video tour of the artist’s studio. And while there doesn’t appear to be any works using the technique of feltmaking, there are some amazing textiles!
The Loewe Foundation Craft Prize celebrates “excellence, artistic merit and newness in modern craftsmanship. A panel of experts will select the winning entry, which will receive a €50,000 prize, from a shortlist of 30 artists. All finalist works will be presented in an exhibition at Singapore, opening in spring 2026.”
Submissions are open until the 30th of October, 2025.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
Feltmakers Ireland 