Tag: Open Calls

Open Call: World of Wearable Art Competition 2026 & Webinars

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

For more than 35 years, finalists in the World of WearableArt (WOW) Competition have captivated audiences at the annual WOW Show in Wellington, New Zealand. The event celebrates the fusion of art, design, fashion, and performance, offering designers a global platform to showcase their work and join an international creative community. The competition invites creators to push boundaries and craft extraordinary wearable artworks.

Each year, six themes are introduced to inspire creators. Three of these are recurring: Aotearoa, Avant-Garde, and Open. The remaining themes are unique to 2026: Metallic, Kinetic, and Bizarre Bra.

This year, there is also a series of live webinars, which will be recorded –

  • 9th of December 2025, 12 PM New Zealand Time = GMT + 13 (It is tonight at 11 PM, Irish Time) – From Everyday to Extraordinary: Your Guide to Bizarre Bra
  • 21st of January 2026, 6 PM New Zealand Time – Photography & Video: How to Capture Your Creation

The sign-ups for the webinars are here – https://www.worldofwearableart.com/content-hub/wow-webinars

There is an inspiring archive of past winners on the website – https://www.worldofwearableart.com/explore/wearableart-archive

The application deadline for designers outside of New Zealand is the 12th of February, 2026.

For more information, visit WOW’s website – https://www.worldofwearableart.com/competition/entry-information

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.

Open Call: Golden Fleece Award for 2026 – Applications Now Open

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

The Golden Fleece Award was founded in 2001 through a bequest by Irish artist and weaving educator, Lillias Mitchell (1915-2000). She created our friend organisation, the Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers. The mission of the Golden Fleece Award is to provide resources for practising contemporary visual artists and makers to innovate and develop their artistic vision.

The annual award supports artists working in all forms of visual, craft and applied arts at critical junctures of their careers. Applicants should reside in, or originally from, the island of Ireland. Since its inception in 2002, over 100 applicants have been shortlisted for, or have received, a Golden Fleece Award.

This year, there are two main awards worth €10,000 each, along with smaller Merit or special awards:

  • Category 1: Visual Art
  • Category 2: Craft + Applied Art

Despite the Award being open equally to creative practitioners working in all forms of visual, craft, and applied arts across the two categories, historically, the majority of applications for the Golden Fleece Award have been submitted by visual artists. While the Trustees of the Award welcome these, they are also keen to continue encouraging applications to Category 2 from craftspeople, designers and makers.

For 2025, just under 290 applications were received for the 2025 Award.

  • 165 for Category 1: Visual Art and 122 for Category 2: Craft + Applied Art.

For 2024, just over 240 applications were received for the Award.

  • 197 for Category 1: Visual Art and <only> 45 for Category 2: Craft + Applied Art! 

Note: The number of applicants is much smaller than that for the Arts Council of Ireland’s Agility award. According to the Arts Council’s Twitter/X, “We received a record number of 3,279 applications for our 2024 Agility Award”.

One can also read past shortlisted Golden Fleece Award submissions from individual artists and craftspeople to gain an understanding of the judging. It is fascinating and inspiring to see. https://www.goldenfleeceaward.com/artists

For example, here is a link to the submission of 2024 shortlisted artist and tapestry weaver, Frances Crowe – https://www.goldenfleeceaward.com/artists/frances-crowe

And here is a link to functional basketmaker Rosemary Kavanagh’s submission –https://www.goldenfleeceaward.com/artists/rosemary-kavanagh

So, feltmakers and other textile folks in Ireland, please apply for the award!

Deadline: Friday, the 28th of November, 2025, at 5 PM.

For full details and to apply, visit their website – https://www.goldenfleeceaward.com/award/about

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.

Open Call: Loewe Foundation Craft Prize – Deadline the 30th of October

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

There is still time to apply to the annual international Loewe Foundation Craft 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.

Here are three interesting examples:

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.

For more information, visit their website –https://craftprize.loewe.com/en/craftprize2026

Their Instagram: @loewefoundation

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.

Open Call: Individual Mobility Grants for Creatives

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Culture Moves Europe offers grants to artists and cultural professionals who wish to develop a mobility project between their country of residence and another Creative Europe country. No specific level of experience is required.

Requirements: One artistic or cultural project to be carried out in another Creative Europe country, with the support of an international partner. This project must align with at least two of the following objectives: learning, creating, exploring, or connecting. 

The call is open from the 1st of October 2025 to the 30th of April 2026.

It is a rolling call, which means that projects will be selected and grants distributed on a monthly basis. There are monies for daily expenses, travel allowances, and more.

There will be two online information sessions in October about the Culture Moves Europe opportunity.

  • Friday, the 10th of October at 10 AM Irish Time
  • Friday, the 17th of October at 10 AM Irish Time.

Here is the link to register: https://goetheinstitut.typeform.com/to/ArdpJSBL

For more information about the programme, visit their website –
https://culture.ec.europa.eu/culture-moves-europe

Their Instagram – @culturemoveseurope

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.

Open Call: Exhibitions for Municipal Gallery – dlr LexIcon – Co Dublin

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

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 contemporary fine 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.
  • One can apply as an arts organisation.

Please note that this Open Call Exhibition opportunity differs from their Visual Art Commission, which is for the creation of entirely new work. More info about THAT, here – https://www.dlrcoco.ie/arts/funding-opportunities/visual-art-commission-2027-2028-and-2029

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.

For further information and to apply, visit their website – https://www.dlrcoco.ie/arts/funding-opportunities/open-call-exhibitions-municipal-gallery-dlr-lexicon-2027-2028-and-2029

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.

Open Call: InnLyte Studio Series – Short Documentary Videos about Wellness and Creativity

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland
Open Call -artists and makers across Ireland - link between creativity and wellbeing.

Visual artists or makers based in Ireland, with a physical studio space, and who have experienced how creativity can support their wellbeing or mental health, are invited to participate in the InnLyte Studio Series of short documentary videos.

The InnLyte Studio Series focuses on visual artists and makers who work with materials like paint, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, textiles, mixed media, or any other tactile, visual art forms.

This is an independent and self-funded project by Dee Stopa.

There’s no payment, but selected artists will receive professional photographs and be part of a meaningful conversation.

This open call is ongoing.

Previous documentaries about artists can be watched on YouTube, here – https://www.youtube.com/@InnLyte/videos

For more information, visit this website – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd0eHT1xt6Rf8J3F2f8IH8P4HjSlRBttkPMcgWPugDs8mYGnQ/viewform

Their Instagram – @innlyte

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.

Open Call: Irish Design Week – 17-21st of November

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

The Design and Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCI) is now accepting registrations for this year’s Design Week, which takes place from November 17th to 21st.

The DCCI invites designers, makers, educators, and creatives across Ireland to apply for funding to run events that reflect this year’s theme: “The ties that tie, and the links that link”

Your event can be a talk, exhibition, open studio, workshop or other activity.

The deadline for applications is the 12th of September, 2025.

For more information, visit their website – https://www.dcci.ie/whats-on/irish-design-week-2025/

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.

Open Call: Loewe Foundation Craft Prize

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

This year’s annual international Loewe Foundation Craft 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!

Here are just three examples:

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.

For more information, visit their website –https://craftprize.loewe.com/en/craftprize2026

Their Instagram: @loewefoundation

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.

Open Call: Craftwork 4.0 All – Residencies in 12 European Countries

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

Craftwork 4.0 All has announced an opportunity for craft residencies in twelve countries across Europe, which will take place from November 2026 to Aug 2027. Detailed information on themes, places and conditions will be presented by Residency Hosts during the first online session.

Open to craftspeople from any EU country, the residencies can be held in the following countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.

Residencies can be for one week, two weeks, or three weeks. The financial support for craft practitioners covers travel, accommodation, daily subsistence, and materials.

Deadline: Register by the 1st of September for the first online Zoom session, which is scheduled for the 19th of September, 2025.

For more information, visit their website – https://www.craftwork4all.com/residencies-onboarding/

Their Instagram: @craftwork4all

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.

Open Call: Hunt Museum Annual Exhibition

Published on by Feltmakers Ireland

The Hunt Museum in Limerick invites artists from across Ireland and beyond to submit work for its annual exhibition.

This inaugural show will offer a platform for both emerging and established artists to showcase their work. Submissions are invited from visual artists working in paint, photography, sculpture, print, drawing and mixed media.

The selected pieces will be exhibited at the Hunt Museum, providing artists with the opportunity to gain public exposure and engage with a diverse audience.

Submission deadline: Sunday, the 31st of August, 2025.

For more information, visit their website – https://www.huntmuseum.com/whats-on/hunt-museum-open-submission-exhibition/

Hunt Museum’s Instagram – @huntmuseum

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.