2022 RDS Craft Awards Winners Announced

The winners of the annual RDS Craft Awards were announced today, where five emerging Irish craft makers and designers each received a €10,000 cash prize to support the development of their craft & business skills - and a much sought after free stand at the annual GIFTED - The Contemporary Craft & Design Fair which runs at the RDS each December. In addition to this the winners will also benefit from six hours of targeted mentoring with a craft & design professional.

Since 2018 the RDS Craft Awards, in its present guise, has awarded a quarter of a million euro (€250,000) in supports to emerging Irish makers. The awards are based on a bursary style model and can be spent on further education and training, research, development of new work, mentoring, purchase of equipment, studio improvements, website and residencies. This year’s applicants displayed ‘sustainability’ as a key driving force behind their work.

The Design & Crafts Council of Ireland’s Future Makers programme is the qualifying competition for the RDS Craft Awards. The quality of this year's applications was outstanding, and the ten shortlisted craft makers and designers went through a rigorous two stage selection and judging process to result in the five winners we see today. They are a real tribute to the professionalism and talent of the emerging makers coming into the professional craft sector this year.

The 2022 RDS Craft Awards winners are: Amy Kerr - Textile and Surface Design, Síofra Caherty - Fashion and Accessory Design, Fintan Mulholland – Knitwear, Katharina Treml – Ceramics and Laura Matikaite – Ceramics. 

The 23 RDS Craft Art Awards applications were reviewed by a judging team of 5 independent craft & design professionals who reviewed them from the 2021 Future Makers winners, and in turn shortlisted 10 candidates to attend interview in the RDS last month. Before selecting the final 5 winning makers today, Stevan Hartung [Furniture Designer & Maker]; Mary Palmer, [Textile Artist]; Nuala O'Donovan [Ceramic Artist]; and Siobhán Riordan, [Business Mentor], the members of the expert judging panel, and which is chaired by Dr. Jennifer Goff, [Curator of Furniture, Music and the Eileen Gray collection at National Museum of Ireland]. Dr. Goff comments on the high standard of this year’s awards “Over the last two years the RDS Craft Awards has continued to be a beacon of light for Irish craft makers. Once again, in 2022, the work submitted across Ireland represents the best of Irish design, decorative arts and craft. Irish makers continue to innovate, question, and challenge. It is wonderfully inspiring to see what Ireland’s makers are producing and to witness the resulting impact that their work has and will have on both a national and an international level. Their standard of excellence remains.”

Geraldine Ruane, RDS Chief Executive said, “Since the RDS Craft Awards was restructured in 2018, the RDS has invested €250,000 in 25 Irish craft makers and designers starting out in their professional careers. We are delighted to contribute to the development and growth of standards of excellence in the craft sector through our support of these talented makers. I know that all five winners will use the prize money to accelerate their career progression and I look forward to seeing their future success.”

For further infortmaiton on the winners visit www.rds.ie/craft-awards.