RDS Craft Awards

RDS Craft Awards Rules of Entry

The RDS Craft Awards consists of 5 x €10,000 bursaries to assist with the business and skills development of emerging professional Irish craft makers.

A further €10,000 bursary will fund the new RDS Irish Craft Bursary which will be run by the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland and is open to Portfolio selected makers only.

Only winners of the Design & Craft Council of Ireland’s Future Makers Awards & Supports Programme in the preceding year are eligible to apply for the RDS Craft Awards.

The work of entrants to the RDS Craft Awards must be handmade or partly handmade to qualify as craft.

The bursaries are to enable the winners to further their professional career. The money can be spent on further education and training, research, development of new work, mentoring, purchase of equipment, studio improvements, technology, website & residencies.

The eligible applicants are required to complete a detailed online application form which will be emailed to them. 6 x good quality images of their work must be uploaded as part of the process. Late application forms will not be accepted.

Winners have the opportunity to share their work at an RDS Craft Awards Winners branded stand at Gifted – The Contemporary Craft & Design Fair in the RDS for five days in early December.

Candidates shortlisted for interview will be informed and invited to attend in the RDS. Physical examples of the maker's work should be brought to interview. Work submitted should be of the maker's own design and made within the last two years.

The RDS Arts Programme Manager will attend the interview as an observer.

The RDS reserves the right to use images submitted as part of the RDS Craft Awards application process in the promotion of the Awards. The makers retain copyright of these images.

The RDS reserves the right to withdraw or redistribute funding if applications received are not of sufficient quality.

The winners of the RDS Craft Awards will be announced by the RDS on a date to be confirmed.

The judges’ decision will be final. No correspondence will be entered into.

Winners will be required to submit a report within 12 months to the RDS stating how they spent the award and outlining the impact of winning on their career development/progression. Winners may be invited to speak at future events in the RDS.

A maker who wins a €10,000 RDS Craft Award must wait five years before being eligible to reapply and interview for a second RDS Craft Award. Candidates should note: It is only possible to win an RDS Craft Award twice in total.

The RDS Craft Awards judging panel is an independent panel of craft & design professionals engaged by the RDS to assess and judge the awards.

 2023 RDS Craft Awards Judging Panel Members

Mary Palmer, Textile Artist

Textile artist, Mary Palmer formed Marimu Quilts in 2006 as a spin-off from a successful textile arts supply business. Mary has been involved in the quilting scene in Cork for over 30 years and has exhibited traditional and modern works both at home and abroad. In addition, she teaches regularly, and helps to foster the development of new makers in Ireland. Mary is a qualified quilt judges and has served on numerous committees and held offices within the Irish Patchwork Society and was one of the founders of the cross-border initiative, Quilters Guild of Ireland and the Cork Textiles Network. In 2009, Mary has previously served on the board of Cork Craft & Design and the Design & Crafts Council Ireland. She has won numerous awards for her work both at home and abroad. Through her collaborative work with a Cork based textile artist, she was selected as one of Ireland’s 50 Craft Heroes and has a piece purchased under the National Acquisition Scheme in 2021.

Nuala O’Donovan – Ceramic Artist

Nuala O'Donovan initially trained in design and worked internationally for a number of years before returning to education at Middlesex University, UK, to complete a BA Hons in Metal and Glass in 1994. She returned to Ireland in 1997, where she lectured on the Interior Architecture degree programme at Munster Technological University. Driven by the desire to return to making work, she enrolled at Crawford College of Art and Design, MTU, to research geometry and patternmaking in ceramic material, and completed an MFA (Research) in 2008. She has since worked as a full-time artist, making sculptural work. Her work has been exhibited and published internationally, and forms part of several public collections, including those of the National Museum of Ireland, the Irish National Art Collection and the Ulster Museum. She has been a visiting lecturer and invited speaker at Irish and European Universities and ceramics festivals. She continues to live and work in Cork City.

Alan Meredith, Furniture Designer and Maker

Alan began working with wood from an early age. His work to date straddles the boundaries of contemporary craft, sculpture and architecture and has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. Alan’s creative approach is tied closely to his intimate understanding of wood and a desire to work directly with a given material when making a design. Having graduated with a Masters in Architecture from University College Dublin in September 2015, Alan currently works out of his studio in County Laois, imagining and creating one-of-a-kind and speculative pieces for both public and private clients.

Laura Caffrey, Designer and Business Owner

A graduate of the National College of Art and Design, Laura Caffrey established Irish Design Shop with fellow graduate Clare Grennan in 2008. Trading both online and from a brick-and-mortar shop in Dublin town, Irish Design Shop prides itself on promoting the work of some of Ireland's most exciting designer/makers. The newly renovated first-floor space showcases the in-house jewellery collection Names which is designed and made by Clare and Laura in their Dublin city centre workshop. In addition to the jewellery range, Laura co-designs the growing Áras range of homewares with Clare. Working with skilled designers and makers across Ireland, this collection of affordable and innovative products are intended for everyday use.  Laura is a talented designer and maker who understands the importance of branding and product development in the craft industry. 

Judging Criteria

• The quality of the work being put forward
• The clarity of the application
• There is a sense that the applicant has a future career as a professional craftsperson

For further information please contact
Email: arts@rds.ie