Artist Opportunities
No current opportunities available for you? Why not take a look at some of the ways that we work with artists or join The Ark Artists Club!
Open Call - Cruinniú na nÓg
Open Call for an Artist to create a multi-sensory space for children from birth – 2 years at The Ark.
The Ark Children’s Cultural Centre’s purpose is to realise children’s right to art and culture with ambition and joy. We do so by commissioning, producing and presenting fun and ambitious art for, by, with and about children from birth to age 12.
We believe that children are entitled to great art made especially for them. We are therefore delighted to invite artists to submit a proposal for an installation, space transformation or creative experience for children from birth to 2 years and their grown-ups in The Ark’s basement. (16m long x 3.2m wide x 2.6m high)
Cruinniú na nÓg at The Ark
Supported by Creative Ireland, Cruinniú na nÓg @ The Ark 2026 will host a full programme of creative activities for children from birth to 12 years. For children aged 2 to 12 years and their grown-ups, there will be animation and illustration workshops, family friendly music concerts, the opening of Cartoon Saloon’s ‘My Father’s Dragon’ exhibition and creative response areas for children.
We are also creating a dedicated space for children from birth to 2 years to be creative also in our basement space.
The Opportunity
The open call is for a lead artist to create an installation, creative experience or space transformation for children from birth to 2 years to engage with along with their grown-ups, which will open to the public on Cruinniú na nÓg . The babies & early years space will then stay in place for The Ark’s Summer programme from June to August. Materials can be replenished for this space but any structures, set-ups, furniture should be created to last for the full summer programme.
This age range includes stationary babies, crawlers and toddlers and each of these stages should be considered in the design of the space.
Child participation is at the heart of The Ark’s practice. The artist will therefore be given the opportunity to devise and lead a series of workshops with this age range and their grown-ups in order to explore ideas, test design elements, prototypes and child engagement to ensure the accessibility and suitability of the finished creative space for the intended age range.