Sample-Studios

11/09/2026

We are delighted to have received The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon Arts Grants Funding for 2027 and 2028. This support is critical to the delivery of our exhibitions, education and artist development supports programming, as well as the provision of professional studios for artists in Cork.

We are delighted to award a total of €17.2 million to 220 organisations and individual artists across Ireland through the latest round of our Arts Grant Funding scheme.

Arts Grant Funding supports individual artists and organisations across a range of artforms to carry out multiple activities over a fixed period. It focuses on ensuring there is a breadth of high-quality arts activity and programmes throughout the country.

Speaking recently, Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O'Donovan said:

"This significant investment in artists and arts audiences demonstrates the state’s continuing commitment to supporting and uplifting Ireland’s robust creative culture. It ensures the ongoing development of the arts in communities and localities across the country."

Minister O'Donovan was joined for the announcement by Arts Council Chair Maura McGrath, and aerial artists and Arts Grant Funding recipients Henrik Gard and Ali Stanger.

Read more on our website: https://artscouncil.ie/news/minister-patrick-odonovan-joins-the-arts-council-to-announce-e17-million-worth-of-awards-to-more-than-200-arts-organisations-and-individuals-across-ireland/

📷 Andres Poveda

11/09/2026

Lovely moments from last night’s Opening Reception of our Annual Members Summer Exhibition in Market Gallery when members Joy Kavanagh and Claire O Reilly received the Jury Choice and People’s Choice Awards. They were selected during our Annual Members Summer Exhibition in The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion (2 July - 23 August). They each received a €500 prize. Congratulations to Joy and Claire on their very well-deserved wins!

10/09/2026

Lads, what a belter of a day at Sample-Studios. We kicked off another RAW (Reduce Artist Waste) training day with our vastly knowledgeable facilitator and member Ashleigh Ellis who shared her insights on making papers and integrating natural materials into sculptural forms. This training is supported by Cork City Council LEAF and Circular Economy Funds. After, we all gathered in Market Gallery Gallery to open our Annual Members Exhibition which includes 45 local artist’s work. Huge congratulations to Claire O Reilly winner of The People’s Voice Award as voted by our visitors to The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion. Congratulations too to Joy Kavanagh winner of The Jury Award as voted by our jury this year Emer Yip Board Member of Sample-Studios, and Gerard Sexton (Salim) Director of the Market Gallery

10/09/2026

Lads, what a belter of a day at Sample-Studios. We kicked off another RAW (Reduce Artist Waste) training day with our vastly knowledgeable facilitator and member Ashleigh Ellis who shared her insights with fellow members on making papers and integrating natural materials into sculptural forms. After, we all gathered in Market Gallery to open our Annual Members Exhibition which includes 45 local artist’s work. Huge congratulations to Claire O Reilly winner of The People’s Voice Award as voted by our visitors to The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion. Congratulations too to Joy Kavanagh winner of The Jury Award as voted by our jury this year Emer Yip Board Member of Sample-Studios, and Gerard Sexton (Salim) Director of the Market Gallery

09/09/2026

Have you visited 'The Rocket's Red Glare' in Sample-Studios Gallery: The Lord Mayor's Pavilion yet? This solo exhibition by Barbara Diener unfolds across Diener’s own photographs accompanied by archival materials which together explore the complex history of N**i engineer-turned-NASA rocket scientist Wernher von Braun. The work at times incorporates composite images, layering contemporary photographs with archival imagery to blur the boundary between fact and fiction to address how history can be used to construct narratives.

📅 The exhibition continues until 3 October. Open Tue-Sat 11am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm

Photos by Roland Paschhoff

07/09/2026

We’re excited for the Business to Arts Awards 2026 this evening! It’s an honour to be shortlisted again this year, this time alongside our partners Cork Opera House and Fleetwood Paints in the category Jim McNaughton/TileStyle Perpetual Award for Best Commissioning Practice!

The commission, commemorating the 170th anniversary of Cork Opera House, was awarded to Sample-Studios Member Sophie Longwill Sophie Longwill. A Cork-based multi award-winning artist, Sophie created the work entitled Illuminating the Archives using 170 individual pieces of glass commemorating those who have performed on Cork Opera House stage and been part of their story.

The piece now hangs permanently in foyer of Cork Opera House’s foyer.

Thanks to Business to Arts for the nomination! We’re honoured to be nominated alongside our partners Cork Opera House and Fleetwood Paints.

07/09/2026

✨Member Monday✨
Sarah Long is our latest Artist in Residence in TRISKEL SAMPLE Project Space in Triskel Arts Centre, in place from 3 September - 25 October. Her work critiques suppressed female archetypes, the politics of representation, nationhood and myth through the lens of feminism.

During her residency, Long will develop and present a new body of work entitled 'I Want To Talk About Ireland', a visual autofiction engaging painting, performance, sound and writing as material. She uses her autofictional persona Mary, a modern day iteration of the Mother Ireland figure, alongside the aesthetics and fluidity of girlhood, as a mode of criticality. The work expands on the tradition of the aisling—Aisling is the Irish term for ‘dream’ or ‘vision’. It is also the name of a poetic genre where the Irish nation appears to the poet as a woman, often employed to reflect on the political and social concerns of any given times. Invoking the language of dreams, Long identifies reverberations in Irish culture and combines these references with personal stories and motifs.

There will be plenty of opportunities to engage with Long's work as it develops so we look forward to welcoming you to TRISKEL SAMPLE Project Space. Full details can be found on the Events page of our website at the link in our bio!

Publication & Album Launch:
📆 Culture Night 18 September
⏰ 7-8:30pm
📍 TRISKEL SAMPLE Project Space, Triskel Arts Centre

Exhibition Opening Reception & Listening Event:
📆 24 September
⏰ 5:30-7:30pm
📍 TRISKEL SAMPLE Project Space & Christchurch, Triskel Arts Centre

Image: Sarah Long, 'Who's afraid of the little old Sionna? The Nightmare' (detail), Acrylic on canvas, 160cm x 120cm, 2026.

03/09/2026

Struàn Bell | Artist Residency at Uillinn

1 September – 1 October 2026
Studio open to the public: Tuesdays & Wednesdays

Today we welcomed one of our new Artists in Residence - Struàn Bell

During the residency at Uillinn, Struàn Bell explores sculpture, material, memory and meaning through sustained experimentation. Working across sculpture, drawing and writing, Bell develops new sculptural reliefs using materials and construction methods to explore speculative systems, constructed spaces and the contemporary Sublime.

Visit the studio on Tuesdays & Wednesdays to see the work develop.

This residency is supported by a 2025 Visual Arts Bursary from the Arts Council of Ireland, and by a Sample-Studios ‘Sample 15’ Artist Bursary.

Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre acknowledges the financial support of The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon in making these residencies possible.

The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon CorkCountyArts Cork County Council Struàn Bell

03/09/2026

We couldn't be happier to see 10 of our members receive the highly competitive The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon Agility Awards! We're delighted to celebrate their success in this hard-earned and very well deserved recognition of their excellent practice. Join us in offering our heartiest congratulations to:

1. Blanca Rice Cabrera
2. Michaela McCann
3. Grace Haynes
4. Danny Foley
5. Lisa O'Sullivan
6. Sarah Cogley
7. Leah Brown
8. Anna Moloney
9. Fionnuala Lanigan
10. Ailbhe Reilly-Tuite

02/09/2026

It's a wrap for this year's Annual Members Summer Exhibition in Sample-Studios Gallery: The Lord Mayor's Pavilion! We were thrilled to welcome over 3,100 visitors to the exhibition in our 15th anniversary year, and to see 13 pieces sold and heading to new homes!

If you'd like your work to be part of our year-round exhibition programme, consider becoming a member of our growing community of over 200 artists. Alongside exhibition opportunities, we offer a suite of bespoke residencies, international exchanges, professional development and mentorship opportunities to launch, support and sustain creative careers - check out our membership options and get in touch at www.sample-studios.com/membership