Winners at the 34th annual Business to Arts Awards included landmark cultural infrastructure, nationwide access initiatives and creative responses to inclusion and climate action, alongside €25,000 presented through three bursaries.
Last night, 13 awards were presented at the Business to Arts Awards at the National Concert Hall. Hosted by journalist and broadcaster Dearbhail McDonald, the Awards recognised purposeful partnerships between business and the arts across ten categories, alongside three monetary awards worth a total of €25,000.
The CBRE Major Arts Partnership Award was presented to Kennedy Wilson and PhotoIreland for establishing the International Centre for the Image at Coopers Cross, creating a dedicated home for contemporary photography. Basis.point and The Gate Theatre won the Small Arts Partnership Award for the nationwide livestream of Katriona O’ Sullivan’s POOR, bringing socially engaged, professional theatre to more than 22,000 students in 337 schools across 29 counties.
Projects addressing accessibility, inclusion and sustainability also featured among this year's winners. The Irish Life Creativity in the Community Award was presented to Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark and artist AlanJames Burns for ‘Divergently Together’, a cross-border project empowering neurodivergent and disabled people to participate in climate action through creative engagement. The ESB Creative Sustainability Award recognised the Irish Architecture Foundation, 12th Field and Offaly and Meath County Councils for ‘Bog Bothy’, a partnership exploring the future of Ireland's peatlands through architecture, placemaking and community participation.
Other notable winners include Irish Life and artist James Earley, awarded the Jim McNaughton/TileStyle Perpetual Award for Best Commissioning Practice for ‘Life In Threes’, a landmark permanent commission created for the organisation's redeveloped Dublin headquarters. The Community Foundation Ireland Arts Philanthropy Award recognised Ecclesiastical Insurance for its long-standing commitment to supporting arts, heritage and community organisations through its unique purpose-driven charitable ownership model. The Judges' Special Recognition Award was presented to Ipsos B&A and Graphic Studio Dublin, honouring an incredible partnership of more than 35 years of commissioning and championing contemporary Irish printmaking.
Bursaries and monetary awards totalling €25,000 were also presented. The Irish Times €5,000 Arts Award went to Music Network and the Katharine Howard Foundation, while artists Peter Power and Leon Butler, working at the intersection of art and technology, received the Accenture €10,000 Digital Innovation in Art Bursary. Now in its 18th year, the Jim McNaughton/TileStyle €10,000 Artist’s Bursary was presented to Aoibheann McCaul to develop a one-woman theatre piece exploring infertility, IVF and miscarriage in Ireland.
Award winners were presented with ‘Intertidal’, a limited-edition glass sculpture by Wexford-based artist Fiona Byrne. Commissioned by Business to Arts and supported by returning Award Sculpture Commissioning Partner, Catapult, the limited-edition sculpture reflects the enduring value of partnership between business and the arts.
“ The strongest partnerships between business and the arts do more than support great work. They change who gets to participate, what gets made and what becomes possible. That is why Business to Arts exists: to bring business and culture together and help build partnerships that are ambitious, purposeful and sustainable. This year’s winners show the extraordinary results of that commitment, and we are proud to celebrate the people and organisations making it happen across Ireland.”
The 2026 Business to Arts Awards winners are:
CBRE Major Arts Partnership Award
Kennedy Wilson & PhotoIreland: International Centre for the Image
Small Arts Partnership Award
basis.point & The Gate Theatre: live stream of POOR
The Irish Times Long-Term Partnership Award
ESB & National Concert Hall: Quavers to Quadratics
Irish Life Creativity in the Community Award
Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark & AlanJames Burns: Divergently Together
Creativity in the Workplace Award
Connected Hubs & Contemporary Irish Art Society: Art in the Hubs
ESB Creative Sustainability Award
Irish Architecture Foundation, 12th Field & Offaly and Meath County Councils: Bog Bothy
Jim McNaughton/TileStyle Perpetual Award for Best Commissioning Practice
Irish Life & James Earley: Life In Threes
Creative Access Award
Specsavers Limerick & University Concert Hall: Panto for All
Community Foundation Ireland Arts Philanthropy Award
Ecclesiastical Insurance
Judges' Special Recognition Award
Ipsos B&A & Graphic Studio Dublin: Ipsos B&A Art Collection
The Irish Times €5,000 Arts Award
Music Network
Jim McNaughton/TileStyle €10,000 Artist’s Bursary
Aoibheann McCaul
Accenture €10,000 Digital Innovation in Art Bursary
Peter Power & Leon Butler
“ As a philanthropic hub we see the arts as central to our mission to advance equality, strengthen communities and protect climate and nature. The 2026 awards celebrate a sector which is vibrant, energetic and connected with communities. Ecclesiastical Insurance is an outstanding winner of the Philanthropy Award. With profits contributing directly to the arts and wider charitable giving it promotes a business model which has the community at its very core. Congratulations to all winners.”
