Awards Category and Bursary Winners
The Awards has a total of 12 categories, including nine main categories and three financial awards/bursaries.
All of our awards recognise excellence in arts partnerships. Specifically, our awards seek nominations that highlight exceptional collaborations between a business or philanthropic partner and an arts partner (organisation, collective, or individual artist) that has taken place between January 2023 and April 2024.
This year’s shortlist represents a mix of new corporate entrants to arts sponsorship, as well as a strong show of continuing support from long-standing supporters of the arts in the business world.
We are delighted to announce the 2024 winners. Click into the individual categories below for more detail.
The CBRE Major Arts Partnership Award recognises outstanding large partnerships between businesses and arts organisations/artists valued at €25k or over, cash or in-kind.
Winner 2024
- Matheson LLP & Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) for The Matheson Creativity Hub in Memory of Tim Scanlon
Highly Commended 2024
- Three Ireland & Association of Independent Music Ireland for City Stages
- Ecclesiastical Insurance Ireland & Wexford Festival Opera for Volunteer Programme
The Kmend Arts Partnership Award recognises exceptional partnerships between businesses and arts organisations/artists where the sponsorship is under €25k in value, cash or in-kind.
Winner 2024
- Waterways Ireland & CoisCéim Dance Theatre for BENCH
Highly Commended 2024
- Mason Hayes & Curran LLP & RDS Visual Art Awards for Centre Culturel Irlandais Residency Award
- The Central Bank of Ireland & The Five Lamps Arts Festival
- Clinch Wealth Management & Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) for The Wigmore Hall Festival
The Irish Times Long-Term Partnership Award recognises compelling partnerships that have been in existence for three years or more, and have evolved during that time to incorporate new audiences, new strands of programming or have developed new modes of participation. Innovative approaches to enhancing the partnership will make these applications stand out.
Winner 2024
- Bewley's Cafe Grafton St Ltd & Bewley’s Café Theatre for Lunchtime Drama
Highly Commended 2024
- Dublin Port Company & The Little Museum of Dublin for ’Port | River | City’ Partnership
- ESB & National Concert Hall for 'Quavers to Quadratics'
The Irish Life Creativity in the Community Award recognises projects and programmes that work with community groups to address specific issues, encourage community participation, bring new perspectives to creativity and joy to those who engage with them. Winning projects will be socially responsible and connect to the social impact strategies of both partners.
Winner 2024
- Workday & The Gate Theatre for 'Everyone Belongs Here'
Highly Commended 2024
- Dublin City Council (DCC), The North East Inner City Initiative (NEIC) & St. Patrick’s Festival for 'The Power of the North East Inner City' (NEIC)
- National Botanic Gardens & First Fortnight for 'Silva Lumina: Lights of Growth'
- The Ireland Funds & Sing Ireland for 'Sing for Life'
The ESB Creativity in the Workplace Award celebrates collaborative partnerships that pioneer innovative and mutually enriching initiatives, fostering creativity within the corporate environment or engaging employees in artistic endeavours. Winning projects showcase exemplary workplace commissions, dynamic arts programming tailored for staff, interactive engagement activities with artists and other innovative initiatives that inspire creativity and foster a vibrant work culture.
Winner 2024
- Alternus Energy Group & National College of Art and Design for Alternus Sustainable Arts Initiative
Highly Commended 2024
- Bewley’s & Bewleys Café Theatre for Artists in Residency Scheme
The Jim McNaughton/TileStyle Perpetual Award for Best Commissioning Practice, crafted by sculptor Jason Ellis, is awarded annually to a business or organisation that has shown excellence in their approach to commissioning an artist of any artform. Winners will have documented the commissioning process and worked extensively with the artist to deliver an engaging piece of work that tells an important story.
Winner 2024
- ESB & Dublin Dance Festival for 'Kindred'
Highly Commended 2024
- LOVE Drogheda BIDS & Droichead Arts Centre for 'Drawda Mural Trail'
- Failte Ireland & Cork City Council for 'Island City, Cork’s Urban Sculpture Trail'
Established in 2023, the Community Foundation Ireland Creative Access Award recognises partnerships that offer the opportunity for marginalised and underrepresented groups to participate in the arts. Whether through educational programs, equipment provisions, or specially designed initiatives, winning projects exemplify efforts to ensure inclusivity and accessibility in the arts, enriching the lives of diverse communities.
Winner 2024
- University College Cork & Dance Cork Firkin Crane for 'Inclusive Dance Cork'
Highly Commended 2024
- ESB Energy for Generations & Cork International Film Festival for 'Intinn Youth Film & Mental Health Programme'
- Dublin City Council & Axis Arts & Community Resource Centre for 'Sensory Inclusive Sessions'
Established in 2021, the Philanthropic Support to the Arts Award seeks to recognise an individual, corporate foundation, trust or other philanthropic organisation that has displayed an outstanding commitment to supporting the arts. Nominations can be made by either the arts partner in receipt of the philanthropic gift or by an external nominating partner that has permission to make the nomination from both partners.
Winner 2024
- Press Up Group & The Dean Arts Studios
Highly Commended 2024
- Kilkea Castle & YouthINK for Creative Mentorship Programme
- Science Foundation Ireland & National Concert Hall for Quavers to Quadratics
- Community Foundation Ireland & Helium Arts
The winner of this category is selected from applications to the eight main categories, it cannot be applied for directly. All applications are considered, with the winner being either a business or an arts organisation that has a diverse portfolio of partnerships that address a range of strategic objectives or demonstrate excellence in working with private-sector supporters across a range of initiatives.
Winner 2024
- Ecclesiastical Insurance Ireland with Irish Museum of Modern Arts (IMMA), Wexford Festival Opera & Kid’s Own Publishing
Highly Commended 2024
- Cork International Film Festival with ESB Energy for Generations, Irish Examiner, Babelfis, Murphy’s, Future Planet & University College Cork
- ESB with Dublin Dance Festival, National Concert Hall & Cork International Film Festival
- University College Cork with Cork Opera House, Cork International Film Festival & Dance Cork Firkin Crane
Inaugurated in 2002, the annual daa €5,000 Arts Award is awarded to an arts organisation that has shown excellence through a particularly compelling project.
In 2024 it was awarded to Sing Ireland for 'Sing for Life' a project in association with The Ireland Funds, an initiative encouraging young people with additional needs to find their voice and communicate through the joy of singing. Through weekly sessions, the partnership has played a crucial role in building confidence, fostering community connections, and promoting wellness among participants.
Previous winners in recent years include axis Ballymun, Dublin Dance Festival and That’s Life for Bounce Club Night, Fishamble: The New Play Company, and Waterford Walls.
Our longest-running bursary, the Jim McNaughton/TileStyle €10,000 Artist’s Bursary, now in its 16th year, will award an emerging artist in any artform looking to expand their practice.
In 2024, Lauren Larkin was selected. an actress and writer for the development of a documentary drama film, Punch Drunk. Inspired by her father, a former elite Irish amateur boxer recently diagnosed with dementia, the film will delve into the profound impacts of brain injuries in contact sports, focusing on safety in boxing and the enduring love for the sport.
Recent winners have included actor and writer Thommas Kane Byrne, Afghani photographer Barialai Khoshhal, flautist Miriam Kaczor, artist Catherine Creaney, actor and playwright Aisling O’Mara, and more.
Launched in 2022, the Accenture €10,000 Digital Innovation in Art Bursary seeks to recognise artists whose work delivers on the promise of technology and human ingenuity.
The 2024 winner was 1iing heaney, for her work in exploring the interactions between technology and the natural world, using digital mediums such as CGI 3D computer animation to explore emerging technologies and laser 3D object scanning as a means of preserving organic organisms. Continuing to push the boundaries of digital and ecological art, reflecting a commitment to sustainability and the preservation of the natural world through technology-driven practices.
Previous winners were AlanJames Burns and Nadia J. Armstrong