The Jim McNaughton TileStyle €10,000 Bursary for Artists
Inaugurated in 2008, it is our longest-running bursary.
Together with Business to Arts, the family of the late Jim McNaughton, founder of TileStyle, and one of the founding members of Business to Arts, wanted to honour his memory and legacy by establishing an artist's bursary in his name.
Jim believed in supporting the arts, and so the bursary sought to make a difference in an artist's career when they needed it most.
Since 2008 Business to Arts has managed the open call for bursary applications. Each year TileStyle convenes a panel with Business to Arts input to assess the merits of each application. We work closely with the McNaughton family and members of the TileStyle leadership team to guide them in their considerations and to help identify the beneficiary of the bursary for that year.
All art forms are considered eligible for the bursary. Previous winners have been drawn across a broad range of disciplines: theatre makers, musicians, playwrights, poets, and visual artists.
While the focus has evolved over time, the aim of the bursary is to support emerging artists at a critical stage of their careers. It can enable them to deliver a new project, complete specialist training or education, or develop their practice in some way that will be beneficial to their careers.
For the artists:
- Supported 15 artists working across multiple disciplines to date
- Often the artist has had a direct engagement opportunity to either showcase their work or collaborate on an element of their project with TileStyle leading to greater awareness raising in front of potential new clients or audiences
- Profiling opportunities are created through the Business to Arts Awards ceremony and related communications
For TileStyle:
- Unique client engagement opportunity
- Brand enhancement within the arts and business community
- A high-profile story-telling opportunity that expresses the values of Tilestyle as a company and reflects the legacy of its founder.
- 2022 - Barialai Khoshhal, photographer
- 2021 – Miriam Kaczor, Flautist
- 2019 - Catherine Creaney, Portrait Artist
- 2018 - Aisling O’Mara, Actor & Playwright
- 2017 - Clare Monnelly, Actor & Playwright
- 2016 - Padraic Rowan, Bass-Baritone
- 2015 - Máire Carroll, Pianist, and Gearóid Solan, Ballet Dancer
- 2014 - Petal Pilley, Theatre Director
- 2013 - Deirdre Kinahan, Playwright
- 2012 - Christina Reihill, Poet, Psychotherapist and Journalist
- 2011 - Dennis Roche, Artist
- 2010 - Peter Monaghan, Artist
- 2009 - Paul Meade, Writer, Director & Actor
- 2008 - Alva Gallagher, Sculptor
“ The Jim McNaughton TileStyle bursary, now in its 16th year, has been a fitting tribute to our late father Jim. It has made an immeasurable difference in the lives and careers of over a dozen emerging artists. These artists have demonstrated great creativity, innovation, and design, which are cornerstones of what we do at TileStyle. Over the years, we have had many opportunities to engage with past bursary winners, which has been a wonderful experience for ourselves as well as our clients & stakeholders. The bursary itself has not just benefitted the winners. TileStyle’s reputation has been greatly enhanced by this association, both in the community and within business circles.”
