Sligo Arts Service has a new mailing list which you can sign up to at the bottom of the Homepage. The intention is over time, to share information which may be of interest to both the arts sector and the general public.

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Jamie Carswell has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Incu/Space award for his project “Stompbox”. Jamie is a Lecoq-trained clown, actor and theatre-maker whose practice combines physical theatre, live music, clowning and audience participation.

The Incu/Space award was launched in 2025 and  includes financial support of €4,000, a 5-day “incu-space” at the Factory Performance Space and a mentoring session on Application Writing – for further information on the award, see here: https://sligoarts.ie/artist-supports/incu-space/

This award is funded by The Arts Service Department of Sligo County Council & The Arts Council of Ireland

Theatre-maker Bob Kelly was the recipient of Sligo Arts Service’s Incu \ space award in 2025 for “Barbarian” a new theatre/movement work exploring themes of masculinity, authority, childhood and generational trauma.

Created by Bob Kelly, dancer/choreographer Diarmuid Armstrong and dancer Hannah Rogerson, we were delighted to see the full production of “Barbarian” premiere at this year’s Cairde Arts Festival in July in the Hawk’s Well Theatre – congratulations to all involved!

The Incu \ space award is aimed at Sligo-based professional artist/collectives from the performing arts sector who already have a project/new work in development and would now benefit from time, space and resources to progress the project further.

Incu \ space seeks to support independent professional artists living in Sligo or who can demonstrate that their practice is primarily based here. Further information on the award can be found here: https://sligoarts.ie/artist-supports/incu-space/

Incu \ space is funded by The Arts Service Department of Sligo County Council & The Arts Council of Ireland. 

Sligo County Council Arts Service is delighted to announce that filmmaker Patryk Łukaszewski has been awarded the 2026 Creative Heartlands Film Bursary for Sligo for his short film “Svitlana “

The Creative Heartlands Film Bursary is an annual award by Sligo Arts Service, together with both Leitrim and Roscommon Arts Offices as part of their Creative Ireland programmes.  The award is open to both established and emerging filmmakers and production companies, living/working in the SLR (Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon) region, and designed to support collaboration among filmmaking teams in the development of an original Short Film, see more information here: https://sligoarts.ie/artist-supports/creative-heartlands-film-bursary/

Patryk’s new short film, Svitlana, follows a Ukrainian mother and daughter as they attempt to rebuild their lives in rural Sligo while awaiting news from the husband and father they left behind. The project has recently completed production and is now in post-production.

A graduate of the National Film School at IADT Dún Laoghaire, Patryk’s work explores themes of memory, grief and identity. His recent short film, Tymek, premiered at the Dublin International Film Festival and led to him being named a runner-up in Ireland’s Emerging Director Awards.

This bursary is funded by The Arts Service Department of Sligo County Council & The Arts Council of Ireland. 

As part of Sligo’s 2026 Bealtaine Festival, a new residency opportunity for full-time professional artists aged 50+ was announced. Fifteen artists applied through an open call and following an independent assessment, visual artist Emma Stroude was selected as the award recipient.

The one-week residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre is funded by The Arts Service Department of Sligo County Council & The Arts Council of Ireland. 

Exhibition Dates: Daily from Friday 14 August – Thursday 10 September 2026
Venue: Queen Maeve Square, Sligo Town
Admission: Free – No booking required

The World Press Photo Exhibition 2026 has opened in Sligo as part of Cultúr 2026: Sharing Ireland’s Culture, Ireland’s cultural programme celebrating its Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026.

Hosted by Sligo County Council, the exhibition showcases the 42 winning projects from the 69th annual World Press Photo Contest, selected from 57,376 entries submitted by photographers from 141 countries. Through striking single images, photo stories and long-term documentary projects, the exhibition captures defining moments from around the world, exploring themes including breaking news, conflict, climate change, culture, identity and everyday life.

Renowned for its powerful visual storytelling, the World Press Photo Exhibition invites visitors to look beyond the headlines and engage with the stories behind the news, highlighting the courage, creativity and dedication of photographers documenting our changing world.

Free to attend, visitors can explore the outdoor exhibition at their own pace using multilingual self-guided audio tours available via QR codes. Sligo is the only Irish venue hosting the 2026 edition of this internationally acclaimed exhibition.

World Press Photo is supported by its strategic partners, the Dutch Postcode Lottery and FUJIFILM Corporation.

World Press Photo Exhibition 2026 is part of Sligo’s “Cultúr 2026: Sharing Ireland’s Culture” the culture programme for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026, supported by Culture Ireland through The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport in partnership with Sligo County Council.

 

Image: Emma the Social Robot by Paula Hornickel 

Waltraud talks with Emma, a social robot that recognizes faces and remembers past conversations. Though skeptical at first, Waltraud says she felt connected to Emma over time. (Albershausen, Germany, 3 July 2025)

Story: Germany’s care homes are facing two crises: staff shortages and loneliness. A 2023 study found that one in five residents aged 80 and older describe themselves as “severely lonely.” This reality has prompted trials of social robots like Emma, developed by a Munich-based startup. Waltraud, a 17 resident of Haus im Wiesengrund in Albershausen, had her doubts but over time formed a bond with Emma. “When she tells her jokes, that’s really good. That’s my kind of humor,” says Waltraud, though she emphasizes that human contact is always preferable. 

To mark Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026, Sligo County Council will deliver an ambitious multi-disciplinary cultural programme from July to November 2026, celebrating Europe’s cultural diversity, shared heritage and democratic values.

The programme can be downloaded from here: https://sligoarts.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Sligo-Cultur-Programme-2026-Brochure.pdf

Bringing together artists, cultural organisations and international partners from across Europe, the programme will position Sligo as a vibrant hub for cultural dialogue and exchange. A major highlight will be the internationally renowned World Press Photo Exhibition, which will be presented in Queen Maeve Square during August and September 2026, showcasing award-winning photojournalism that captures some of the most significant global events and social issues of recent years.

The wider programme will feature performances, exhibitions, film screenings, literary events and collaborative projects across Sligo’s festivals, venues and public spaces. Audiences can look forward to European-focused initiatives from Cairde Sligo Arts Festival, Sligo Jazz Festival, Tread Softly Festival, Adaptation Film Festival, Sligo Baroque Festival, Sligo Live Festival and the Yeats Society, alongside youth, visual arts and publishing projects developed with partners in Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Spain.

Spanning photography, music, literature, visual art, film and youth engagement, the programme will celebrate Sligo’s strong cultural connections across Europe, foster new creative partnerships and provide opportunities for audiences to engage with contemporary European culture and ideas.

Funded as part of the Culture Programme for Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026

In June, The Arts Service Department held public meetings with communities in four areas: Dromore West, Easkey, Collooney and Castlebaldwin. The meetings were to allow local residents to hear about two planned public art projects in their areas and to be part of the conversation around what these might look like.

The sessions were facilitated by Rayne Booth, the Public Art Project Manager for the commissions and we were joined along the way by Cllr. Thomas Walshe, Cllr. Liam Brennan, Cllr. Gerard Mullaney and Brian Flynn Director of Services, Sligo County Council.

Members of the public were also invited to be part of the process by participating in an online survey or via written proposals before July 12th 2026.

Submissions are currently being reviewed and will help us design the briefs for the artists who are selected for both commissions which will happen in 2027.

Further information on Sligo’s Public Art programme can be found here: https://sligoarts.ie/public-art/