The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) will open Gallery at RDS this November with an exhibition featuring 12 emerging artists, including a Ukrainian artist working with camouflage nets made by Ukrainian communities in Ireland, an artist who spent two years living off-grid in a Texas forest, and a Limerick-based multidisciplinary artist exploring migration, identity and cultural heritage.
The RDS Visual Art Awards 2026 will open Gallery at RDS on 6 November 2026, bringing together 12 artists selected from Ireland’s 2026 visual art graduates for the inaugural exhibition at the new Gallery at RDS.
Running until 15 January 2027, the exhibition marks a new chapter for the RDS Visual Art Awards, supporting artists at the transition from art college into professional practice.
The artists were selected following a nationwide programme of graduate show visits by six independent curators: Teresa Crowley, Noémie Cursoux, Rachael Gilbourne, Davey Moor, Aoife Ruane and Georgie Thompson. They visited graduate exhibitions across Ireland during April, May and June.
The resulting exhibition brings together a diverse range of emerging practices spanning painting, sculpture, photography, film, installation, textiles, sound and socially engaged practice.
Among the selected artists is Nikol Ochichenko, an Irish-Ukrainian artist whose work explores displacement, identity and community. Her work Still Tied involves camouflage nets made by Ukrainian communities in Ireland, connecting local acts of solidarity with the experience of war in Ukraine.
Harrison Connally, originally from Texas, spent two years living off-grid in a yurt before developing his artistic practice in Ireland. Now based in Ireland, his work explores relationships with the natural world through botanical materials, sculpture and moving image, with a particular connection to the landscapes of West Cork.
Kodjo (Isac) Kossivi, based in Limerick, explores immigrant identity, cultural heritage and belonging through textiles, mask-making, performance and mixed media.
The exhibition will be the first to open at Gallery at RDS, a flexible two-storey exhibition venue on Simmonscourt Road, with open-plan gallery spaces and opportunities for learning, engagement and public access.
The opening of Gallery at RDS alongside the Visual Art Awards brings together the RDS’s longstanding commitment to supporting emerging artists with a new space for contemporary visual art on the RDS campus.
Paul McAree, curator and 2026 RDS Visual Art Awards judge, said:
“The RDS Visual Art Awards provide an important opportunity to encounter the breadth and ambition of emerging visual art practice in Ireland at a pivotal point in these artists’ careers. This year’s selection reflects the diversity of approaches and perspectives coming through our art colleges, and it is particularly exciting to bring these artists together as the first exhibition at Gallery at RDS. The new gallery provides a dedicated space for audiences to engage with this work and marks an exciting new chapter for the RDS’s visual arts programme.”
The RDS Visual Art Awards provide a curated exhibition opportunity, a prize fund of €32,500 and vital exposure for emerging visual artists as they move into early professional practice.
The 2026 judging panel comprises Rachel Joynt, Christina Kennedy, Paul McAree, Sarah McAuliffe and Patrick Murphy. The winners of the 2026 RDS Visual Art Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony on 19 November 2026.
RDS Visual Art Awards 2026
Venue: Gallery at RDS, Sandymount Building, Simmonscourt Road
Dates: 6 November 2026 – 15 January 2027
Prize fund: €32,500
Tickets: Book tickets at https://www.universe.com/events/rds-visual-art-awards-exhibition-2026-tickets-RH1PZL
Prizes include:
