Gallery of Photography Ireland is delighted to announce the nominees for our new Graduate Awards. With these Awards we want to identify and support emerging photographic talent in Ireland. The Awards will provide essential curatorial guidance and production resources for the most promising photography students as they embark on their careers as artists. The recipients will use the Awards as an opportunity to create new work with ongoing support from the gallery team.

To make up our shortlist we invited tutors from photography degree courses across the island of Ireland to each nominate two graduating students. We were looking for students with a real passion for photography, who have been consistently engaged throughout their college career and who have already attained a very high standard in their practice.

We are offering all of these nominees comprehensive mentorship, during which they will be guided through developing a new project proposal. Based on this, a maximum of three winners will be selected. They will each receive a production bursary from Gallery of Photography Ireland and ongoing mentoring to help them realise their project. In addition, they will receive a print portfolio showcasing their work and a display in the Print Space adjacent to the bookshop on our ground floor. Winners will be officially announced in the autumn.

Gallery of Photography Ireland is delighted to support and encourage the growth of a new creative generation in Irish photography. We are inaugurating this annual Award at a time when graduates are facing difficult, unprecedented circumstances. Our hope is that the Award will empower the recipients in developing sustainable individual practices, making a significant contribution to the exciting future of photography in Ireland.