Organizer Information
A4 Sounds is a non-profit, artist-run workspace and gallery based in Dublin's north inner city, founded in 2009. It is one of the largest artist-led spaces in Ireland, providing studio facilities and professional development support to a membership of artists (reported as around 70–80 depending on the source), with members based both in Ireland and internationally, including the UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines. Its stated mission is to transform how cultural works are produced, accessed, and understood in Ireland, guided by feminist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist, and LGBT-inclusive politics. This call is part of A4 Sounds' ongoing "We Only Want the Earth" programme, a multi-year initiative examining the goals and strategies of social change, run in partnership with organisations including Create (the National Development Agency for Collaborative Arts) and TENI.
Title & Description
Born to be alive. — Group Exhibition, We Only Want the Earth Programme
A4 Sounds invites artists to propose completed work for this group exhibition, which will be "formed, built, born" over six weeks from the works submitted, beginning with six building blocks drawn from the organisation's ongoing research. The exhibition continues from A4 Sounds' previous group show, The Cosmos, The Earth, and Us, and is framed as a mechanism for an ongoing, iterative conversation between the organisation, artists, and audiences about the goals and strategies of social change.
Theme
Born to be alive. Artists are asked to respond to a visual brief, hosted as a Google Sheets spreadsheet, representing threads from A4 Sounds' research. The accompanying context statement frames the theme around Gramsci's "interregnum" — the idea that the old world is dying while the new world struggles to be born — against a backdrop of collapsing international institutions, accelerating climate change, violent border regimes, Ireland's position within Western imperialism, pressure on Irish neutrality, and worsening domestic inequality, cost of living, and homelessness.
Categories
- Video/Film
- Sound/Music
- Painting
- Sculpture
- Fiber/Textile Art
- Digital
- Mixed Media
Eligibility
- Digital Artworks: open to artists internationally, based in Ireland or elsewhere, with particular interest in artists from previously colonised or currently occupied countries, and the Global South
- Physical Artworks: open only to artists based in Ireland, including the north of Ireland (applications for physical works from artists based outside Ireland cannot be accepted due to a limited transport budget)
- Completed works only — works in progress are not considered, except where only minor edits (1–2 days' work) remain and documentation of the current version can be provided
Program Benefits & Awards
- Artist fee of €300 paid per selected artwork
- Per the organiser's published terms: transport of work, travel expenses, and installation costs covered
- Curatorial support and marketing/promotion provided
- Opening reception, exhibition catalogue, and documentation provided
- Invigilation provided
- No commission charged on sales
- Artists providing pickup/drop-off support for other artists' works in their locality may receive a transport budget plus €17/hour
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 28 September 2026
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Additional Details
- Applications require: contact information, artist bio (approx. 120–150 words), website/social media links (if relevant), a description of the proposed artwork (approx. 120–150 words), and documentation of the artwork (links or file upload, max 10MB, up to 3 files)
- Selection is on a rolling basis by the curatorial team, voting on (1) how the proposal responds to the theme and (2) the artistic quality of the work
- Applications remain confidential, viewed only by the curatorial panel, and are deleted once the selection process is complete
- The brief itself is presented as a spreadsheet-based artwork, best viewed in landscape on a computer; a mobile/tablet viewer may need the Google Sheets app
- Questions can be directed to Lisa at wowte@a4sounds.org