Dccoi Announces Winners Of Future Makers Awards

Design & Crafts Council of Ireland’s Future Makers Programme recognises and supports emerging Irish designers and makers with a fund totalling €22,500

The Design & Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCoI) announced the 23 students and emerging makers who have received awards and support through the organisation’s Future Makers programme. With a total fund of €22,500 for 2017, Future Makers Awards & Supports is one of the largest prize-funded award programmes in Europe for students and emerging makers. This DCCoI initiative rewards the next generation of Irish creatives at a key stage in their professional development, helping them to develop a career in the craft and design industry.

Following a call-out for entries in April, 93 applications were received and assessed by judges Clive Fiddis, former Course Director in Contemporary Applied Art and Joint Chair of the Irish Ceramic Education programme, and celebrated stylist Aisling Farinella. Of those, 43 were short-listed and the 23 winners and recipients were announced by DCCoI Chair Breege O’Donoghue at a presentation ceremony in The Dean Hotel, Dublin. The successful applicants were chosen for their demonstration of a broad range of skills, such as design interpretation and innovation, use of traditional and contemporary techniques, and skillful execution.

Established in 2009, Future Makers Awards & Supports is one of many DCCoI initiatives supporting and investing in a new generation of talent in the craft and design sector. Divided into student and emerging practitioner categories and covering a wide range of disciplines, the Future Makers programme recognises and rewards vision, innovation and excellence in both making and the creative process.

Future Makers Awards & Supports 2017 winners:

Recent Graduates/Emerging Practitioners category (comments by the judges in italics):

  • Future Maker of the Year Award 2017 (€3,000) was presented to furniture maker Alan Meredith from Co. Laois for what the judges described as “a beautiful contemporary collection of skillfully executed pieces.”
  • Dublin-based furniture maker Simon Doyle received the Innovation Award (€1,500) for his “attractive minimal design with innovative and flexible purpose.”
  • The Design Award (€1,000) was presented to Dublin-based knitwear designer Pearl Reddington for her “eye-catching knitwear collection manipulating traditional techniques in a modern manner with contemporary and innovative design.”
  • Jewellery designer Pierce Healy received the Imagined Futures Award (€1,000) for his “creative and uniquely individual approach showcasing talent and combination of drawing metalwork, casting and engraving which can be applied to multiple commercial and artistic purposes.”
  • Dublin-based jewellery designer Aisling Mcgloughlin and Wicklow-based ceramicist Chloë Dowds each received Residency Support (€1,000).
  • Co. Clare-based ceramicist Ann McBride and Co. Galway-based Marlene Dahl each received Studio Support (€1,000).
  • Co. Wicklow-based ceramicist Alanna Plekkenpol and Co. Cork-based Zsiri Melinda Dempsey each received Exhibition/Trade Fair Support (€1,000).

Key awards in the Student category (comments by the judges in italics):

  • Caoimhe McGuckin, studying Jewellery and Metalwork at NCAD, was presented with the Future Makers Student of the Year Award 2017 (€2,000) for her “intriguing balance of concept and skillful execution of materials and process resulting in a unique collection of wearable pieces.”
  • Adele Walsh, a Ceramics student at NCAD, was presented with the Innovation Award (€1,000) for her work in which “narrative and process combine to create a beautiful range of contemporary ceramics.”
  • The Design Award (€1,000) was given to NCAD Fashion Design student Caoimhe Hill for her collection that “combines modern functionality with traditional craft skills displaying an original and innovative approach to fashion.”
  • Residency Supports (€1,000) were each presented to LSAD Fashion, Knitwear & Textile design student Fiona Byrne and NCAD Ceramics & Glass student Sophie Kate Curran.
  • Materials Supports (€500) were each presented to: Georgia Dunne (Textile Surface Design & Visual Culture, NCAD); Laoise Carey (Fashion Design, NCAD); Lauren McElvaney (Fashion Design, LSAD); Marie O’Rourke (Fine Art (Hons), Glass and Ceramics, NCAD); Rachel Blanckensee (Fashion Design, NCAD); Sarah Roseingrave (Contemporary Applied Art, CIT Crawford College of Art & Design); and Matthew Howard (Furniture & Wood Technology, GMIT).
  • Dan Eames, a BA (Hons) Design & Visual Culture student at NCAD, received Exhibition Support (€500).

Karen Hennessy, Chief Executive of DCCoI, said: “The Design & Crafts Council of Ireland is committed to supporting and nurturing emerging designers and makers so that they can develop their skills, promote their work and build careers both here and abroad. The DCCoI Future Makers Awards & Supports programme is one of several of our initiatives created to assist and encourage the next generation of designers and makers and grow Ireland’s vibrant design and craft sector. We wish all Future Makers winners and recipients continued success in their fields and look forward to working with them through our programmes in the future.”

Also announced at the ceremony was the winner of a further Future Makers Award, the NFETL (National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education) DELTA Award Design Piece commission, worth €1,500, in association with Ireland’s Higher Education organisations. It was presented to ceramicist Zuzana Jezikova. This competition is for the design of the prestigious DELTA (Disciplinary Excellence in Learning Teaching and Assessment) Award, 25 of which will be presented at an awards ceremony in Dublin Castle in December 2017 to higher education staff who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to teaching excellence to improve student learning. The commission for the design of the award is a joint initiative of DCCoI with the NFETL.