Siamsa Tíre is proud to introduce Roots, a new residency programme designed to support professional artists across a wide range of artforms. Whether your practice is in theatre, dance, music, literature, visual arts, circus, digital innovation, or interdisciplinary work, Roots offers the time, space, and support to develop your ideas in a nurturing, artist-centred environment.

What We Offer

  • Dedicated Development Space – access to our theatre, rehearsal rooms, and gallery spaces to test and refine your work.
  • In-house Support – advice, technical support, and mentoring from the Siamsa Tíre team during the residency.
  • Workspace & Resources – access to office facilities and the opportunity to connect with the wider creative community at Siamsa Tíre.
  • Work-in-Progress Sharing – a platform to present new ideas to audiences and peers in a supportive environment if desired and in keeping with the proposal.
  • Financial Bursary – to help support living, material, and project costs during the residency. Three bursaries will be available in 2026, each at a sum of €2,000, to include artists fees and any costs associated with the residency, such as materials, travel etc. Artists can apply for the bursary most suited to fit the project and timeline that is appropriate to their art from and should indicate if they are an early, mid-career or established artist. One bursary will be assigned to an early career artist. (*Early career; recent graduate/1-2 years experience as practising artist, Mid-Career 2 -5 years experience as practising artist, Established; 5+ years as practising artist)

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Our Values

Roots is grounded in Siamsa Tíre’s commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). We actively encourage applications from artists of all backgrounds, identities, and abilities including emerging makers. We believe that diverse voices and perspectives are essential to a vibrant and relevant arts ecology.

Sustainability is also at the heart of our work. As one of Ireland’s Green Arts venues, we are committed to supporting environmentally conscious practices. Artists in residence can consider climate-aware approaches within their projects and Siamsa Tíre can offer guidelines on ways to bring climate considerations into practice.

Why Roots?

We chose the name Roots to reflect our dual commitment: to provide artists with the grounding, nourishment, and support they need to create new work, while ensuring that this work is firmly connected to our community, our place, and our times.

How to Apply

Applications are open to professional artists working in any discipline. Three residencies will be offered in 2026. Artists should submit an Artist CV (2 pages max) and a detailed proposal (2- 3 page max) detailing artform, approach and how the bursary would be used.

Artists can also include if there will be any public engagement as part of their proposed residency, be that a workshop/sharing/presentation of work-in-progress etc

Please submit your proposal to ceo@siamsatire.com with Roots Residency in the subject line. Applications for 2026 will be accepted from 1st December 2026 – 5th January 2026. Successful applicants will be contacted in January 2o26.

Who Can Apply

  • Professional artists working in any discipline.
  • Applicants must demonstrate a track record of artistic practice (CV required).
  • We particularly welcome applications from artists from underrepresented communities and those whose work engages with issues of equality, diversity, inclusion, and/or sustainability.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be assessed against the following:

  1. Artistic Quality – originality, ambition, and clarity of the proposal.
  2. Feasibility – realistic planning, timeline, and use of resources.
  3. Professional Development – how the residency will support your growth as an artist.
  4. Engagement – potential for impact on audiences, communities, or peers
  5. Alignment with Values – contribution to EDI and/or climate-conscious practice.

 

How to Apply

Submit the following by email to [ceo@siamsatire.com] with the subject line Roots Residency Application 2026:

  1. Artist CV ( 2 pages max).
  2. Proposal (2-3 pages max) including:
    • Description of your project / area of development.
    • Artistic approach and why this residency is important to you.
    • How you intend to use the bursary (budget outline).
    • Any planned public engagement (e.g. workshop, talk, showing).
    • How your work reflects or engages with EDI and/or sustainability.
  3. Supporting Material  – images, links, or documentation of previous work (max 3 items and videos limited to 5 mins each.

Timeline

  • Applications Open: 1st December 2025
  • Deadline: 5th January 2026
  • Decisions Announced: January 2026
  • Residencies Take Place:  between March–November 2026

Access & Support

We are committed to ensuring this process is accessible. If you require the guidelines in an alternative format or wish to submit your application in a different medium (e.g. video or audio application), please let us know.