Réalta, the national resource organisation dedicated to developing arts + health in Ireland, has issued an open call to artists of all arts disciplines to submit proposals for its Arts + Health Research + Development Residency 2026. The deadline for submission of applications is Thursday 27 August 2026.  Further details, including how to apply, can be found here.  The Réalta Arts + Health Research + Development Residency is funded by the Arts Council. The residency will provide the successful applicant with the opportunity to research and develop their arts + health practice during a one-month period of exploration and development based at the Réalta Centre for Arts + Health, University Hospital Waterford (UHW). Throughout the residency, the artist will have space to test ideas, explore new approaches and begin shaping the early stages of a project in an acute hospital setting, working creatively in collaboration with the hospital community. The artist will have access to a dedicated studio space, a larger multi-use studio and the Réalta Arts + Health Library.  The Réalta team will also be available to offer support and mentoring throughout the residency, as needed.  In addition, the artist will have the opportunity to shadow some of the Waterford Healing Arts programmes at UHW.  A full list of these programmes can be found here. The fee for the residency is €3000. Photo: Réalta Artist in Residence 2025 Siobhan Clancy. Photo by DGM...

Save the Date: Experience 2026, An Introduction to Arts, Health & the Older Person – Thursday 3 December – Keynote Speaker Prof Rose Anne Kenny Experience 2026: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person will take place on Thursday 03 December from 10am-5pm at The LAB, Foley St, Dublin 1.  This full day of inspiration and learning is designed for professional artists and arts practitioners of all disciplines interested in this area.  Experience 2026 will aim to outline the essential elements involved in working with older people in an arts and health context, and will feature presentations by some of the most experienced and inspiring practitioners working in this specialised field of practice.  This year’s Keynote Speaker will be Regius Professor Rose Anne Kenny, champion of positive ageing, Chair of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin, founder of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and bestselling author of Age Proof – The New Science of Living a Longer and Healthier Life. Experience 2026 is presented by Age & Opportunity, the national organisation working to enhance wellbeing for older people, and Réalta, the national resource organisation dedicated to developing arts + health in Ireland.  Expressions of interest may be registered by email to arts@ageandopportunity.ie  The full programme and booking information will be published in late September. Experience 2026: An Introduction to Arts, Health and the Older Person is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE, with support from Dublin City Council. Image Credit: Participants Helena Sinnott and Roger Greene at a Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts Art at the Kitchen Table Studio session in Waterford.  Photo by DGM...

UPDATE 28.04.2026 : Arts + Health: Check Up Check In 2026 is fully booked.  Thank you to everyone who has booked – We look forward to seeing you in Carrick-on-Shannon. 17.04.2026: Programme Announcement We are delighted to announce the full programme for this year’s Arts + Health: Check Up Check In, which takes place on Thursday 30 April at The Dock Arts Centre, Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim. Check Up Check In promotes solidarity among arts and health practitioners.  This year’s event provides opportunities for participants to share their experiences, exchange ideas and support and inspire each other in their practice through a range of themed presentations, including: – Keynote Address by Karrie Marshall, artist, educator and author, on the theme The Essential Power of Creativity and Compassion in Healthcare. – Sticking Points: What to do when you get stuck – Artists and healthcare professionals share challenges they have faced in their work and look for solutions to overcome them, featuring Dr Sheelagh Broderick, Arts & Culture Lead, HSE South West; Declan Kennedy, Visual Artist (County Wexford) and Olivia Hassett, Performance Artist (Dublin). – In the Moment – A case study conversation about the Réalta/Waterford Healing Arts programme at the South East Palliative Care Centre, at University Hospital Waterford, presented by Mairead Bluett, A/ Director of Nursing, SEPCC, Writer Lani O’Hanlon, Visual Artist Caroline Schofield and Maeve Butler, Programme Manager & Assistant Director of Réalta. – Introduction to the Arts + Health Policy & Strategy Consultation, by Catherine Abbott, Arts + Health Manager with The Arts Council. – What’s My Practice? A series of workshops examining methodologies employed in collaborative / participatory...

Booking opens for Réalta’s Arts + Health: Check Up Check In 2026: – Thursday 30 April in The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon; – Keynote Speaker: Karrie Marshall – Book your ticket here We are delighted to announce details for Arts + Health: Check Up Check In 2026.  The annual national gathering of the arts + health sector in Ireland, Arts + Health: Check Up Check In this year will take place on Thursday 30 April at The Dock Arts Centre, Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, and will feature a keynote address by artist, author and educator Karrie Marshall, in addition to presentations by some of the most exciting, innovative and creative practitioners working in arts + health in Ireland today.  The fee for the full day, including lunch, is €30.  Book your ticket here  Arts + Health: Check Up Check In 2026 is funded by the Arts Council and the HSE, with additional support from the Arts Office of Leitrim County Council. The ‘go to’ event for artists, healthcare professionals and arts + health practitioners, Arts + Health: Check Up Check In promotes solidarity, practice sharing and exchange, and is open to anyone working in, or interested in learning more about arts + health.  For her Keynote Address, Karrie Marshall will draw on her experience working at the intersection of arts, health and social care, and her decades of practice in social-engaged arts, healthcare, adult education, and supporting individuals, staff and leaders under pressure.  Karrie’s work explores how creativity with compassion can measurably improve wellbeing and quality of life, and the work of the arts-based company she founded, Creativity in Care CIC, in...

Many people working in arts + health work alone, which can feel isolating and disheartening. This Arts + Health Mixer invites artists, healthcare professionals and arts + health managers working across this field of practice to come together to share experiences, explore collaborations and build connections through conversations, short presentations and creative activities. This event is part of the Well Festival of Arts & Wellbeing. The festival celebrates the health benefits of participation in the arts by all. Presented by Réalta (Waterford Healing ArtsI in partnership with Garter Lane Arts Centre and Waterford City and County Libraries, the Well Festival champions the links between arts and wellbeing and increases public engagement through a wide-ranging programme of innovative free events for all ages across many art forms, including music, art, dance, film, poetry, theatre and literature. See www.wellwaterford.com  Wed 18 Feb, 3pm-5pm Réalta Centre for Arts + Health, University Hospital Waterford, Dunmore Road, Waterford Adm free, booking required: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/ info@realta.ie/ 051 842664 This event will be followed by Thank you for hearing me Special Preview with Q&A at 5.15pm in the same venue. This powerful short film explores how our voices shape the way we live, connect, and are heard – or unheard – in the world, and how age, accent, class, gender, health and history form our unique vocal identities. A collaboration between Embrace Music and Darn Skippy Productions, funded through the Arts Council’s Arts Participation Project Award 2025, with support from Riverbank Arts...

The Well Festival partners are thrilled to welcome Regius Professor Rose Anne Kenny for the Annual Réalta Keynote Event, to talk about the significance of the arts in her life. Rose Anne Kenny is Regius Professor of Physic* (Medicine) and holds the Chair of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin. She is the founding Principal Investigator of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Ireland’s largest adult population study on the experience of ageing in Ireland. Regius Kenny is the Director of the Mercer’s Institute for Successful Ageing (MISA) at St James’s Hospital, where she is also director of a large national falls and syncope and autonomic function laboratory. She is also Director of the new WHO Collaborating Centre for Longitudinal Studies in Ageing and the Life Course. A Member of the Royal Irish Academy and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, London and Ireland, Regius Kenny is also a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin, a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine Ireland, and was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Her many books include Age Proof – The New Science of Living a Longer and Healthier Life. Regius Kenny will be in conversation with Jennifer O’Connell, Opinion Editor and columnist with The Irish Times, and proud Waterford woman. *Physic: The art or practice of healing disease Réalta Centre for Arts + Health, University Hospital Waterford, Dunmore Road, Waterford Mon 16 Feb, 6pm Adm free but booking required. To book: Réalta Annual Keynote: Why Arts? Regius Professor Rose Anne...