The Open Call this year was extraordinarily competitive. Our panel of external adjudicators were blown away by the standard of applications – the collaborations were innovative, the ideas were practical, and creativity pulsed through every single one of them.
It’s safe to say, we were very glad not to be responsible for deciding on this year’s awardees – but after two full days of animated discussion, our panel decided on the eight projects that will receive Creative Waterford funding through the Open Call this year.
Timeweavers R&D – Lunatraktors
Award-winning “broken folk” duo Lunatraktors will be undertaking an exciting Research and Development phase for a brand-new multi-sensory theatre show, Timeweavers. This funding will allow the duo and their collaborators to work with the Waterford community in a bid to co-create an interactive and accessible piece of bilingual theatre. This piece will be designed specifically with small and relaxed rural venues in mind, and the varying access needs of theatre-goers at its heart.
We look forward to not only the eventual show, but also the learnings that we as a creative community can glean from the in-depth research Lunatraktors seek to undertake into the needs of our Waterford audiences.
A Space for Lismore 2025 – Lismore Castle Arts
Lismore Castle Arts has invited Irish artist Ruby Wallis to their space to work with a group of International Protection Applicants resident in Lismore direct provision hotel. Ruby will guide these participants through a series of garden visits and art workshops throughout the summer months.
Participants will have the chance to reflect on their relationship to garden plants of global origin and create collaborative eco-friendly art pieces using those plants as inspiration.
These sessions will culminate in an open exhibition of works in St Carthage Hall gallery in Lismore town from 30th August to 21st September. Throughout the autumn, a series of workshops and garden visits will run in response to the exhibition.
Waterford Walls Culture Connect Programme – The Walls Project
The Walls Project will curate and deliver a public engagement programme as part of the now famous Waterford Walls Festival. This will give the public a chance to strengthen their understanding and relationship with Waterford’s ever-growing street art scene through activities such as adult street art workshops, artist talks and panels, and even a community street party with breakdancing battles.
This programme will be free and open to anyone who would like to participate, running from 8th-17th August 2025.
Beyond the Beat: Thriving in the Music Industry – Crossed Wires
Crossed Wires will deliver a seminar and training initiative designed to empower musicians, producers and composers in Waterford and the Southeast.
A recent survey conducted by the group found that electronic-based genres attract four times the listenership of acoustic genres in Waterford – this project aims to provide additional supports for local people interested in careers in the electronic music industry.
In Other Words – Luke Corcoran
In Other Words is a powerful participatory acting programme developed by Luke Corcoran working with people in recovery from addiction. Using the Meisner technique – an approach focused on presence, emotional truth, and connection – the project offers participants a chance to explore acting as a creative outlet and a path to self-expression.
Delivered in collaboration with Aiséirí rehabilitation clinics, the 2025 edition will run an 8 week workshop block culminating in the filming of short scenes written specifically for each participant. The project fosters emotional literacy, confidence, and creativity in a supportive environment.
This year also introduces a documentary element focused on the teaching method, helping to capture and share the impact of this work. In Other Words creates space for real growth, human connection, and artistic discovery, all rooted in the belief that everyone deserves a voice – and to express themselves in other words.
O/mapping: Layering Creativity into Deep Mapping of the Places Where We Belong – Bioregional Weaving Lab SE Ireland
This project proposes creating a community deep mapping exercise of the Anne Valley region. It will achieve this firstly by hosting a gathering of those with deep knowledge of the region, from residents to businesses to farmers, attended also by a group of four artists who will harvest this information.
The artists will then create a bespoke creative summer-school based on the findings of these gatherings. The purpose of this summer school will be to empower attendees to learn more about who they are, where they live, and the connections between them as individuals and their environmental surroundings.
This exciting collaboration between a team of artists and the bioregional weaving lab using a social sciences methodology will enable us to examine the concept of People and Place in a new and exciting way.
Circus Connections – Doulab Circus
Palestinian-Irish circus company Doulab will be working with the young people on the Irish Refugee Resettlement Programme who are living in the accommodation centre in Clonea Strand, Dungarvan, as well as young people who have been resettled recently in Waterford City (supported by Respond). They will use contemporary and social circus as a tool to engage the groups, build trust, and create a safe space for meaningful collaboration and creative exploration.
5 participants from each community will then come together in Garter Lane for a further 6 sessions, joining with another 5 members of the local community of Waterford City, who will apply via an open call publicised primarily by Garter Lane Theatre. The open places for the local community will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
During this phase, the group will be introduced to new ways of creating through circus, and confidence, trust and a safe space to try and fail will be built through social circus techniques. They will also go together to watch Sarab at Theatre Royal, which is a contemporary circus work focusing on the refugee experience, performed by the Palestinian Circus.
Voice of Waterford – Waterford New Communities Network
“Voices of Waterford” is a creative initiative designed to celebrate and amplify the diverse cultural narratives within Waterford using sharing traditional fairytales from the different ethnicities. By merging storytelling with puppetry, Waterford New Communities Network will deliver a project that provides a platform for families from various backgrounds to share their personal experiences of migration, heritage, and identity.
These narratives will be transformed into engaging puppet performances, which can reach an even wider audience, and later compiled into a published book, which will be shared with schools and libraries in Waterford, fostering intercultural understanding and strengthening Waterford’s cultural identity and leaving a legacy for future generations to look back on.
Congratulations
A heartfelt congratulations to all of our Open Call awardees this year, and we look forward to seeing how your projects develop.