Waterford artist wins big at the RDS Visual Art Awards

A Waterford artist has won a coveted award at the annual RDS Visual Art Awards which were held last Friday at the RHA Gallery in Dublin.

The awards coincided with the launch of a nine-week exhibition that celebrates ten emerging Irish artists.

The ceremony at the gallery was hosted by the Chairperson of the RDS Foundation Board, Dr Andrew Power.

Waterford artist, Fionn Timmins picked up the coveted RDS Mason Hayes & Curran LLP Centre Culturel Irlandais Residency Award (with a value of €8,000).

Timmins graduated from MTU Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork in 2024. His work is large-scale and his practice is primarily with sculpture, in this case bog oak, and he uses video and sound to support his art. His work considers our relationship with the landscape by addressing and reinterpreting references to Irish folklore and ancient Irish megalithic forms, such as stone circles

This year’s awards were announced by Chairperson of the judging panel, Mary McCarthy, Director of the Crawford Gallery, Cork and presented by the RDS President, John Dardis.

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A statement read: "The quality of this year's applications was outstanding, and the ten artists included in this exhibition went through a rigorous two-stage selection and judging process. They are a real tribute to the professionalism and talent of the emerging artists coming into the professional visual arts sector. This year, the RDS Visual Art Awards partner with the RHA Gallery for the 2024 exhibition and it runs at the Dublin city gallery for 9 weeks until 18 January, 2025."

Commenting on the talent this year, the 2024 RDS VAA judging panel, chaired by Mary McCarthy said; “As a jury we were bowled over by the diversity and quality of all the shortlisted artists. The exhibition demonstrates the significance of the RDS Art Awards and how quickly it has established itself as a key cultural moment in the Irish Visual art scene. The works engage with contemporary issues of identity, environment and the body politic. We anticipate they will resonate with the exhibition’s various publics. We are very excited about the future of Irish art based on this exhibition.”

Dr Andrew Power, Chairperson, RDS Foundation Board said; “Since its establishment in 1731, the RDS has been dedicated to cultural and economic development in Ireland. The RDS Foundation, with its focus on Agriculture, Arts, Enterprise, Equestrian, Science and Technology is how we seek to archive that goal. The RDS Foundation Visual Art Awards provide a platform for graduates, from across the country, to showcase their work. With a total prize fund of more than €40,000 it continues a long-standing RDS tradition of supporting emerging Irish artistic talent. The prestigious RDS Taylor Art Award has been presented by the RDS since 1860 and is still one of the most important awards for emerging visual artists in Ireland today.”

Colin Martin, Artist and RDS Visual Art Awards and Exhibition Curator said: “The RDS Visual Arts Awards is an exciting and dynamic exhibition that brings together the innovative and relevant art practices of an emerging generation of visual artists where platform, practice and audience meet. The alchemy of these interwoven strands has a storied history and has forged the careers of many of today’s leading voices in contemporary visual arts. This year 10 emerging artists will exhibit at the Royal Hibernian Academy. These artists are a dynamic and innovative group that articulate, challenge and expand our visual culture and will form the new wave of artistic voices in Irish Contemporary Art.”