Young Laois artist celebrates significant achievements

A young artist from Laois has been honoured with two major accolades for her outstanding artwork.

Aoife Dunne from Abbeyleix is a 2026 graduate from the Limerick School of Art and Design, which is part of the Technological University of the Shannon and one of Europe’s leading art schools.

Aoife was named among four recipients of a commission from the TUS at an awards ceremony held last Saturday, May 30.

The commission comes through the Percent for Art Scheme and each selected artist will work over the summer to create new work in relation to the new building on the TUS Athlone Campus.

This scheme is a government initiative whereby 1% of the cost of any publicly funded capital, infrastructural and building development can be allocated to the commissioning of a work of art.

Aoife was also announced as one of six artists shortlisted for the Spacecraft Graduate Residency Scheme. Spacecraft is an artist-run gallery and studio space in Limerick, whose

Graduate Residency offers studio space, mentorship, and exhibition support.

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On top of all this, she was named on the longlist of the RDS Visual Art Awards. The RDS Visual Art Awards is one of the most significant platforms for visual arts graduates in Ireland, with a prize fund of over €40,000 and an opportunity for exposure for emerging artists.

Despite just graduating from the Limerick School of Art and Design, Aoife has enjoyed significant achievements so far in her career.

She originally studied in Abbeyleix FETC and graduated with a Level 6 in Art in 2022. She then moved on to study Sculpture & Combined Media in the Limerick School of Art and Design.

The Abbeyleix artist featured on RTÉ 2’s ‘This is Art’ in 2022 and was named as a NASC Network Young Curator for the Dunamaise Arts Centre in Portlaoise in 2023.

In addition to completing her final year of college, Aoife was also announced as a member of the Douglas Hyde Gallery’s prestigious Student Forum this year.

Aoife’s graduate installation, ‘Connective Tissues/Cognitive Mapping’, is a body of work which includes a sound walk, a parallel gallery-based audio installation, sculptural intervention, and a printed publication.

The work features a disused park bench which was donated by Laois County Council. Through this piece of work, Aoife reflects on her status as a disabled woman and how she considers public space and the movement of a disabled body through it.

Aoife’s work is open to the public as part of the Limerick School of Art and Design Graduate Showcase 2026.

The showcase is open daily from 10am to 5pm at the Limerick School of Art and Design Clare Street Campus until Sunday, June 7.