The Arts Council Collection

The Arts Council has been acquiring contemporary artwork since 1962.

Our collection, which now comprises over 1,400 artworks, tells the story of modern and contemporary Irish visual art.

Vivienne Dick | ‘Red Moon Rising’ | 2015 | HD Video

About the Arts Council Collection

Artworks in the Arts Council Collection span diverse disciplines, including sculpture, painting, performance, print, video, installation, and photography.

Pieces from the Collection are displayed in public spaces across Ireland, allowing people to experience and appreciate them firsthand.

Through the purchase and exhibition of excellent contemporary work, we support artists and act as custodians of great art on behalf of the people of Ireland.

Statue of a figure covered in demin and other blue items of clothing including a blue shirt, socks and a jumper. The figure is bent over and head covered as they struggle to take off a denim shirt

Andy Fitz | ‘Turtleneck’ | 2018 | Steel frame, upholstery foam, card, tape, layered fabric, dyed clothing

Explore the Arts Council Collection online

Digital versions of all artworks in the Arts Council Collection are available to view online on our online database.

Browse the full collection

A coat made entirely from nettle leaves and pins hangs from a wooden hanger on a white wall

Alice Maher | ‘Nettle Coat’ | 1996 | Nettles, pins, hanger

Borrowing from the Collection

We welcome requests for loans of artworks to display in settings that are easily accessible and free to enter to the public.

Learn more about borrowing from the Collection

Building the Collection

In making decisions about adding new work to the Collection, we consider a number of different factors and strategic priorities.

Learn more about how we build the Collection

Spotlights

Discover more about the artists and artworks held in the Arts Council Collection.

A person stops to look at an artwork in a white gallery space.

Swallowing Geography

Curator Rachel Botha received the Emerging Curator Award from the Regional Cultural Centre and Glebe House & Gallery in Donegal to produce an exhibition and program that utilised the Arts…

Culture Night 2021: Orla Barry

Orla Barry discusses her work Form is Destroyed as part of the Showcasing the Collection feature for Culture Night 2021.

Still from 'Quiet Please' of a sketch of a small dog curled up, asleep.

Four Decades of the Lens: Isabel Nolan

Isabel Nolan discusses her work Quiet, Please as part of the collection’s ‘Four Decades of the Lens’ showcase.

Four Decades of the Lens: Willie Doherty

Willie Doherty discusses his work Dreaming (Derry) as part of the collection’s ‘Four Decades of the Lens’ showcase.

Culture Night: Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca

Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca discusses RISE as part of the Showcasing the Collection feature for Culture Night 2020.

Get in touch

For any queries relation to the Arts Council Collection, please email collection@artscouncil.ie.

Louis Le Brocquy | ‘Image of Samuel Beckett’ | 1987 | Watercolour on paper