Digital Arts Practice

3rd Symposium on Digital Art in Ireland [April 22, in person, UCC] Registration Open

Registration is now open for the 3rd Symposium on Digital Art in Ireland

April 22nd, 2026 in University College Cork

The symposium is a collaboration between Sample-Studios and University College Cork’s Department of Digital Humanities and Future Humanities Institute. The Symposium is generously supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.

Registration is now open for the 3rd Symposium on Digital Art in Ireland. The symposium is a collaboration between Sample-Studios and University College Cork’s Department of Digital Humanities and Future Humanities Institute. The Symposium is generously supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.

The Symposium will take place at University College Cork & the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion, Fitzgerald’s Park 22nd April, 2026. It is chaired by Stephen Roddy, James O’Sullivan, Aoibhie McCarthy & Emer Yip.

Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/3rd-symposium-on-digital-art-in-ireland-tickets-1985523941558

Participants and attendees may also be interested in submitting to Digital Art in Ireland: Theory, Practice, Futures, a new book that will be published in late 2026/early 2027:
https://www.blackwaterpublishing.com/digital-art-ireland

Symposium Programme

DATE 22nd April 2026

Symposium: 10am-5:15pm | Exhibition Opening Reception: 5:30-7pm 
Venue: Dora Allman, University College Cork
10am Opening Remarks
10.15am – 11.30am Session 1
  • FAILING SMALL: TRAINING A GENERATIVE AI MODEL WITH IMPERFECT DARKROOM IMAGES. Alaz Okudan with James McDermott , Centre for Creative Technologies, University of Galway
  • ARTISTIC ACCESS TO COMPLEX DIGITAL SYSTEMS THROUGH PARTICIPATORY DESIGN. Dr Paul Green and Juan Francisco Martinez, MTU Crawford College of Art & Design &  Nimbus Research Centre
  • A PRACTICE-LED APPROACH TO MUSIC VISUALISATION IN THE IRISH DIGITAL ARTS CURRICULUM. Guang Yang, University College Cork
Break 11.30-11.45am
11.45am – 1.00pm Session 2
  • FULLY SUBMERGED: COLLABORATIVE WORK AND IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES. Barbara Denier, University College Cork and Dr. Paul Green, MTU Crawford College of Art & Design
  • A MULTI-MODAL ADAPTIVE MICROTUNING ARCHITECTURE: BRIDGING MTS, MPE, AND MIDI 2.0 FOR REAL-TIME JUST INTONATION. Rui Su, Joseph Timoney, Damián Keller, Maynooth University
  • A LEGION OF DEVILS- THE ROLE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SCULPTURE OF JAMES L HAYES. James L. Hayes, MTU Crawford College of Art & Design

Lunch 1-2pm
2.00pm – 3.15pm Session 3
  • CHROMAESTHESIA IN CURGENVEN’S AGENESIS. Robin Parmar, University of Limerick
  • CREATIVE TRANSPARENCY: REFLECTIONS ON A DEVELOPING HYBRID DIGITAL PRACTICE. Chris Falconer
  • ACCESSIBILITY AND MULTI-SENSORY INSTALLATION. Jane Cassidy, University of Galway’s Centre for Creative Technologies
Break 3.15-3.30pm
3:30pm – 4:15pm Panel
  • THE BODY AS HARDWARE: ENTANGLEMENT OF FLESH AND MACHINE THROUGH DIGITAL PERFORMANCE. EL Putnam (Maynooth University), Katherine Nolan (Technological University Dublin), Phaedra Shanbaum (Maynooth University)
4:15pm – 5:15pm Final Session
  • METAGARDENER: CULTIVATING LIFE IN INTERACTION DESIGN. Caileann Finn, University of Limerick
  • LUDDITE ACADEMY; TOWARDS A POLITICISED DIGITAL CREATIVE PRACTICE. David Benqué, Institute of Diagram Studies, Sample-Studios Member
  • COUNTER-ARCHIVAL METHODOLOGIES AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF MEMORY: THE IRAQ PHOTO ARCHIVE AND HOUSE OF MEMORY. Basil Al-Rawi 

Exhibition Opening

House of Memory,  Basil Al-Rawi

The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion, 5.30-7pm

CLICK HERE

Additional details: https://sample-studios.com/events/3rd-symposium-on-digital-art-in-ireland/

DARIAH Digital Arts and Humanities Training and Summer School Small Grants 2026 [Call closes April 16]

DARIAH Digital Arts and Humanities Training and Summer School Small Grants 2026

DARIAH invites applications for small grants supporting in-person summer schools and intensive training events in the Digital Arts and Humanities (DAH) that will take place in 2026. This programme aims to strengthen training opportunities, expand digital skills in the arts and humanities, and support collaboration across research, education, and cultural heritage communities.

Objectives

  • Promote methodological innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration;
  • Support digital skills development for researchers, early stage researchers, and cultural heritage professionals;
  • Encourage inclusive and geographically diverse participation;
  • Foster knowledge sharing within the DAH community.

Information on Funding

The total allocated to this call is €10,000. Typical grant range: €2,000 – €5,000 per event. Funding may support instructor travel, participant bursaries, teaching materials, technical infrastructure, and organisational expenses related to the event. However, proposals that privilege participant bursaries (travel, accommodation, and daily expenses) will be considered more highly. 

Matched funding involving other funding sources is possible.

Eligible Activities

  • Summer schools or training schools
  • Intensive workshops
  • Hackathons with a strong training component 
  • Method-focused training events

Events should normally last between 3–10 days and include hands-on digital arts and humanities training.

Eligibility

Applications may be submitted by universities, research institutions, cultural heritage institutions (libraries, archives, museums), or a consortium of partner organisations. The lead institution must be part of a DARIAH national consortium in a DARIAH member state, with the event taking place at the lead institution. For a list of eligible institutions please see the members and partners page on the DARIAH website. Alternatively, non-consortium  institutions in DARIAH member states can be lead institutions, but with the written consent of the DARIAH National Representative of their country. Inquiries about the scheme can be made to funding@dariah.eu.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be assessed based on training quality, relevance to the DARIAH impact, inclusivity and accessibility, and organisational feasibility.

Acknowledgement

DARIAH’s support should be acknowledged in event communications and on any other materials.

Reporting

Grant recipients must submit a short report after the event no later than four weeks after the end of the event, summarizing participation, outcomes, and links to training materials where available. Successful applicants will receive 60% of the funding upon signature of a grant agreement between DARIAH and the lead institution, and 40% upon submission of the report. Reports that are submitted after four weeks of the event may not receive the remainder of the funding.

Deadline

Applications must be submitted by 16 April  2026 at 17:00 CEST*.

* Should the total funding pool remain unexhausted after the initial selection round, the call will move to a rolling application process:
From April 16, 2026 17:00 CEST onwards, applications will be reviewed and granted strictly on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications must still meet all eligibility and quality requirements to be successful.This extension will remain active only until the remaining funds are fully allocated.

Apply here

Futures in the Making: Identity, Speculation, and Digital Representation [Feb 10, online and in person, @12:00 GMT]

Futures in the Making: Identity, Speculation, and Digital Representation

Date & Time: 12pm, Tuesday 10th February

Location: Studio 3, O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance, University of Galway

The Masterclass Series continues with 

Aisling Phelan, an Irish multidisciplinary artist exploring digital doubles, speculative futures and human-machine interactions and entanglements.

In this masterclass, Aisling will present an overview of her artistic practice, tracing the research, processes, and technological explorations that shape her work in relation to identity, corporeality, and digital representation. Drawing on recent research into DeepFakes, doppelgangers, and robotics, the session will also invite participants to engage in speculative thinking around possible futures shaped by emerging technologies, using fiction and open-ended questioning as tools to reflect on contemporary technological anxieties.

Speaker Bio
Aisling Phelan is an Irish multidisciplinary artist exploring digital doubles, speculative futures and human-machine interactions and entanglements. Through 3D animation, AI, video, sculpture, and live interactive technologies, her work explores what it means to be human in an era of rapid technological advancement and pervasive algorithmic influence. 

Drawing from a transhumanist and speculative fiction perspective, Phelan explores how far we are willing to go in the pursuit of self-optimisation and the potential costs of such advances. Fusing the intimate with the artificial, her practice confronts the seductive promise of transcendence and enhancement, creating space for reflection on the role of current digital infrastructures in shaping how we understand ourselves and others.

In person: https://ti.to/creative-tech/masterclass-aisling-phelan

Zoom: https://universityofgalway-ie.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Fb4r-VXCTAOFEkSJdwm8iw

Upcoming Workshops:

Liing Heaney  – Tuesday, 17 February

Róisín Berg – Tuesday, 24 February

Tara Jaye Burke – Tuesday, 3rd March

Claire Healy  – Tuesday 24th March

Jane Cassidy – Tuesday 31th March

Funeral for Ashes: Combining Art, Ecology, and Immersive Technology [Nov 18, Online and in person, @12pm]. University of Galway Centre for Creative Technologies.

Funeral for Ashes: Combining Art, Ecology, and Immersive Technology

Date & Time: 12pm, Tuesday 18th November

Location: Studio 3, O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance, University of Galway

Join artists Conor Maloney and John Conneely for an in-depth masterclass on Funeral for Ashes, an immersive installation honouring Ireland’s endangered ash woodlands. Blending TouchDesigner, Bitwig Studio, LiDAR, and photogrammetry, the work transforms ecological data and human movement into a living, responsive environment of sound and light.


In this session, the artists will unpack the creative and technical process behind the piece — from 3D scanning native trees to synchronising generative audio and real-time visuals — and discuss how digital art can serve as both ritual and environmental reflection.

Register to Attend: https://ti.to/creative-tech/masterclass-funeral-for-ashes

Expanding Realities: XR at the Intersection of Hidden Histories, Biosciences, and Creative Technologies [Online and in person, Nov 4th, 12pm]. University of Galway Centre for Creative Technologies.

Expanding Realities: XR at the Intersection of Hidden Histories, Biosciences, and Creative Technologies

This masterclass with visiting Fulbright Specialist, Thomas Tucker of Virginia Tech, explores how Extended Reality (XR), including virtual, augmented, and mixed reality, has become a transformative tool across disciplines. Drawing from his own creative practice and collaborative research, he will present case studies that demonstrate how XR bridges cultural heritage, bioscience and veterinary research, and interactive art.

The session will combine project documentation, live examples, and conceptual framing to illustrate how XR operates as both a research methodology and a medium for storytelling. Attendees will gain insight into how immersive technologies are reshaping education, cultural preservation, scientific research, and artistic innovation.

Highlights

Creative Installations: Immersive XR artworks, including Drosera Obscura and Sound Arcade, which integrate animatronics, sound design, and sensory elements. These projects showcase how XR can provoke ecological awareness and emotional reflection while pushing the boundaries of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Historic Reconstructions: XR as a means of digitally repatriating artifacts and reconstructing lived environments, from WWI trenches and Civil War battlefields to overlooked rural landscapes. These projects illustrate how immersive experiences can expand access to cultural memory and hidden histories.

Bioscience and Veterinary Simulations: XR applications in veterinary training, animal care, and biological research—such as simulations of bat flight and sonar perception in China—highlight how immersive environments can serve both scientific understanding and empathy building for professionals and students.

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Registration: https://ti.to/creative-tech/masterclass-thomas-tucker

This masterclass is part of a series run by the Centre for Creative Technologies at University of Galway. 

George Bruseker, Ontologies for Art History: Modelling Creative Processes and Evolving Meanings [Nov 3rd, online, 3pm]

STAGE – From Stage to Data: The Digital Turn of Contemporary Performing Arts Historiography George Bruseker, Ontologies for Art History: Modelling Creative Processes and Evolving Meanings


As part of the European research project STAGE – From Stage to Data: The Digital Turn of Contemporary Performing Arts Historiography, directed by Clarisse Bardiot, this research seminar offers an in-depth introduction to the issues, concepts, methods, and tools involved in the digital study of texts, images, and cultural data. It aims to address the challenges and opportunities related to the use of digital data in art research – particularly in the developing fields of digital art history and culture analytics – and to show how the digital humanities open new research perspectives in the humanities. 

The seminars take place on Mondays from 4 to 6 p.m.:
– in person at the Villejean campus of the University of Rennes 2
– or online via Zoom. Registration is required via the following form so that the link can be sent to you. If you have already registered for this event, please do not fill in the form below again.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFoa97RsWVtuB0e6Xh9ETNC26lGi1zKPEJip7aJaok_kkYdA/viewform?usp=header

Sessions will be recorded and made available on the From Stage to Data website: https://stage-to-data.huma-num.fr

Site web http://www.clarissebardiot.info/ 

Projet ERC From Stage to Data : https://stage-to-data.huma-num.fr/en/

Dernier livre :Arts de la scène et humanités numériques. Des traces aux données

/ Performing Arts and Digital Humanities. From Traces to Data.

Pursuing the Quantum Imaginary: Esoteric Knowledge Production and the Future of Telecommunications Masterclass [Oct 14th @12 – online]

Pursuing the Quantum Imaginary: Esoteric Knowledge Production and the Future of Telecommunications [Online and in person, Oct 14th, 12-2pm]. University of Galway Centre for Creative Technologies.

This masterclass is part of a series run by the Centre for Creative Technologies at University of Galway. The next of this semester’s Masterclass Series is with Nadia Armstrong, a visual artist and practice-based PhD fellow with NCAD and CONNECT, Research Ireland’s Centre for Future Networks and Communications.

Through an artist-ethnographic and cyborg feminist lens, Nadia Armstrong’s practice-based PhD research examines the systems of knowledge that underpin quantum communication technologies.

This masterclass will:

  1. take you through Armstrong’s practice-based research methodologies, and
  2. endeavour to explore how the field of quantum communications is understood through broader histories of science, technology, belief systems and culture – tracing the entanglements of bodies, machines, and knowledge systems to create what Armstrong calls the Quantum Imaginary.

Through this research and practice framework, Armstrong parafictions a techno-feminist horizon, using digital processes to conjure imagined phenomena that might help us resist technocracy and emerging forms of techno-feudalism.

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Through an artist-ethnographic and cyborg feminist lens, Nadia Armstrong’s practice-based PhD research examines the systems of knowledge that underpin quantum communication technologies. This masterclass will take you through Armstrong’s practice-based research methodologies, and endeavour to explore how the field of quantum communications is understood through broader histories of science, technology, belief systems and culture – tracing the entanglements of bodies, machines, and knowledge systems to create what Armstrong calls the Quantum Imaginary. Through this research and practice framework, Armstrong parafictions a techno-feminist horizon, using digital processes to conjure imagined phenomena that might help us resist technocracy and emerging forms of techno-feudalism. This masterclass is part of a series run by the Centre for Creative Technologies at University of Galway. Further information about the series can be found at: https://buff.ly/oJKIuoR About Nadia Nadia J. Armstrong is a visual artist and practice-based PhD fellow with NCAD and CONNECT, Research Ireland’s Centre for Future Networks and Communications. Her current artistic research harnesses the socio-technical imaginary to analyse systems of knowledge in the field of quantum communications. Armstrong’s installations act as interfaces to alternative realities, enveloping audiences in emancipatory parafictions that deconstruct appearances of “natural order.” She creates XR environments through which esoteric forms of knowledge become rituals for contemporary survival. Armstrong’s newest work GIRLHERO (2025) was commissioned by the Luan Gallery, Athlone for their exhibition SYSTEM ARMING curated by Aoife Banks.

The exhibition runs till November 16th. Armstrong’s full bio and more information about her work is available at: nadiajarmstrong.com

CONNECT – CONNECT is the world leading Research Ireland Centre for Future Networks and Communications.