Dublin Fringe Festival is Hiring Two Associate Artists

We believe that artists make a city worth living in. 

We want to invest in the work of exciting and ground-breaking artists whose work we believe in. 

We're on the hunt for two exceptional artists to join as staff members from September 2026 - September 2027.

We want to ensure that artists are part of the conversation in all aspects of our work and that our organisation is always working with an up-to-date awareness of the issues and experiences affecting our industry. These roles are two artists who want to further develop both your personal artistic and festival making practises. We believe it’s vital that our organisation is responsive to artists’ needs, and these roles follow that framework, allowing aspects and priorities of each artists’ tenure to be shaped by goals developed with the Festival Director. The roles will encompass areas of curation, producing, strategy, art-form development and artist support, tailored to each Associate Artists’ goals. Associate Artists will receive year-round mentorship from the Festival Director and targeted mentoring from an international artist of note, supporting the development of your personal artistic practise. You will be involved in all areas of the festival-making process: across festival curation, commission selection and development, producing, artist support & dramaturgy.  

This role also offers the opportunity of time and resources to develop your own independent artistic practice and projects. We expect that the successful candidate will be working on a number of ideas and productions throughout the year with various partners and organisations.  

As Associate Artist at Dublin Fringe Festival, you will be a key member of our team, working closely with the team on Festival-creation, providing expert consultancy to Dublin Fringe Festival staff and mentorship to the wider artistic community. You are knowledgeable about the context of contemporary performance-making in Ireland and the working lives of artists in Dublin and beyond. You are eager to bring your perspective to Dublin Fringe Festival, with a particular interest in curation or producing. Your expertise will help shape the 2027 Festival, and the ethos of the organisation moving forward. 

You are passionate, curious and strategic, contributing to selection panels for recruitment, curation and various open call processes. You will share your skills with a wide network of peers and colleagues. This job invites you to put your stamp on Dublin Fringe Festival, while expanding your personal and Festival-making practise. You’ll do it all alongside of one of the most skilled, dynamic and hard-working teams in Ireland.  

TIMELINE  

The term of the role will be bookended by two Festival’s, with Associate Artists beginning on September 1st 2026 with an opportunity to attend performances across the Festival. It will end at the end of the 2027 Festival cycle, September 19th 2027. Pro-rated days will be flexible, shaped to your schedule and selected projects. 

WHAT THE ROLE WILL INCLUDE: 

• Furthering your own independent artistic practice in the fields of art-making, curation, festival-making, producing and mentorship. 

• Working on and developing your personal creative projects with time and space provided. 

• Offering one-to-one mentorship in your area of expertise to artists within the wider Dublin Fringe Festival community.  
• Contributing to strategic discussion and planning with the executive and board about Dublin Fringe Festival and its future. 

• Feeding into Festival curation and production of the 2027 Dublin Fringe Festival. 

YOU MAY ALSO BE INVITED TO: 

• Provide feedback and advice to the Dublin Fringe Festival team on various schemes and processes.  
• Sit on the assessment panel for recruitment processes and other open call selection processes.  

THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE WILL:  

• Bring artistic and curatorial vision to Dublin Fringe Festival. 
• Attend meetings, report progress and give updates to Dublin Fringe Festival team as required.  
• Work in community at Dublin Fringe Festival HQ, Sycamore Street, Temple Bar with support from the Dublin Fringe Festival team year-round (with occasional remote working) 
• Access the resources available at Dublin Fringe Festival HQ including desk-space, meeting space, rehearsal space and equipment, where availability allows. 
• Avail of invitations and tickets to events. 

WHO IS THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR? 

• This opportunity is for an experienced artist with an established practice who wants to develop their personal practise in key areas. 

• An artist who feels they can expand Dublin Fringe Festival’s cultural offering, whether through new artforms, audiences or artists. 

• An artist excited by the opportunity to invest time in a relationship with an arts organisation in order to develop new skills, support their fellow artists and contribute to the future of the wider arts industry.  
• In line with the curatorial ethos of Dublin Fringe Festival, the Associate Artists will have a contemporary, innovative, multidisciplinary or experimental practice from any performance discipline. 
• The Associate Artist could be, for example, a creative producer, director, visual artist, designer, writer, poet, choreographer, musician, composer or maker etc.  

PERSON SPECIFICATION  

Essential:  

• 5+ years experience as a professional artist* with a contemporary, innovative or experimental practice in any performance discipline. (*Professional artist defined as an artist with an active practise and experience working in the creative sector). 
• A proven track record of creating impactful performance projects.  
• Experience as self-producing artist or as a leader of independent creative projects. 
• A strong interest in contributing to a community of artists, Festival curation and the future of Dublin Fringe Festival. 
• Mentorship & feedback skillsets, with experience providing reflections and suggestions to others and a particular interest in supporting early career artists. 
• Knowledge of the Irish arts industry and issues affecting the working lives of independent artists in Dublin and beyond.  
• Superior communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues across various skillsets.  
• A personality that thrives on working as part of a team, curiosity, and a good sense of humour.  

Desirable: 

• Experience in creative producing, aligning personal creative vision with a wider project. 
• Experience in applying for and securing funding from government and/ or other sources. 
• Experience in reviewing applications and contributing to selection processes.  

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT 

• Hours: Part-time, flexible. 
• Salary: €35,000 pro-rated 
• Contract type: Part-time PAYE fixed term for 1 year (September 2026 - 2027) 

• 20 days’ annual leave, pro-rated 

• Some flexibility for remote working, depending on organisational and operational requirements. 

• Regular Dublin Fringe Festival office hours are Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm including lunch break. 
• The position is based in Dublin Fringe Festival, Sycamore Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, with occasional remote and flexible working opportunities.  
• Applicants must be resident in Ireland.  

HOW TO APPLY 

To apply for this position please send the following documents to recruit@fringefest.com, addressed to Bee Sparks, Festival Director by Friday 7th August at 5pm. 

1. A CV detailing your experience to date 
2. A cover letter that answers the four questions below: 

        a) What would you bring to the role?  

        b) Why do you want to work with Dublin Fringe Festival?  

        c) A brief outline of the artistic projects you have in development/ production January – December 2027.  

       d) What are the subject areas that you would like to mentor fellow artists in?  

The closing date for applications is 7th August 2026 at 5pm.  

Your application will be treated with the strictest of confidence.  

We may invite candidates to an informal interview. 

All applicants will be notified of decisions by 31st August 2026. 

Dublin Fringe Festival is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We welcome applications from artists of all gender identities, nationalities, races, cultural backgrounds, ages, religions, languages, different abilities, sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses or geographic regions. Dublin Fringe Festival is committed to a diverse workplace, and to supporting our staff with ongoing career development opportunities. If you would like to speak with us about any barriers to access you may be facing, please do so and we will work to remove them.  

Dublin Fringe Festival is core funded by the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and Dublin City Council.