Summer School on Collaborative Practice and Social Change 2026

Create and Learning Lab Agency are pleased to announce the 2026 Summer School on Collaborative Practice and Social Change. This intensive programme will take place over six days, from 15–20 June 2026, in Killary Lodge, County Galway. The Deadline for Expressions of Interest is 5.30pm, 20 April 2026.

About the 2026 Summer School

Now entering its eighth year, the forthcoming Summer School on Collaborative Practice and Social Change explores the work of collaborative and socially engaged artists and examines the politics of public art, counter publics, and the significance of place in an era of rapid geopolitical rupture and transformation.

Collaborative and socially engaged artists increasingly operate across multiple, intersecting community domains such as health, care, housing, post-conflict contexts, displacement, and climate change. Their work demands a wide-ranging skill set, including intuitive code-switching, deep listening, problem-solving, and advocacy. Artists in this field often act as mediators, catalysts, community allies, project initiators, enablers, producers, and more.

In 2026, we will highlight both the visible and invisible forms of labour that underpin collaborative and socially engaged practice. Through case studies and their own in-situ or in-process projects, participants will explore the distinct, yet interconnected skills and spheres involved in this work.

Focus Areas

The 2026 Summer School brings together artists, curators, creative producers, activists, and guest contributors to explore a range of topics, including:

• The various forms of ‘value’ associated with collaborative and socially engaged practice.
• Managing expectations with commissioners, funders, and community partners.
• Re-examining the commissioning process, providing time for preliminary research before co-production.
• Building trust with ‘critical friends’ and ‘champions’ in long-term projects.
• Navigating the relationship between craft, care, and the essential role of aesthetics in collaborative and socially engaged projects.
• Addressing the challenges of co-creating material and cultural infrastructures within contested public spaces.
• Balancing artistic authorship with the collaborative dynamics of working with communities and collectives.
• Documenting and ‘finding the story’ of a project in partnership with diverse allies and communities.
• Identifying and establishing both temporary and permanent venues for exhibiting collaborative and socially engaged work, including galleries, public museums and private and public collections, archives and other civic and community spaces.
• Exploring innovative approaches to critical evaluation with potential commissioners, collaborators, and participants.

Programme Structure and Ethos

The Summer School is founded on a strong belief in the power of cooperative and transdisciplinary ‘thinking through doing’. It values peer-to-peer collaboration, cross-sector solidarity, and mutual support among participants. The six-day immersive format provides an incubator environment where participants engage with live case studies, participate in skills training workshops, critically reflect, and receive one-to-one mentoring.

The Summer School is delivered in partnership by Create and Learning Lab Agency with funding support from The Arts Council of Ireland.

Summer School Team and Facilitators

Summer School Director: Dr Áine O’Brien – Independent Curator/Researcher, Learning Lab Agency

Summer School Producer: Áine Crowley – Programme Manager, Arts and Engagement, Create

Summer School Assistant Producer: Carolann Courtney – Programme Coordinator, Create

Visiting Artists and Facilitators:

Dominik Czechowski, Curator, Researcher and Writer

John Conway, Socially Engaged Artist

Dana Olărescu, Socially Engaged Artist and Cultural Activist