New musician residency opportunity at King House
Applications are now open for a residency opportunity for musicians who are autistic/people with autism from Music Network and Roscommon Arts Office at King House in Boyle.
Applications have opened for a residency opportunity for musicians who are autistic/people with autism from Music Network and Roscommon Arts Office at King House in Boyle.
This opportunity recognises that many such musicians face barriers to career progression that others may not. The main purpose of the residency is to provide time and space for a musician-in-residence to develop their practice intensively.
Through this opportunity Music Network and King House/Roscommon Arts Office are seeking to influence systemic change in the music sector in general and hope to learn from the musician-in-residence how they can better facilitate and include autistic people/people with autism in their own programmes and in the wider sector, both in performance and educational environments.
This opportunity follows the appointment of Patrick Stefan in 2024 as the first musician-in-residence in a residency specifically for a professional musician who is autistic/a person with autism, a partnership between Music Network and St. John’s Theatre and Arts Centre, Listowel.
This year’s selected musician will receive a bursary of €8,000 and have access to a dedicated space at King House in Boyle during October – November 2026 to develop their creative practice and create new work and/or artistic collaborations. They will also engage with the wider community, working alongside an experienced outreach co-ordinator to deliver a programme of inclusive music activities, and showcase their work live in concert at the end of the residency.
Roscommon County Council's arts officer Rhona McGrath said that they were "very pleased to partner again with Music Network on a high quality music development programme in County Roscommon. Our previous partnership in a teaching residency was hugely popular and warmly received by all involved. We expect this music residency, while very different in nature, will meet another area of need and responds to one of our key aims to support, encourage, nurture and promote the arts and artists through diverse programmes, events, funding schemes and partnerships.”
An online information meeting for people potentially interested in applying for the residency will take place on Tuesday, June 23rd at 11 a.m..
Applications for the 2026 residency are now open and the deadline for applications is Thursday, July 9th at 2 p.m.. Applications can be made online or by email. The online application form, guidelines and registration for the online information session are available at www.MusicNetwork.ie or by contacting programmesadmin@musicnetwork.ie.
