SPARK Youth Arts Festival 2026
February 20th – 26th
The SPARK Youth Arts Festival is a national event to explore, discuss and celebrate the inspiring world of youth arts practice in Ireland. Take part and spark your interest in developing youth arts activities with young people and embedding youth arts practice in your work!
The theme of the 2026 festival is creativity and wellbeing. Our programme features: a workshop event for young people in the South-East exploring creativity and wellbeing in partnership with Ferns Diocesan Youth Service (FDYS); a webinar with panel discussions & case studies; a youth arts training event; an FAQ event for the Artist and Youth Work Residency Grant Scheme 2026; a webinar to share new research on creativity and youth work in partnership with Maynooth University and the SPARK Mini-Grant scheme 2026!
Join us from February 20th – 26th for a celebration of youth arts!
For more information, contact Rhona Dunnett at rhona@nyci.ie
Book your place!
SPARK: Creativity and Wellbeing Youth Event
SPARK Feb 20 – A special youth event in partnership with FDYS to explore and celebrate the power of creativity to enhance our sense of wellbeing!
SPARK: Creativity and Wellbeing in Youth Arts Webinar
SPARK Feb 23 – Join us for a webinar to explore creativity and wellbeing in youth arts in youth work!
SPARK FAQ Event: Artist and Youth Work Residency Grant Scheme Feb 24th
SPARK Feb 24 – An online FAQ event to share information about the Artist and Youth Work Residency Grant Scheme 2026 and help you prepare to apply.
SPARK: Creative Facilitation – 5 Ways to Wellbeing
SPARK Feb 25 – A training workshop to support youth workers and artists to facilitate wellbeing programmes with young people using creative processes.
SPARK: Fostering Creativity through Youth Work- What the Research Says
SPARK Feb 26 – A webinar in partnership with Maynooth University to share and consider key research findings on creativity in youth work.
SPARK Mini-Grant Scheme 2026
NYCI’s National Youth Arts Programme was delighted to receive so many applications for our SPARK Mini-Grants worth €300! This year’s scheme closed on January 21st and grant recipients will be announced shortly!
The Mini-Grants aim to support youth arts taster workshops for young people aged 10 to 25 in youth work and non-formal education settings – sparking young people’s interest in youth arts practice and exploring the 2026 theme of creativity and wellbeing!
Contact Us
Please do get in touch if you want to chat about developing youth arts in your work with young people!
Rhona Dunnett, Youth Arts Programme Manager ¦ Email: rhona@nyci.ie
Pilar Loring, Youth Arts Programme Officer ¦ Email pilar@nyci.ie
Follow the National Youth Council of Ireland on Facebook | on Twitter: @nycinews
SPARK Youth Arts Festival is funded by The Arts Council and the Department of Education and Youth.
