The Irish Photo Network is delighted to announce Laura Dunwoody as the recipient of the 2025 Sustaining Futures Artist’s Commission.
Selected from a strong field of artists working across the island of Ireland, Dunwoody will receive a €5,000 commission to support the development of a new publication expanding on her ongoing photographic project. Her work was chosen for its clarity of vision, strong conceptual grounding, and thoughtful engagement with the core Sustaining Futures themes of sustainability, climate action, and diversity.
As part of the commission, Dunwoody will undertake a residency at Photo Museum Ireland, receiving curatorial mentoring and access to the museum’s professional digital facilities, including new scanning and production resources.
This award forms part of the Irish Photo Network’s Sustaining Futures programme, a cross-border initiative supporting artists, research, and collaboration across the island. Through the programme’s commission, symposium, and artist survey, the Network continues to strengthen connections between artists, organisations, and communities, while advancing contemporary photography’s role in addressing the urgent issues of our time.
The Irish Photo Network is a partnership between Photo Museum Ireland, Belfast Exposed, Belfast Photo Festival, and Source Magazine, supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Co-operation with Northern Ireland Scheme, with additional core funding from the Arts Council of Ireland, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and Belfast City Council.
Laura’s work aligns strongly with the Irish Photo Network’s 2025 Sustaining Futures theme. Her collaborative practice engages local communities to reflect on issues of belonging, identity and coming of age in working-class communities. The project she has created demonstrates the role of photography in shaping social narratives, bringing new voices and perspectives to light.
Irish Photo Network 2025
