The Dock is delighted announce the Studio Artists for 2026—2027: Shane Finan and Jack Collum will join the studios this Spring.
The award includes fully subsidised studios for one year, a seed fund to support each artist’s practice, and access to additional resources and supports as required. This programme continues The Dock’s commitment to fostering artistic development and supporting artists working in and connected to Leitrim.
About the artists
Shane Finan (he/them) assembles artworks and projects from interactive contemporary technologies, found objects, and traditional artistic media. Their work is as both artist and creative producer on collaborative projects. It is research based and explores the impact of technologies on rural places. Shane always collaborates, most recently working with and learning from artists, crustose lichen, environmental scientists, aiteann, beetles, and fungi.
In their practice, Shane develops collaborative projects with artists, researchers, and other partners. This has included establishing and co-running the collective artist workspace and community space ^ in Manorhamilton (2022—2025), where they coordinated collaborative artistic research projects. They co-founded 'Levels of Compromise' in 2024, a nationwide collective of artists who work with critical technologies.
Jack Collum. Photo by Jack Knowles.
Jack Collum is a writer from Leitrim. In 2018, his poetry collection Perspective was published which led to recitals on national and local radio stations such as RTÉ Radio One, Shannonside FM, and Ocean FM, as well as public readings at The Dock, Ulster University, among other places. In 2020, he was commissioned through The Dock’s Young Artists Programme to compose a spoken word piece titled Red Skies, which resulted in a collaboration project with audio visual artist Fiachra Gallagher Lawson. In 2021, he received a literary award from the Leitrim Guardian for his poem Lunchtime on Summerhill. In 2024, he was awarded a B.A. in History and Philosophy from UCD, and since graduation, has given readings at Gallery X, The Back Page, and Doyles in Dublin, and The Fourth Corner, The Harbour Bar in Wicklow. He is currently working on a novel and short stories.