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RTÉ This is Art! 2025: Inspiring a new generation of artists, one masterpiece at a time.
Art gives young people the freedom to imagine, express themselves and see the world differently. Every year, RTÉ This is Art! celebrates that creativity, inviting children and young people from across the island of Ireland to share their work and have it recognised on a national stage.
Supported by Creative Ireland and the Shared Island Initiative, the competition is about much more than winning. It's about building confidence, celebrating individuality and showing every young person that their creativity matters.
For the second consecutive year, THINKHOUSE partnered with RTÉ to manage the competition from end to end - leading strategy, creative development, branding, advertising, PR, social media, creator partnerships, judging, events, website management and competition delivery.
Following the success of 2024, our challenge was simple: make This is Art! even bigger, more visible and more inspiring for young people across Ireland.
Our answer was “This is Nature!”, a theme inviting young artists to explore the natural world or even human nature through their own imagination, whether inspired by wildlife, biodiversity, landscapes, climate or the people or places that matter most to them.
Creative Campaign
Inspired by This is Nature!, we brought the competition to life with a vibrant campaign across TV, radio, social, digital and print. Every piece of creative was designed to spark curiosity and remind young people that creativity doesn't have to look a certain way. Whether it's drawing, painting, sculpting, photographing or building something entirely unexpected, every idea belongs. Just create, snap and upload.
Driving Participation
To launch the campaign, we brought together media, creators, judges and families for an interactive event that generated authentic content, photography and interviews, giving the campaign real momentum from day one. That energy carried through a nationwide PR campaign, celebrating young artists and the importance of creativity in young people's lives.
The judging panel also helped broaden the campaign's appeal. Alongside leading artists Maser, Joe Caslin, Helen Steele, Director of The Dock, Mary Conlon, and acclaimed ornithologist and environmental campaigner Seán Ronayne brought a fresh perspective that perfectly complemented the This is Nature! theme.
To reach more young people than ever before, THINKHOUSE introduced a network of This is Art! Ambassadors: creators, teachers and parents who shared the competition with their own communities, making it feel less like a competition and more like an invitation to get creative.
Alongside this, we leaned into TikTok, creating social-first content that met young people where they already spend their time and encouraged them to create, snap and upload.
The Results
The campaign delivered a big result; it inspired just under 3,000 young people to share their creativity with the world and more than doubled the number of entries received the previous year.
By putting creators and ambassadors at the heart of the campaign and creating a launch designed to generate richer PR and social storytelling, THINKHOUSE successfully reached more young people than ever before and turned awareness into participation.
Campaign Highlights
- Submissions up 100% from 2024
- Entries received from all 32 counties, with increased entries from Northern Ireland
- Artwork submitted across 34 artistic disciplines
- 5.4 million+ potential earned media reach
- 800,000+ potential earned creator social reach
As RTÉ's strategic and creative partner, THINKHOUSE is proud to continue helping build one of Ireland's most meaningful youth arts initiatives, giving the next generation of artists the confidence, recognition and platform they deserve.