I am Jane Hayes, a Cork-based visual artist with over a decade of experience specialising in creating art for early years audiences (0-5 years old). My research-driven practice focuses on the importance of children's voices in creative decision-making. I’ve been fortunate to receive significant commissions from the Hunt Museum Limerick, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, and Baboró International Arts Festival for Children.

My commitment to advancing early years art is evident in the artist talks, workshops, and presentations I’ve delivered across Ireland. While raising three young boys, I am deepening my studio practice, exploring innovative approaches to presenting visual art to young children. Moving away from didactic methods, I embrace experimental, research-based techniques inspired by progressive European performing arts methodologies.

Supported by the Arts Council, I was awarded a YPCE Artist Bursary in October 2023, following Agility Awards in 2021 and 2022, which allowed me to focus on creating high-quality early years art for exhibitions. In 2024, I received a Cork City Council Artist Bursary and remain an active member of Sample-Studios, Cork, and a founding member of an early years visual artists collective.