Grace Wells Awarded Inaugural PFGi Poetry Bursary and Commission
PFGi, in partnership with Poetry Ireland / Éigse Éireann, are delighted to announce that Grace Wells has been selected as the recipient of the inaugural PFGi Poetry Award 2026, receiving a €7,000 bursary and commission to create a new original poem exploring the relationship between engineering, creativity and human experience.
Facilitated by Business to Arts, the award reflects a shared belief that engineering and poetry, while often viewed as distinct disciplines, are both grounded in imagination, structure, and the shaping of ideas into form. Through this initiative, PFGi and Poetry Ireland / Éigse Éireann aim to create space for dialogue between disciplines, inviting a poet to respond to themes that connect technical precision with human experience.
Grace Wells is an award-winning eco-poet and environmental writer. Nature, spirit-of-place, and the complexities of ecological crisis are the large themes of her writing. Grace has published three books of poetry with Dedalus Press, most recently in 2022, ’The Church of the Love of the World,’ which was shortlisted for the Farmgate Café National Poetry Award and the Laurel Prize. Grace is one of the co-creators of Hometree’s eco-arts project, ‘Dinnseanchas’, which is working to support community resilience in Ireland’s upland communities, and to restore temperate woodland landscapes across the West coast.
Speaking on the receipt of the award, Grace said:
“I'm honoured and deeply grateful to PFGI, Poetry Ireland and Business to Arts for this generous bursary. It offers an exciting opportunity to explore the meeting place between poetry, engineering and sustainability, and to bring different ways of seeing into conversation. I'm interested in how imagination, close attention, language and story can weave together with science, technology and industry as we respond creatively to the ecological and social challenges of our time and try our best to shape more resilient and meaningful futures for the entire community of life."
Following a competitive open call process, Grace was selected by an expert panel of poets and engineering professionals, with the commissioned work to be developed over the coming months and a public unveiling anticipated in early 2027.
Áine Dunne, Chief Executive Officer of PFGi commented:
"At PFGi, we believe innovation is driven not only by technical excellence but also by curiosity, creativity and the ability to see challenges from new perspectives. We are delighted to partner with Poetry Ireland / Éigse Éireann on this award and to congratulate Grace Wells as its inaugural recipient. We hope this commission will inspire fresh conversations about the connections between engineering and creativity, and we look forward to working with Grace on the final commissioned piece."
Poetry Ireland Director Claire Power added:
“We are delighted to congratulate Grace Wells on receiving the inaugural PFGI Poetry Award. The standard of applications we received for this bursary was so high and is testament to the creative potential that can emerge when the arts and industry work together. We look forward to seeing what Grace will achieve with this generous bursary, and are excited to share the work that will emerge over the coming months.”
Marking the beginning of a new partnership between PFGi and Poetry Ireland / Éigse Éireann, the bursary reflects a shared commitment to supporting ambitious creative practice and fostering new connections between industry and the arts. Over the coming months, Grace will develop a new commissioned poem through engagement with PFGi. The completed work will be unveiled in early 2027 and shared through public and organisational platforms.
Louise O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, commented:
“Business to Arts is proud to have worked with Process FGi and Poetry Ireland to develop this partnership. It demonstrates how businesses can support ambitious creative practice while opening up new conversations across disciplines. Congratulations to Grace Wells on this well-deserved recognition. We look forward to seeing the work that comes from this unique collaboration.”director Claire Power was part of the judging panel to appoint Enda to this role.
