About the Award

The mission of the Golden Fleece Award is to provide resources for practising contemporary visual artists and makers to innovate and develop their artistic vision, in accordance with Lillias’ intentions as set out in her Letter of Wishes to her Trustees:

It has always been my wish that those with talent be encouraged to develop their talents, particularly in Ireland … I am very conscious of the fact that many artists cannot develop their talents because their art does not bring in a steady income for them and yet they need to support themselves financially … My wish is to give artists a 'boost' in times of particular need … I have set up this trust [for] artists in need who are interested in pursuing their careers as artists.

A call for applications is usually announced each August/September and remains open until the end of November. The call for entries for the 2025 Golden Fleece Award opens at 10am on Friday 13 September 2024 and closes at 5pm on Friday 29 November 2024.

Once the submission deadline passes, all applications received are assessed by a specialist Advisory Panel and the Golden Fleece Board of Trustees which, according to Lillias’ wishes, includes members of the Mitchell family, independent consultants, and arts experts. Entrants are updated on the status of their applications in February the following year, with the Award Ceremony and announcement of the prizewinners following in March.

The Golden Fleece Award normally consists of one or more major Awards, to which may be added smaller Merit or Special Awards. The total value of the prize fund fluctuates from year to year but generally amounts to at least €30,000 overall. How the fund is divided among recipients and distributed in any given year is at the Trustees' discretion.

In 2025, two Awards of €10,000 will be made - one in each of the two categories: Visual Art and Craft + Applied Art.