Both Angela and Audrey sit on the Panel as craft and applied art specialists, and together possess a comprehensive knowledge of contemporary craft, design and making practices. Angela formerly served as an Advisory Panel member for three years and takes the place of outgoing Panel Chair, Patrick T. Murphy (Director, Royal Hibernian Academy). Patrick's term as Panel Chair saw a considerable increase in the number of applications received annually, particularly in Category 1: Visual Art, and the awarding of €30,000 to artists and makers each year. The Trustees are very grateful to him for his considered assistance and support, and wish Patrick well for the future.
The Golden Fleece Award Advisory Panel consists of five industry experts who review applications received for the Golden Fleece Award and make recommendations to the Trustees on how they feel the Award should be distributed in any given year. The new Panel members join current members Ann Mulrooney, Dr Declan Long and Catherine Marshall.
Angela O’Kelly is an experienced designer-maker whose work crosses the boundaries of jewellery, textiles and sculpture. She is currently Head of Design for Body and Environment at the National College of Art & Design, Dublin. Angela studied Jewellery & Silversmithing at Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland and completed an MA in Arts Management & Cultural Policy at University College Dublin in 2004. Her work crosses the boundaries of jewellery, textiles and sculpture, combining eclectic materials and textures through the use of traditional techniques and new technologies. She has exhibited extensively in Ireland and abroad, and is also an established curator of craft and design.
Dr Audrey Whitty is Head of Collections and Learning, National Museum of Ireland (NMI), a member of the senior management team and responsible for all aspects of the care, preservation and interpretation of the 5 million objects in the collections across the four museums that make up the NMI. This includes management of the four Curatorial departments, Conservation, Registration, Education, Photography, Design, publications and the NMI’s exhibitions programme.
From 2015-19 Dr Whitty was Keeper of the Art and Industrial Division (Decorative Arts and History), NMI. She was responsible for all collections, exhibitions, and leading the curatorial department and team on the Collins Barracks site. During 2013 and 2014 she was Curator of European and Asian Glass at The Corning Museum of Glass, New York where she was responsible for an extensive collection. From 2001 to 2013, Dr Whitty was Curator of Ceramics, Glass and Asian collections, Art and Industrial Division, NMI. She has curated numerous exhibitions, most notably A Dubliner’s Collection of Asian Art: The Albert Bender Exhibition and the National Museum’s visible storage facility What’s In Store? (approx. 16,500 objects). She is the Chair of the Irish Museums Association, a trustee of the British Glass Foundation/White House Cone Museum of Glass, UK and is also a board member of North Lands Creative in Scotland.
