The Trustees of the Golden Fleece Award are delighted to announce the recipients of this year’s Award. Visual artist/ filmmaker Lisa Freeman and ceramicist Adam Frew have received the top prizes in each category - Visual Art, and Craft + Applied Art - with each receiving a Golden Fleece Award worth €10,000.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Golden Fleece Award, a special once-off merit prize of €5,000 was also awarded in each of the two categories. The merit awards went to visual artist Conor McFeely and textile artist Róisín Pierce.
The shortlist of visual artists, craftspeople and makers for the 25th annual Award also included Emma Bourke (glass); Pierce Healy (metalwork / jewellery); Marielle MacLeman (installation / mixed media); and Róisín O’Sullivan (mixed media / sculpture). Each shortlisted artist received €2,500.
Lisa Freeman’s work explores the relationship between power structures, the body and the presentation of the self within everyday environments. Working across moving image, installation and scripted performance, her practice draws on archives, mainstream media and local knowledge, often unfolding within specific geographic and architectural landscapes. While her work is research-oriented, it is developed through collaborative processes, particularly through working with actors and musicians to explore how intimacy, tenderness and generosity can emerge in civic space. www.lisafreeman.net
Adam Frew’s work centres on wheel-thrown ceramic vessels defined by clean, simple forms that subtly reveal the presence of the maker’s hand. Working primarily with porcelain, he explores the energy and spontaneity of throwing, pushing clay to its limits to create bold, voluminous vessels. While his practice is rooted in making, he treats the surface of each pot as a canvas, using expressive marks, colour and layered textures to create dynamic compositions that highlight the contours and movement of the form. His work balances control and spontaneity, emphasising both process and material. www.adamfrew.com
The 2026 Golden Fleece Award Ceremony took place at the City Assembly House on Thursday, 23 April. This year the Award attracted just over 240 eligible applications received across Category 1: Visual Art and Category 2: Craft + Applied Art. The 2026 prize fund worth a total of €40,000 makes the Golden Fleece Award the most generous art prize open to both visual artists and craft practitioners/makers in Ireland.
The Golden Fleece Award was established through a bequest by Dublin-born artist, educator and researcher Lillias Mitchell (1915-2000). She recognised the financial challenges faced by creative practitioners and the impact these could have on their work; in her Letter of Wishes to her Trustees she stated her desire that the Award should "give artists a 'boost' in times of particular need." Accordingly, the mission of the Golden Fleece Award is to provide resources for practising visual, craft and applied artists to innovate and develop their artistic vision at pivotal points in their careers. The annual Award is open to artists originally from or currently living on the island of Ireland.
The Board of Trustees is supported by a specialist six-person Advisory Panel, whose knowledge and experience are invaluable in guiding the development of the award and selecting the annual shortlist. The 2026 Advisory Panel includes Clíodhna Shaffrey (Panel Chair and Director, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios); Sara Flynn (ceramicist); Ciara Hickey (curator); Joe Hogan (basketmaker); Stephen O'Connell (gallerist, O'Connell Gallery); and Niamh O'Malley (visual artist).
