This year’s winners, selected from a shortlist of eight …
The Golden Fleece Award was established through a bequest by Dublin-born artist, weaver and educator Lillias Mitchell in 2001, to support artists originally from or currently living in Ireland working in all forms of visual, craft and applied arts. As set out in her Letter of Wishes to her Trustees, she said; “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.
This year’s winners were announced at a recent ceremony at Dublin’s City Assembly House. Lisa Freeman (Visual Art) and Adam Frew (Craft + Applied Art) each received a prize of €10,000.
‘Approx 1 Second of a Sweet Kiss’
Lisa Freeman is a Kildare-based visual artist and filmmaker. Her films and performances examine how intimacy emerges, and might be used as a form of resistance, within psychological states shaped by personal interaction, the built environment, the media and imagination. Drawing on archives, mainstream media and local knowledge, her work is often set within specific geographic and architectural landscapes.
Her most recent projects explore ideas of tenderness and generosity in civic space. Works such as Slipped, Fell and Smacked my Face off the Dance Floor, Approx 1 Second of a Sweet Kiss and Hook, Spill, Cry Your Eyes Out examine the everyday, where small moments can lead to more surreal events, and experiences of social isolation in the public realm. She is currently developing a new film, Dawn, supported by an Arts Council Project Award, informed by research in the Irish folklore archives at UCD.
‘Slipped, Fell and Smacked my Face off the Dance Floor’
She hopes to use the Golden Fleece Award to invest in specialist filmmaking equipment, which would enable a more independent approach to capturing high-quality, site-specific and atmospheric moments within her practice.
‘Large Pot with Oranges Ridges, 2025’
Adam Frew is a ceramic artist based in rural Northern Ireland. He creates vessels defined by clean, simple forms. Working primarily in porcelain, Frew uses the surface of each pot as a canvas. The white ground provides a blank surface for mark making, where contrasts between sharp lines, crayon-like scribbles, brush marks and sponged-back sections interact with both glazed and bare areas. His marks are continually evolving, with each piece informing the next.
‘Squashed Vases with Ridges and Red Shapes, 2025’
Adam applied for a Golden Fleece Award to support a dedicated period of studio time focused on producing a new body of large-scale ceramic vessels. This award would enable him to take time away from regular production work, invest in materials, and push the scale, form and surface language of his practice. @goldenfleeceaward
