24-04-2025
Sarah Browne and Sasha Sykes awarded Golden Fleece Prize 2025
Artists Sarah Browne and Sasha Sykes have been announced as the 2025 winners of the prestigious Golden Fleece Award, Ireland's largest prize for visual and applied arts.
The award, which provides €10,000 to each recipient, aims to provide resources for creative practitioners to innovate and develop their artistic vision at a key point in their careers.
The prizes were presented at a ceremony in Dublin Castle: Browne was selected in the Visual Art category, while Sykes was awarded under Craft + Applied Art.
The Golden Fleece Award was established through a bequest by Dublin-born artist, researcher and educator Lillias Mitchell in 2001, to support artists originally from or currently living on the island of Ireland working in all forms of visual, craft and applied arts.
Sarah Browne, who works primarily through sculpture, film, and performance, is known for exploring embodied knowledge and non-verbal forms of communication. Her recent work often involves collaborative engagement and focuses on justice, labour, and care.
Sasha Sykes, an artist and designer with a background in architecture, creates sculptural works using natural materials such as plants, flowers, and algae, embedded in resin. Her pieces reflect themes of environmental change, decay, and preservation.
Clíodhna Shaffrey, Chair of the Award's Advisory Panel and Director of Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, emphasized the award's vital role in supporting artists' growth. "The Golden Fleece gives artists a timely boost for a specific step forward in their work," she said. "It enables risk-taking and experimentation, especially important in the current artistic climate."
