CORK.- Crawford Art Gallery is delighted to announce visual artist Basil Al-Rawi as the recipient of the inaugural Gibson Travelling Fellowship Award.

Basil Al-Rawi will become the first Gibson Travelling Fellow following a highly competitive open-call selection process, which sought to identify a clear vein of innovation, experimentation, and impact.


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Al-Rawi’s practice explores the landscapes of personal and cultural memory, hybrid identity, and the digital mediation of reality. He will use the award to support an extended period of self-determined enquiry across Lebanon, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and France.

The Cork-based Irish-Iraqi artist was selected from a shortlist by a panel of experts working in the field of contemporary art: Dragana Jurišić (artist and educator), Megs Morley (Director/Curator, Galway Arts Centre), Paul McAree (Curator, Lismore Castle Arts), and chaired by Mary McCarthy (Director, Crawford Art Gallery). Impressed by the high quality of applicants, they ultimately determined that Al-Rawi’s proposal most closely articulated the spirit and scope of the Gibson Travelling Fellowship Award and has the potential for significant personal and professional transformation for the artist.


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The Gibson Travelling Fellowship Award aims to support professional visual artists at a self-determined crucial stage in their careers. This €25,000 triennial award acknowledges the need of visual artists to replenish their practice in an innovative, process of exploration, research and connection.

Mary McCarthy Director, Crawford Art Gallery said: “Basil Al-Rawi’s clear proposal and considered approach articulated an openness and opportunity to enrich his own practice. Addressing contested histories, memory, and the politics of visibility, the proposed professional travel could not be more timely or relevant and will allow the artist to expand his horizons. We believe he is a very deserving inaugural winner and we look forward to being a support institution to his practice through this Fellowship. The Gallery is grateful to Culture Ireland for its support and the diligent care of our assessment panel.”

The panellists added: “We were very impressed by the quality and high calibre of artists who applied for this award. It highlighted to us the need for more developmental opportunities for artists that are flexible, open ended, and not outcome dependent. It is critical for Irish artists to be mobile, to develop their international networks and experience and to replenish their practices through self-directed and self-reflective opportunities.”

Crawford Art Gallery is a national cultural instiutition (Cork, Ireland) and is dedicated to contemporary and historic Irish and international visual art. It closed to the public in September 2024 to undergo an exciting capital redevelopment project. This multi-million euro investment will increase gallery space by almost 50%, preserve and protect three centuries of existing built heritage, and create a cultural legacy for a new century as Cork continues to grow. The project is a Government of Ireland 2040 project funded by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport in partnership with the Office of Public Works (OPW).