Marian Crawford’s research is driven by a curiosity about the pedagogic power of images and an interrogation of how images represent and convey knowledge, helping us to know the world. Her works explore representations of loss, focusing on climate change and political conflict, and fine art printmaking processes’ critical engagement with repetition and multiplicity. Crawford also explores the relationships between the book, printmaking processes, and the printed image in contemporary culture.

She was awarded the Siganto Fellowship at the State Library of Queensland 2015/16 and has presented her research publicly for over twenty years. Her works have recently been publicly presented at the University of South Australia's SASA Gallery and at RMIT Gallery, Melbourne in 2016; at the Museum of the China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China and the Dunedin School of Art Gallery, Dunedin, NZ in 2015.

In 2015 Crawford established a collaborative research network The News Network Project drawing together artists and educators from RMIT University, Australian National University, Auckland Institute of Technology, and Dunedin School of Art. This trans-Tasman network of artists combines research strengths to creatively recontextualise current events in public outcomes that contribute to contemporary visual art.