Judge announced and entries open for Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award

12 January 2018

Image: Jill Godwin, 2017 Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award winner, with her work The No.8 Wire Lettering System: Fences vs Walls. 

Entries are now open for the Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award, with revised entry criteria to encourage more artists to take on the unique challenge the award offers.

The annual award, managed by Waikato Museum and partnered by Farmlands Co-operative, invokes the classic Kiwi DIY attitude in the creation of sculptural artworks made from predominantly No.8 wire along with other agricultural products.

The winner receives $7,000, with prizes of $1,000 and $500 for the second and third placegetters, respectively.

The award culminates in a month-long exhibition at Hamilton’s ArtsPost Galleries & Shop, and selected finalists will also be invited to have their work displayed at Fieldays, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2018.

This year’s judge is gallery director and art writer Andrew Clifford. Mr Clifford is the inaugural director of Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery in Titirangi, Auckland, and was previously curator at the University of Auckland’s Gus Fisher Gallery. He has been a judge for the Wallace Art Awards, a juror for the Walters Prize, and a selector for the Arts Foundation Awards.

New Zealand National Fieldays Society president Peter Carr says they are delighted to have Andrew Clifford judging the No.8 Wire National Art Award as part of the 50th Fieldays event.

“Andrew’s excellent work as the initiating director at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery is well respected and his appointment is fitting in the Society’s very special anniversary year,” says Mr Carr. “We very much look forward to both the overall entries and the announcement of the award winners.”

In previous years, the entry criteria have called for the artworks to feature a minimum 50 per cent No.8 wire. Reflecting the way the future of farming is changing, the awards will now allow artists to use a wider range of agricultural products, with the dominant visual and structural feature of the artwork to be No.8 wire or wire of a similar gauge.

Waikato Museum Director Cherie Meecham says the removal of the 50 per cent No.8 wire condition expands what artists are now able to create with the iconic farm product.

“The variety and intricacy of what can be created through the manipulation of No.8 wire never ceases to amaze me,” she says. “Waikato Museum and ArtsPost are excited to be part of Fieldays’ milestone celebration.”

2018 competition details

First prize: $7,000

Second prize: $1,000

Third prize: $500

President’s choice: $100 ArtsPost voucher

People’s choice: $100

Entries close: 1pm, Friday 13 April 2018

Finalists notified: Week of 16 April 2018

Winners announced/Award ceremony: Thursday 10 May 2018

Exhibition: Friday 11 May 2018 to Monday 11 June 2018

Venue: ArtsPost Galleries & Shop, 120 Victoria Street, Hamilton. Open daily 10am – 5pm.

To read the competition criteria and access the entry form, go to waikatomuseum.co.nz/no8wire.

Click here for a high-resolution version of the image.

For more information contact: 

Dan Silverton
Partnerships and Communications Manager
07 838 6956
021 056 9810
dan.silverton@hcc.govt.nz

Tarryn Appleby
Communications and Digital Marketing Executive
New Zealand National Fieldays Society
027 603 0612
tarryn.appleby@nznfs.co.nz