One month to vote for National Contemporary Art Award’s People’s Choice

10 October 2019

With voting about to close in local body elections, Waikato Museum is renewing a call for visitors to cast a vote for the most popular artwork in the National Contemporary Art Award exhibition.

“There’s just one month left for the exhibition to run and there’s just one award still to be presented - the People’s Choice Award,” says Waikato Museum Director Cherie Meecham.

The Campbell Smith Memorial People’s Choice Award, worth $250, is sponsored by the Smith family as a tribute to the former Waikato Art Museum Director, artist, playwright and poet.  It will be awarded once all votes are counted when the exhibition closes on 10 November.

Ms Meecham says: “The People’s Choice Award throws down the gauntlet for the general public to make a final judgement on the exhibition.”

The judge for this year’s main awards, Dr Fiona Pardington CNZM, says: “It’s really important for artists and art awards to reach out to the larger community.” 

The National Contemporary Art Award provides an opportunity to “focus on up-and-coming artists who deserve some notoriety,” she says.

The main awards presented at the opening of the exhibition in August were:

• 2019 National Contemporary Art Award for $25,000 co-sponsored by Tompkins Wake and Chow:Hill: Dunedin-based artist Ayesha Green (Kaai Tahu, Ngaati Kahungunui), for Nana’s Birthday (A Big Breath), acrylic on plywood
• 2019 Runner-up and winner of the $5,000 Hugo Charitable Trust Award: Wellington-based artist Gina Matchitt (Ngaati Rangitihi Te Arawa, Ngaati Nahere, Whakatoohea), for He Tohutono (Commanding Sign), in textile
• 2019 Friends of Waikato Museum $1,000 Merit Award winner: Auckland-based artist Matthew Browne for Anecdoche (acrylic on canvas)
• 2019 Random Art Group $1,000 Merit Award winner: Whangarei-based artist Cathy Tuato’o Ross for Reason: Shame, a hand-painted photograph (gouache on pigment print)

Details of the exhibition, which runs until 10 November, are available here. 

Photo (from left): Dr Fiona Pardington with National Contemporary Art Award winner Ayesha Green, merit winner Matthew Browne, runner-up Gina Matchitt, and merit winner Cathy Tuato’o.

For more information:

Crystal Beavis
Partnerships and Communications Manager
Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato
ph 07-974-0535, 027-808-8761
crystal.beavis@hcc.govt.nz