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Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award

No8 Wire rectangle crop 2

The annual Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award is a renowned competition challenging artists from across New Zealand to transform the iconic agricultural product, No.8 wire, into inspiring art.

Each year entrants are invited to utilise agricultural-based materials and No.8 wire to create sculptural artworks and compete for a prize pool worth nearly $10,000.

The award culminates in a month-long exhibition at Hamilton’s ArtsPost Galleries & Shop (22 April - 23 May 2022). 

 2022 Award Winners

  • First prize

    Gina Ferguson and Dale Cotton, It never rains but it pours

    Second prize

    Gina Ferguson, Cluster Buster Bath Bomb

    Third prize

    Alexandra Ryan, Giggle!

  • President’s Choice

    Heather Olesen, Rising Tensions

  • People’s Choice

    Dagmar Elliott, NZ Canopy No.1

2022 judge

This year the Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award was judged by carver, sculptor, and multi-disciplinary artist Eugene Kara. With iwi affiliations to Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāti Tīpā, Ngāti Kōata, Ngā Rauru, Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa, and Ngāti Kahungunu, he has been a practicing artist for 30 years.

In his time at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) in Rotorua, Eugene has established Te Ahi Kōmau, New Zealand’s first Maaori foundry and bronze casting facility. Recently he has recently been involved in several large-scale projects, including Hamilton’s central city jetty with five sculptural pillars representing ancestral stories from local hapuu.

2022 finalists

The finalists this year were:

  • Siobhan Barnard, Palmerston North
  • Annie Bourque, Southland
  • Dagmar Elliott, Te Awamutu
  • Elizabeth Farnell, Warkworth
  • Gina Ferguson and Dale Cotton, Auckland/West Coast
  • Gina Ferguson, Auckland
  • Helen Fuller, Waiheke
  • Sharleen Gamble, Napier (two works)
  • Bev Goodwin, Auckland
  • Tony Gray, Morrinsville
  • Jevon Howe, Pukekohe
  • Sandra Jermyn, Marlborough (two works)
  • Lee Johnston, Maungatautari
  • Gloria Judd, Auckland
  • Asaki Kajima, Napier
  • Jane Mortimer and Dave Sole, Hamilton
  • John Mulholland, Warkworth
  • Heather Olesen, Morrinsville
  • Susan Rhodes, Hamilton
  • Tim Russell, Auckland (two works)
  • Alexandra Ryan, Auckland
  • Ricks Terstappen, Hastings
  • Dinah and Mark Walker, Auckland
  • Niederer, Bay of Plenty
  • Pedro, Auckland 

Prizes

  • First prize: $7,000
  • Second prize: $1,000
  • Third prize: $500
  • President’s choice: $100 ArtsPost voucher
  • People’s choice: $100 ArtsPost voucher