2019 National Contemporary Art Award
3 August - 10 November 2019
Free entry to exhibition
The National Contemporary Art Award brings the best in New Zealand contemporary art to Hamilton and the Waikato. Entries are drawn from across the country and New Zealand citizens living overseas. The overall winner in 2019 received $25,000 from major sponsors Tompkins Wake and Chow:Hill. The Hugo Charitable Trust sponsored the Hugo Award for the Runner-Up, with the recipient receiving $5,000, and two merit award winners received $1,000 sponsored by Friends of Waikato Museum and Random Art Group.
Visitors to the exhibition were encouraged to cast their vote for the Campbell Smith Memorial People’s Choice Award before the exhibition closed on 10 November. This award, worth $250, was sponsored by the Smith family as a tribute to the former Waikato Art Museum Director, artist, playwright and poet.
This year the exhibition was made up of 52 finalists chosen from among more than 300 entries by the judge for 2019, internationally-renowned NZ artist Fiona Pardington MNZM, DocFA.
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Related events:
Image: 2019 Award winner Ayesha Green with Nana's Birthday (A Big Breath).
Winners
National Contemporary Art Award
Nana's Birthday (A Big Breath), Ayesha Green (Kaai Tahu, Ngaati Kahungunui)
Hugo Award for the runner-up
He Tohutono (Commanding Sign), Gina Matchitt (Ngaati Rangitihi Te Arawa, Ngaati Nahere, Whakatoohea),
Friends of the Waikato Museum Merit Award
Anecdoche, Matthew Browne
Random Art Group Merit Award
Reason: Shame, Cathy Tuato'o Ross
Campbell Smith Memorial People’s Choice Award
A Cold Heart is a Fragile One Even When It’s Big, Weilun Ha
Finalists
You can see the 2019 exhibition catalogue here.
The finalists for the 2019 National Contemporary Art Award:
Carrie Andrews, Cambridge
Claudia Avril, Hamilton
Caryline Boreham, Auckland
Jen Bowmast, Motueka
Matthew Browne, Auckland
Trish Campbell, Auckland
Hikalu Clarke and Wilson Ong, Auckland
Geoffrey Paul Clarke, Hamilton
Andrea du Chatenier, Whanganui
Russ Flatt, Auckland
Cat Fooks, Auckland
Aaron Frater, Wellington
Jo Giddens, Whanganui
Ayesha Green, Dunedin
Jacquelyn Greenbank, Christchurch
Thomas Hancock, Lower Hutt
Weilun Ha, Auckland
Arie Hellendoorn, Lower Hutt
Jane Johnson-Matua, Rotorua
Marilyn Jones, Wellington
Jonathan Kay, Wellington
Andrew Keall, Northland
Teresa HR Lane, Auckland
Tim Larkin, Wellington
Jae Hoon Lee, Auckland
Kate Lepper, Wellington
Kate Leslie, Wellington
Christina Little, Tawa
Johnathan Lovering, Wellington
Gina Matchitt, Wellington
Alice McDonald, Whanganui
Julian McKinnon, Auckland
Sam Mitchell, Auckland
Chris Mules, Thames
Ashton Lexie Northcott, Napier
Gerry Parke, Auckland
Robyn Penn, Johannesburg (double finalist)
Oleg Polounine, Auckland
Amy Potenger, Auckland
Andrew Rankin, Auckland
Michelle Reid, Auckland
Danae Ripley, Auckland
Micheline Robinson, Paraparaumu
Mandy Rodger, Auckland (double finalist)
Cathy Tuato'o Ross, Whangarei
Kirsten Smith, Auckland
Matthew Turner, Hamilton
Gene Paul Walker, Gisborne
Laura Williams, Auckland
Jana Wood, Auckland
2019 Judge
Internationally-renowned New Zealand artist Fiona Pardington MNZM, Doc FA
Read more about Fiona Pardington here.
Dr Fiona Pardington, the judge for the 2019 National Contemporary Art Award, shares her insights on this year's competition:
Major Sponsors
Hugo Award
Hugo Charitable Trust
Merit Awards
Random Art Group
Friends of Waikato Museum
People's Choice Award
Family of former Waikato Museum Director Campbell Smith
Photo Gallery of Winners and Sponsors
L to R: Brian Squair (Chow:Hill) and Phil Taylor (Tompkins Wake) with NCAA grand prize winner Ayesha Green
L to R: Peter Fanning, Johanna Fanning (representing the Hugo Charitable Trust) and NCAA runner-up Gina Matchitt
L to R: Alison Gibb (Friends of Waikato Museum) with merit award winner Matthew Browne
Alison Ewing (far right) and Random Art Group representatives with merit winner Cathy Tuato'o Ross (3rd from right)
