Facilitated by Westland Arts Incorporated (WAI) and supported by Hokitika Museum, Destination Westland, Westland District Council, and the West Coast Society of Arts, an exciting new art initiative is coming to the West Coast.

Project Manager, Sue Asplin explains, “When WAI heard that Creative New Zealand was offering funding for projects that would assist working artists affected by the Covid-19 restrictions, we saw this as an opportunity to launch the Te Tai o Poutini Art Awards. This project would not have been possible without the $40,131 funding from Creative New Zealand. Prize money has also been donated from the Black Adder Trust, WAI and Fulton Hogan, with news of further sponsorship to be confirmed. In collaboration with local iwi, there will be an award for uri (descendents) of Iwi from the Poutini Ngāi Tahu Rohe.”

The inaugural Te Tai o Poutini Art Awards will benefit artists and allow them to showcase their work at a time when they might be struggling. “For the first year we will not charge an entry fee but entrants will need to have direct ties to the Coast. WAI would love this to be an annual event and to extend its reach in the future. We’re aiming to launch the competition on a new website by the end of August so that artists can benefit from this funding as soon as possible.”

The awards will have an online platform where the artists can display their work at no cost and with no commission on sales for the first year. A curatorial panel will select up to 25 finalists who will all receive a grant of $250, enabling them to send their work to Hokitika to be professionally photographed and judged. The finalists’ entries will then be displayed in a poster exhibition in Weld Lane, Hokitika, and a set of posters will be available to travel to other towns on the Coast for display. “The business owners on either side of Weld Lane are very supportive of the proposal and the space is a perfect place to display the entries to the public.”

Entry into the awards gives artists who are West Coast based, or who have strong ties to the West Coast region from Karamea to Haast, increased exposure through the website, in the local media and the poster exhibition. This is a significant time in world history and artists will be invited to document the impact Covid-19 has had on their practice. The Hokitika Museum intends storing the images as a snapshot of West Coast art during the pandemic. The competition will be an opportunity for artists to be seen despite the restraints placed on exhibiting and their income in these times.

Key information:

Website: Address to be confirmed, likely to be online from 27 August 2020.

Entries Close: 4 November 2020

Online gallery: Opens 5 November and will be up until the next competition in 2021.

Winners announced: 28 November

Outdoor exhibition installed in Weld Lane: 30 November

Prizes:

Overall Award Winners (sponsored by Blackadder Trust)

The 2020 Supreme Award will go to the winning entry ($1000 cash prize)

Merit awards (Cash prizes – value to be confirmed)

Special Awards

West Coast Expression (sponsored by WAI): An artwork that reflects any aspect of Te Tai o Poutini. Any medium. ($500 cash prize); Runner up ($250 cash prize)

Poutinitanga: For uri (descendants) of iwi from the Poutini Ngāi Tahu rohe to express their connection to their culture and their ancestral lands. Any medium. (Value to be confirmed)

3D Form Award Sponsored by Fulton Hogan ($500 cash prize)

Young Artist Award Sponsorship to be confirmed.

Run by: Westland Arts Incorporated (WAI)

Supported by:

· Creative New Zealand,

· Hokitika Museum,

· Westland District Council,

· Destination Westland,

· Poutini Ngai Tahu,

· Black Adder Trust,

· Leftbank Art Gallery (Greymouth)

· Fulton Hogan

· West Coast newspapers

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