Judge for Walters Prize announced

The Auckland Art Gallery is delighted to announce

the Walters Prize 2010 INTERNATIONAL JUDGE

Director, Tate Modern, Vicente Todoli

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is pleased to announce the appointment of the 2010 judge for the $50,000 Walters Prize – New Zealand’s leading contemporary art award.

The highly respected former-director of London’s Tate Modern, Vicente Todoli will judge the Walters Prize 2010 and announce the award winner on 8 October.

Director of Tate Modern since 2003, Vicente Todoli has been a prime mover in the Tate’s global success. The Tate Modern is now the most visited modern art museum in the world and has been voted one of the 10 coolest brands in the world.

Todoli, who leaves the Tate later this month after seven years, was praised by the Guardian in these terms: “His curiosity, wit, rigour and passion make him a model for future directors of Tate Modern.”

Not only has he led the Tate Modern through most of its first decade, which it celebrated in May, but from 1989-96 he was artistic director for The Valencia Institute for Modern Art (IVAM), Spain, and was chief curator before it opened.

Throughout his career, Vicente Todoli has organised and curated internationally renowned exhibitions of work by modern and contemporary artists. He has always placed art and artists at the centre of his work at Tate Modern.

Auckland Art Gallery director Chris Saines says; “I am delighted that Vicente Todoli will be judging this year’s Walters Prize. There could hardly be an art museum director anywhere in the world so perfectly qualified for the task.”

“Vicente’s appointment follows a distinguished alumnus of Walters’ judges, including the pioneering curator Harald Szeemann (2002), Museum of Modern Art senior curator and 2007 Venice Biennale director, Robert Storr (2004), writer, curator and 2012 Documenta director, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, and head curator at the Direction des Musées de France and freelance curator, Catherine David (2008).”

“I am looking forward to welcoming Vicente to Auckland. It will give him the opportunity to experience the contemporary scene here and it will give us the opportunity to hear him in conversation at a special public programme event being planned for 7 October.”

The Walters Prize is awarded for an outstanding contribution to contemporary art in New Zealand in the past two years. In April, a jury of experts appointed by Auckland Art Gallery selected four finalists and now, as international judge for the Walters Prize 2010, Todoli will select the winner based on an exhibition held at the Gallery. He will then announce the winner at a gala dinner in Auckland 8 October.

The winner will receive $50,000 and an all expenses paid trip to New York including the opportunity to exhibit their work at Saatchi & Saatchi’s world headquarters. The finalists all receive $5,000 each.

FINALISTS FOR THE WALTERS PRIZE 2010
Dan Arps: Explaining Things (2008)
Fiona Connor: Something Transparent (please go round the back) (2009)
Saskia Leek: Yellow is the Putty of the World (2009)
Alex Monteith: Passing Manoeuvre with two motorcycles and 584 vehicles for two-channel video (2008)

The Walters Prize 2010 Exhibition

Opens: 24 July 2010

Closes: 31 October 2010

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

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