David Elliot recipient of the Mallinson Rendal Award

Ashburton Art Gallery
Media Release 30.11.2011

Ashburton’s own David Elliot is the inaugural recipient of the Mallinson Rendal Award

The Arts Foundation has launched New Zealand's first national arts awards.

The Ashburton Art Gallery is tremendously proud to announce that David Elliot has won the inaugural Mallinson Rendal Award. The honour of receiving an Arts Foundation Award comes with invaluable recognition and immense status, not to mention a $10,000 prize to be spent as the artist sees fit.

Elliot was selected by a voluntary panel appointed by the Arts Foundation. Mallinson Rendel was an independent publishing company which specialised in children’s books. Established by David Rendel and Ann Mallinson in 1980, it operated until 2009 and was best known for its picture books. Ann Mallinson said “I have long felt the need for recognition of the painterly skills, imagination and artistry that are required to do justice to the words in a picture book. David Elliot has these qualities in spades, and I am delighted that he is the first recipient of the Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Award.”

The Ashburton Art Gallery are the caretakers of Elliot’s award winning illustrations, and provide a public space for the working drawings to be displayed regularly. "I'm very grateful to Ann Mallinson for her vision in initiating this Award and, of course, I am very pleased and honoured to be chosen as the inaugural recipient. It is heartening to see illustration for children recognised as an art form through which individuals can and do strive for creative excellence." Elliot said.

Ten awards were presented at the Macquarie Private Wealth New Zealand Arts Awards including five $50,000 Laureate Awards, three $25,000 New Generation Awards, the $25,000 Marti Friedlander Photographic Award and the inaugural $10,000 Mallinson Rendel Award for children's book illustrators.

Laureates announced were musician - Whirimako Black, photographer - Fiona Pardington, writer - Emily Perkins, filmmaker - Leanne Pooley and choreographer/director - Lemi Ponifasio . Musician/artist - Sam Hamilton, who is currently on tour with Lemi in Europe, received a New Generation Award alongside photographer - Ben Cauchi and playwright - Eli Kent . Neil Pardington received the Marti Friedlander Photographic Award.

Arts Foundation Chair, Fran Ricketts, said "the Arts Awards are an occasion for New Zealand to focus on the national and international achievements of our finest artists.” She also said that “the Awards were an opportunity to celebrate and grow philanthropic support for the arts. All of our awards are privately funded or secured. We expect to grow the amount of donations to artists presented at these awards through private partnerships and are already in discussion with a number of philanthropists about establishing new awards".

We are extremely proud of David’s success this year; he has won numerous awards including the New Zealand Post Children’s Book of the Year Award and Picture Book of the Year Award. The Making of the Word Witch is still touring the country and is currently being exhibited at Southland Museum and Art Gallery, and will then be on display at the Forrester Gallery in Oamaru mid next year.

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