Finalists Revealed For 2025 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award

A striking range of portraits using mediums such as video, stop-motion puppetry, ceramics with paua inlay, and oil paintings on glass have been shortlisted for the 2025 Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award. The finalists also include works in digital animation, handcrafted earth pigments on canvas, and textiles made from linen, cotton, and glass beads.

The biennial Award was established in 2020 as a partnership between the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, and the late Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII to inspire a new generation of emerging Māori artists to create portraits of their tūpuna (ancestors). The 2025 Award is hosted and administered by the Gallery in his honour, with the blessing of Kuini Nga wai hono i te po Pootatau Te Wherowhero VIII.

This year, 41 artists were selected for the finalists’ exhibition. Artists are competing for a First Prize of $20,000, with the Runner-Up and People’s Choice Award each offering $2,500. Entries were open to emerging Māori artists aged 35 and under who created an artwork within the last two years or specifically for the competition, using any visual medium (excluding AI-generated work), with whakapapa connections to the depicted tūpuna.

Entries were received from across Aotearoa and beyond, with artists from as far north as Northland and as far south as Otago, alongside Māori artists based in Australia. Of the 41 finalists, one, Karaitiana Akroyd, was a finalist in 2023, and four others were finalists in 2021 (Emiko Sheehan, Shannon Te Rangihaeata Clamp, Tina Walker-Ferguson, Kataraina Poi). The remaining 36 finalists are participating for the first time. Notably, 70% of finalists are female, 25% male, and 5% identify as gender diverse.

The shortlisted artworks were chosen by a distinguished panel of judges, including contemporary Māori artist Dr. Areta Wilkinson (Ngāi Tahu), Head Carver for Waikato-Tainui Renta Te Wiata (Waikato-Ngāti Māhuta, Te Arawa - Ngāti Kea Ngāti Tuara), and leading painter John Walsh (Aitanga a Hauiti). The winners will be announced at the exhibition opening on Wednesday, 21 May 2025.

Jaenine Parkinson, Director of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, reflected on the high calibre of the submissions: "The quality of entries was outstanding, with each artist showing deep respect for their tūpuna through various mediums. It's incredibly inspiring to see the innovative ways emerging Māori artists are expressing their whakapapa. This award is a vital platform for young artists to share their stories on a national stage while preserving the legacy of their ancestors.”

The exhibition will open at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata in Shed 11 on Wellington’s waterfront from Thursday, 22 May to Sunday, 17 August 2025. Entry is free. The finalists’ artworks will then tour Aotearoa over the next two years.

The full list of finalists is available on the New Zealand Portrait Gallery website.

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