Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award – Deadline For Submission Extended Due To Cyclone Gabrielle

Organisers of the Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award have extended the deadline for entry submissions to 30 March due to the nationwide impact of Cyclone Gabrielle.

New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata together with The Office of the Kiingitanga launched the biennial Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award in August 2020 to motivate emerging Māori artists to create portraits of their tūpuna (ancestors).

Artists are given an opportunity to showcase their talent on a national stage while competing for a First Prize of $20,000. The Runner-Up and People's Choice Award provide $2,500 respectively.

Entries are open to emerging Māori artists who have either created an artwork within the last two years, or wish to create an artwork especially for the competition, using any visual medium, with whakapapa connections to the depicted tūpuna.

The finalist artworks will be judged by a distinguished panel comprising renowned artists at the opening of the exhibition. These include Māori multi-disciplinary, portrait artist Graham Hoete aka "Mr G" (Ngati Awa, Ngai Te Rangi, Ngati Ranginui), Māori researcher, artist, arts educator and curator, Steve Gibbs, and artist Lisa Reihana, who is known around the world for her portraits and digital art.

Commentating on the extension, Director of the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata Jaenine Parkinson said the team made the decision to push out the deadline by another week to give artists some breathing room.

“It has been an intense and disruptive month with many artists and their whanau affected by the cyclone and rough weather conditions, so we wanted to extend the submission date and give artists a fair and reasonable opportunity to enter.”

Entries now close on 30 March 2023 and the winners will be announced at the exhibition opening on Wednesday 24 May 2023.

An information pack on how to enter is available to download from nzportraitgallery.org.nz/kiingituheitiaaward.

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