February 03, 2021
Final call for entries for Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award
Final call for entries for Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award
The country’s first and only portraiture award to inspire a new generation of Māori artists is now calling for final entries for the inaugural competition, with the deadline for submission on 5 March 2021.
New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata together with The Office of the Kiingitanga launched the 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 tohunga taa moko and kapa haka exponent Sir Derek Lardelli; celebrated artist, teacher and activist, Kura Te Waru Rewiri and artist Lisa Reihana, who is known around the world for her portraits and digital art.
Commentating on the award, Reihana says the timing is extraordinary as New Zealand comes to grips with what we have here in our county
“I applaud the Kiingitanga for coming up with this award which is a serious proposition with a generous remuneration for emerging artists. Not only does it encourage Māori artists to look closely at their history and whakapapa but it creates a contemporary spin on our tradition of recording tūpuna . This award is not just for Māori but for New Zealanders“ after a turbulent 2020, now more than ever we are looking at ourselves and realise the importance of generating our own projects from home.
It’s a real honour to be involved in the inaugural competition alongside preeminent judges Sir Derek Lardelli and Kura Te Waru Rewiri. I am enchanted by all types of materials and processes and will be looking for a sense of heart and strong tūpuna aspect to the works during the judging process.”
The inaugural award will be held in 2021 with an exhibition of finalist artworks in Te Whanganui-a-Tara at The New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, timed to coincide with Matariki. Finalist artworks will then tour the country.
Entries close on 5 March 2021 and the winners will be announced at the exhibition opening on 27 May 2021.
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