NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL AND LOCAL COMPETITIONS
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Adam Portraiture Award
The Adam Foundation sponsors a biennial award for portraiture. A conditon of the Adam Award is that the The New Zealand Portrait Gallery gets the winner of the Competition for its own collection.
Art’nTartan Wearable Arts Award
Held annually in Waipu’s Celtic Barn, this extravaganza of light and sound shows off some fantastic entries of wearable art from far and wide and show cases the concept of how much tartan can be seen to symbolise not just the idea of Scottishness but so much more!
Auckland Art Show
Auckland’s new premiere art sales event. If you love art this event is one not to be missed! The show begins with a stellar opening night (pre-sale event) at the Cloud in the heart of the Auckland CBD. Hundreds of artists, thousands of artworks, wine, cheese, music all under one roof in September.
Christchurch Art Show
South Island’s new premiere art sales event based in the resilient heart of Christchurch city. This event is a stellar opportunity for new, emerging and established artists to showcase and sell their works in a three day art extravaganza in June.
Craigs Aspiring Art Prize
The aim of the Craigs Aspiring Art Prize is to foster and encourage artists living and working in New Zealand.
Cultural Sector Awards – Ministry for Culture & Heritage
The Ministry administers a range of awards and funds, and provides information about the main awards available in the cultural sector.
Dunedin Art Show
Hundreds of artists and thousands of artworks under one roof. If you love art this event is not to be missed! This event is a perfect opportunity for new, emerging and established artists to showcase and sell their works in a three day art extravaganza in November.
Estuary Art and Ecology Prize
The only contemporary art prize in Aotearoa New Zealand with ecology at its core. Artists have been invited to research and respond to the Tamaki Estuary – to underscore the ecological value of this vital waterway, and to encourage action against its pollution. With a total prize pool of $8,300, the Awards Ceremony will celebrate the winning artworks; chosen for their innovative and intelligent response to ecology and the Tamaki Estuary.
Fieldays No. 8 Wire National Art Award
The Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award is a national competition where entrants create a sculptural art piece out of No.8 wire. The award has a total prize pool of $10,000 which is sponsored by New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays.
Hope & Sons Art Awards (South Island only)
The Hope & Sons Art Awards are open to any artist who resides in the South Island, and all Otago Art Society members. The support for local art, having become a strong family tradition, is reflected in the many works on display in the chapel and reception areas of Hope and Sons’ funeral home on Andersons Bay Rd, Dunedin.
Lysaght Watt Trust Art Award
The Lysaght Watt Gallery has successfully run the annual Lysaght Watt Trust Art Award since 2013. We have recently completed a review of our popular competition, and as a result we have decided to run biennially instead.
Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Award
Presented by Arts Whakatāne and Whakatāne District Council, this national award aims to support artists by presenting 3D work across a range of disciplines; and to engage a national discussion about contemporary 3D arts practice and its presentation in New Zealand.
National Contemporary Art Award
The National Contemporary Art Award is an opportunity for New Zealand artists to appear in an overview of national artistic practice and feature in a major exhibition within the Waikato Museum.
National Youth Award
Run by the Waikato Society of Arts, these awards are for youth from 15 to 25 years old to enter. All mediums are judged. The Waikato Society of Arts regards this exhibition as one of the highlights of the year and are delighted to have gained excellent sponsorship and support from the Hamilton community towards prizes in different categories for the winning artists.
New Zealand Art Show
The New Zealand Art Show encourages New Zealanders to celebrate our identity and culture by buying local art. The show is held in late March, early June.
New Zealand Painting and Printing Art Award
Regarded as one of the country’s most prestigious art awards, the $20,000 prize is donated to the Waikato Society of Arts by the Philip Vela Family Trust, who in addition, purchase the winning work. The Vela family are building an important collection, which they intend to exhibit in the future.
North Shore City Art Award
Each Award is for a period of 12 months commencing on 1 January. The amount is determined by the Trustees and is designed to be sufficient to enable the recipient to pursue his or her artistic endeavours for that 12 month period freed from the obligation of employment or other financial constraints. The Awards offered for 2019 and 2020 are each for $30,000.00 and will be payable in equal monthly payments. The objects of the Foundation are to encourage and promote emerging painters and sculptors in New Zealand with particular emphasis on future artistic potential rather than financial need. It was the intention of Olivia Spencer Bower to provide the opportunity for an artist showing talent to work for one year pursuing their own direction as a painter or sculptor, freed from the necessity to seek outside employment.
Parkin Drawing Award
The Parkin Prize is a national award and an annual exhibition held at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. Each year the winning entry will be purchased and added to a unique collection of drawings by New Zealand artists. The Parkin Prize has been established by Chris Parkin, an arts patron and former owner of New Zealand’s only boutique art hotel – Museum Art Hotel in Wellington.
Taranaki Art Awards
Opunake’s Taranaki National Art Awards is a highlight of our region’s creative calendar. In its eighteenth year, the annual awards are a national competition offering an opportunity for artists to exhibit and sell their artwork, with the added bonus of a $12,000 prize pool. All entries are displayed in the exhibition at Sandfords Events Centre, which coincides with the Taranaki Rhododendron Festival.
Tasman Art Awards
Mapua welcomes artists from up and down New Zealand for an exhibition of creative and technical excellence. View and buy art from some of New Zealand’s best painters in this eclectic show of 2D works. The show is judged and prizes are awarded to a Premier Winner, plus four Merit Awards and a special Wildlife Art Award sponsored by Janet Marshall. There will be a chance to vote for your own favourite work for the People’s Choice Award. We look forward to welcoming you all to Mapua Community Hall and hope you enjoy a day out in Mapua.
The Trusts Art, Sculpture and Photography Awards
Waitakere Central Community Arts Council (WCCAC) annually hosts The Trusts Art & Sculpture Awards Exhibition (TTASA) in October and is open to all artists working in oil, acrylic, pastels, watercolours, ink, pencil, crayon, gouache, charcoal, pen, chalk, collage, mixed media, print-making and sculptures.
Wallace Art Awards
Awards for contemporary painting, sculpture, drawing and unique photography to encourage the visual arts in New Zealand and in particular to reward those producing outstanding work with educational grants.
Walters Prize
Named in honour of artist Gordon Walters, the Walters prize was established in 2002 by founding benefactors and principal donors Erika and Robin Congreve and Jenny Gibbs to make contemporary art a more widely recognised and debated feature of New Zealand cultural life. Held every 2 years, the $50,000 Walters Prize, modelled on the Tate Britain’s Turner Prize, is awarded for an outstanding contribution to contemporary art in New Zealand.