Uxbridge Arts and Culture in Howick has announced the finalists for the 19th edition of the prestigious Estuary Art and Ecology Awards.
An exhibition of the finalists’ works opens on July 5 and features artistic creations by Lucy Boermans, Tony Clarke, Charli de Koning, Inga Fillary, Geena and Nikki Hill (GENIUS), Helen Harvey, Kristin Hatland, Rose Lee, Misty Lynn, Kelly Rowe, Madi Sexton, Anna Tang, Grace Thresher, Saskia Elaine Van Dijk, Maraky Vowells, Rīhari Warnock, and Roger Wyllie.
Retaining the same awards format as last year, the finalists were selected by Uxbridge director Paul Brobbel and visual arts co-ordinator Zoë May.
The award winners will be announced on July 5 by this year’s competition guest judge, professor Hannah Buckley, head of the school of science at Auckland University of Technology.
Brobbel commends the finalists alongside all the entrants.
“We received over 80 submissions this year,” he says.
“With room for less than 20 finalists, the selection process was a challenge.
“We’re excited to have the best of this year’s entries on display.”
A high point in Uxbridge’s annual exhibition programme, the awards are recognised nationally as New Zealand’s only contemporary art prize dedicated to ecological themes.
Since its inception in 2006, they’ve encouraged artists to respond to the plight of the Tāmaki Estuary, a waterway that’s under threat due to pollution from the industrial areas that have been built up around it.
Extending 17km inland from its mouth at the Tāmaki Strait, the estuary branches out from Wai o Taiki Bay to Otāhuhu, splitting into tributaries that feed into key rivers such as Otara Creek, Pakuranga Creek, Omaru Creek and Otaki Creek.
By exploring themes of biodiversity, conservation, urban sprawl, and habitat loss, artists react to the tension between the ecological significance of the Tāmaki Estuary and the ongoing industrialisation and subsequent pollution of the land surrounding it.
The Estuary Art and Ecology Awards are generously supported by the Howick Local Board, Rice Family Partnership, Gordon Harris Art Supplies and the Tāmaki Estuary Environmental Forum (TEEF) and feature a prize pool of over $9,000.
The exhibition of works by finalists in this year’s awards is on show at Uxbridge Arts Culture, 35 Uxbridge Road, Howick, from July 5 to August 30.
Viewers are welcome to cast their vote for the People’s Choice Award, sponsored by the Rice Family Partnership and announced at the conclusion of the exhibition.
