A total of 44 artworks using a range of media from traditional Māori whakairo and raranga to ceramics and oil painting and more contemporary uses of technology have been shortlisted as finalists for this year's Kīngi Tuheitia Portraiture Award.
The finalists have been whittled down from the 96 entries received from emerging Māori artists from Aotearoa and based in Australia.
The overall winner will be announced next month before all 44 artworks are displayed in the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata in Wellington. They will then be sent on a tour of Aotearoa.
The award, a partnership between the Office of the Kīngitanga and the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, was launched in 2020 to inspire a new generation of emerging Māori artists to create portraits of their tūpuna (ancestors). The inaugural award in 2021 attracted 128 entries, with Bodie Friend taking the top prize with a black and white photograph of his great-uncle Pat.
2021 Kīngi Tuheitia Portraiture Award winner Bodie Friend with his winning portrait. photo/file
Reflecting on the entries, gallery director Jaenine Parkinson says the quality was extremely high, and every entry showed great respect for their respective tīpuna.
"Because this award does not limit artists to a specific medium, we are delighted to see the creative innovations emerging Māori artists have brought to articulating their whakapapa. This promises to be an exciting exhibition, which we can’t wait to share with audiences across Aotearoa ”
The winner will receive a prize of $20,000, while the runner-up and People's Choice Award winner will get $2,500 each.
Six of the 44 shortlisted were also finalists in the inaugural Kīngi Tuheitia Portraiture Award in 2021, including Friend. Female artists outnumber males by two to one, with 28 women and 14 men shortlisted.
The judges who selected the finalists are renowned in their own right, including multi-disciplinary portrait artist Graham Hoete aka "Mr G" (Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui), researcher, artist, arts educator and curator Steve Gibbs (Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Rongowhakaata, Rongomaiwahine), and artist Lisa Reihana (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāi Tūteauru, Ngāi Tupoto), who is known for her portraits and digital art.
