Art Schools Award | Eden Arts Community Arts Trust

2023 Awards

Congratulations to all twenty finalists on being nominated by their school to take part in the award and exhibition.

Three students were awarded Joint Winner prizes of $2500 each -

Elvira Trowbridge (Unitec), "Abandon Us"

Nikita Hesketh (AUT), "SE(M)POIESIS"

Martino Michael (Unitec), "O Le Malaga O Le O'o"

A discretionary Board’s Choice award of $750 went to -

Damen Dooms (Unitec), "The Boyz"

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About the Art Schools Award

Launched in 2011, this award is a collaborative venture with the major Central Auckland art institutions. It presents the very best student works from each of Elam, Unitec, AUT and Whitecliffe in a single exhibition, awarding a cash prize to selected students. The award is open to full-time undergraduates. Five student entries are nominated by each school and judged by independent judges appointed by Eden Arts.

Since 2019 the event has been generously hosted by Webb’s Auction House in Mt Eden, having originally been hosted in rotation by the four art schools. The twenty selected finalists present work in a group exhibition at Webb’s gallery which is open for viewing. We also offer an artist talk where the students have a chance to present their work. The 2023 show was curated by Eden Arts with assistance from artist Brendon Leung, a past finalist in this award. The judges were AD Schierning, director of Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, and performance artist Kalisolaite ‘Uhila.

Registration details and rules of entry are available from the individual art schools or from Eden Arts.

Gallery

Previous Art Schools Awards

2022

Highly Commended 2022

Tonina Ngātai (Unitec), "Te Kohu Kotahi. One size fits all"
Natalie Cooper (Whitecliffe), "The Plentiful and Abandoned"
Niamh Maher (Elam), "daughter of something"

Board's Choice 2022

Dar'ya Starykova (Elam), "February 2022 and Absence (1,2,3,4 and 5)"
Lucia Nicolson (Unitec), "Recurring Dream"

FINALISTS 2022

AUT
Aliyah Edwards
Emmeline Batten
Jordan Hamilton
Peter Hsu
Sophie Ward

ELAM
Susu (Alex Su)
Dar'ya Starykova
Jude
Niamh Maher
Olivia Asher

UNITEC
Anton Bell
Frankie Ayers
Lucia Nicolson
Mi Young Choi
Tonina Ngātai

WHITECLIFFE
Delaney Sturrock
Mikayla Te Aotonga
Natalie Cooper
Shaday Moore
Xiaoyan (Annie) Peng

JUDGES 2022

Sue Gardiner (Director, Chartwell Trust)

Kalisolaite 'Uhila (performance artist)

Sena Park (artist)

2021

Highly Commended 2021

Nicola Fraser (Unitec), "Thakl al umahat - Weight of a Mother"
Charlie Stringer (AUT), "Spaces Real Estate"
Hollie Teutscher (Whitecliffe), "Whispered Trajectories"
JJ Harper (Elam), "im a star and im burning thru u"

Board's Choice 2022

Warisara Thomson (Whitecliffe), "I think I’m homesick"
Jude (Elam), "Tough/ Tender"
Ziggy Bond (Whitecliffe), "That Place is Gone Now"

FINALISTS 2021

AUT
Charlie Stringer
Corbin Paewai-Young
Michelle Greig
Nadine Carter
Taashi Sheers

ELAM
JJ Harper
Jude (Sofi Dickinson-Smith)
Nell Somerford
Sophie Cornelius
Willow Whitham

UNITEC
Jack Mare
Kit Guy
Meg Mahy
Nicola Fraser
Shirui Tao

WHITECLIFFE
Hollie Teutscher
Mattie McNeil
Shamus Stewart-Sergeant
Warisara Thomson
Ziggy Bond

JUDGES 2021

Francis McWhannell (freelance writer and curator)

Judy Darragh (artist)

2020

Overall Winner 2020 - Brittany Walker Smith (Elam), "Have you ever been crying in a hospital in full drag?"
Highly Commended - Hulita Koloi (Whitecliffe), "Malaloi"
Highly Commended - Jimmy Ma'ia'i (Unitec), "Samoasonite"
Highly Commended - Kim Lu (Unitec), "Silent Echo"
Board's Choice - Jermaine Alhambra (AUT), "Reyna de las Flores"

FINALISTS 2020

AUT
Aislyn Stevens
Alice Sparrow
Jermaine Alhambra
Liam Mooney
Yakun Zhang

ELAM
Alice Langbrown
Brittany Walker Smith
Helena Skerlj-Rovers
Karen Huang
Nayan Patel

UNITEC
Blessilda Cabaloza
Chang Lee
Jacob Hamilton
Jimmy Ma’ia’i
Kim Lu

WHITECLIFFE
Celine Frampton
Gitanjali Bhatt
Hulita Koloi
John Shen
Jorden Clifton

JUDGES 2020

Francis McWhannell (freelance writer and curator)

Chloe Geoghegan (Curator | Kaitiaki Whakaaturanga at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery)

Peata Larkin (artist)

2019

Overall Winner 2019 - Oliver Cain (Unitec), "Communal Conversation & Chewed Nipples"
Highly Commended - Jazmin Snoswell (Elam), "Umwelt 1, Umwelt 2, Umwelt 3"
Highly Commended - Samuel Montgomery (Unitec), "Refuge Trap"
Highly Commended - Hannah Ireland (Elam), "I'm so bad with names"
Board’s Choice - Arlen James (AUT), "18 Picton Street, 2014"

FINALISTS 2019

AUT
Arlen James
Brunelle Dias
Felix Giles
Lindsey De Roos
Masashi Tanaka

ELAM
Georgia Arnold
Hannah Ireland
Jazmin Snoswell
Thomas Collocott
Thomas Lawley

UNITEC
Cassey Locke
Michaela van der Laan
Oliver Cain
Samuel Montgomery
Tyrone Te Waa

WHITECLIFFE
Kyrissa Kolisnyk
Maia Wharewera-Ballard
Molly Timmins
Rohan Hardy
Xi Li

MIT
Zheng Viola Lin

JUDGES 2019

Francis McWhannell (freelance writer and curator)

Ioana Gordon-Smith (Curator | Kaitiaki Whakaaturanga at Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery)

Sara Hughes (artist)

2018

Overall Winner 2018 - Evelyn Tautakitaki (AUT), "Pukepuke 'a e Lea Tonga"
Highly Commended - Michaela van der Laan (Unitec), "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
Highly Commended - Samuel Montgomery (Unitec), "Father of the Mothers"
Highly Commended - Vivian Jin (Elam), "Disaster Series"
Board’s Choice - Rhea Maheshwari (AUT), "Inter Mundos I"

FINALISTS 2018

AUT
Cosette O'Connell
Evelyn Tautakitaki
Luca Nicholas
Matthew Lietz
Rhea Maheshwari

ELAM
Emmanuel Sarmiento
Jasmine Tuia
Naomi Allan
Qiwen Xu
Vivian Jin

UNITEC
Edward Wheeler
Harriet Reihana
Michaela van der Laan
Samuel Montgomery
Saynab Muse

WHITECLIFFE
Ethan Coombridge
Gabriella Bowden
Joshua Thompson
Natasha Knight
Tehlor-Lina Mareko

JUDGES 2018

Denys Watkins (artist)

Peata Larkin (artist)

Gabriela Salgado (Te Tuhi Artistic Director)

2017

Overall Winner 2017 - Christine Chae (Elam), "Animal Human Animal"
Highly Commended - Peng Chen (Whitecliffe), "Untitled"
Highly Commended - Clare Gemima (Whitecliffe), "Laid in Heaven"
Highly Commended - Bobbie Gray (Whitecliffe), "Resident Alien"

FINALISTS 2017

AUT
Ella Mangan
Emma van Kerckhof
Iara Gelpi
Jacob Abdale-Vague
Leanne Adlam
Madeleine Griffin

ELAM
Bailey Simpson
Christine Chae
Darryl Chin
Jayden Plank
Joshua Harris
Lastman So'oula

UNITEC
Chris Kernohan
Danae Ripley
Frances Roberts
Hayley Theyers
Jess Maree Smith
Siobhan Nathan

WHITECLIFFE
Bobbie Gray
Clare Gemima
Peng Chen
Peter Walsh
Tabitha van der Westhuizen
Yasmina Gillies

JUDGES 2017

Denys Watkins (artist)

Edith Amituanai (photographer)

Andrew Clifford (Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery director)

2016

Overall Winner 2016 - Yann-Ru Yang (Whitecliffe), "The Hyphen I Live On"
Highly Commended - Christopher Young (Unitec), "Life Support System"
Highly Commended - Anthony Mauinatu (Whitecliffe), "Pepa"
Highly Commended - Esther Ige (AUT), "Untitled"
Board’s Choice - Bianca Rocca (Elam), "(Morality) bind and blind(s) me"

FINALISTS 2016

AUT
Ary Jansen
Esther Ige
Janna Isbey
Natsha Nandabhiwat
Reba Pinto
Ruth Ige

ELAM
Angela Dunn
Bianca Rocca
Gordon Darling
Grace Carden-Horton
Jerome van Rijn
Kaoru Kodama

UNITEC
Christopher Young
David O Jones
Gabriel Tiongson
Hayley Theyers
Paris Curno
Sophie Brown

WHITECLIFFE
Anthony Mauinatu
Clare Gemima
Melanie Arnold
Sam O'Brien
Shanti Brown
Yann-Ru Yang

JUDGES 2016

Denys Watkins (artist)

Peata Larkin (artist)

Misal Adnan Yildiz (Artspace director)

2015

Overall Winner 2015 - Giulio Laura (Whitecliffe), "My Wishlist"
Highly Commended - Tanya Martusheff (Whitecliffe), "Unrequited"
Highly Commended - Bridie Halpin (AUT), "5 seconds apart"
Highly Commended - Nicholas Pound (Elam), "Fideism"
Board's Choice - Melissa McMahon (Unitec), "Very loosely based on a true story"

FINALISTS 2015

AUT
Alexandra Turberville Smith
Antonia Nisbet
Bridie Halpin
Li-Ming Jimi Hendrix
Susan Christie

ELAM
Liu (Selena) Yuan
Ngaumutane Jones
Nicholas Pound
Shiraz Sadikeen
Sunny Noh

UNITEC
Brendon Leung
Drisana Tonga
Jasmine Te Hira
Melissa McMahon
Yvonne Shaw

WHITECLIFFE
Georgia Periam
Giulio Laura
Rainer Weston
Sophie Guilford-Smith
Tanya Martusheff

JUDGES 2015

Denys Watkins (artist)

Mary-Louise Browne (artist)

Melanie Roger (gallerist)

2014

Overall Winner 2014 - Alex Matthews (Whitecliffe), "The shadow creeps round"
Highly Commended - Rebecca Frogley (Elam), "All is possible, except that which is deemed impossible by the nature of things"
Highly Commended - Ken Xun Cao (Unitec), "The Bubble Has Burst"
Highly Commended - Giulio Laura (Whitecliffe), "Contro L'Estetica Pittorica"
Board’s Choice - Amanda Wade (AUT), "Untitled"

FINALISTS 2014

AUT
Amanda Wade
Daniel Skerlj-Rovers
Esther Toclo
Mereana Matia
Susie Hunt
Theresa Waugh

ELAM
Johnny Egdell
Joshua Montreal-Brunton
Peter Scott
Rebecca Frogley
Samuel Clyma
Serene Timoteo

UNITEC
Danielle Dooley
David Vaea
Diana Aiono Gordon
Jack Marshall
Ken Cao
Nicole Patterson

WHITECLIFFE
Alex Matthews
Christina Pataialii
Giulio Laura
James Black
Jonathan Dunbar
Tanya Martusheff

JUDGES 2014

John Daly-Peoples (NBR arts writer)

Rhana Devenport (Auckland Art Gallery director)

Dick Frizzell (artist)

2013

Overall Winner 2013 - Veronika Djoulai (Whitecliffe), "Cast Forms"
Highly Commended - Kyle Grenfell (Unitec), "Stalker Me"
Highly Commended - Robert Joseph (AUT), "Untitled"
Highly Commended - Mark O'Donnell (Whitecliffe), "Weight Paintings"
Board’s Choice - Delena Nathuran (Unitec), "Happy Medium Photo Co"

FINALISTS 2013

AUT
Ammon Ngakuru
Gareth Hemmings
Jasmine Duthie
Jenny Horrell
Robert Joseph
Ryder Jones

ELAM
Juliet Carpenter + Evangeline Riddiford Graham
Rebecca Frogley
Robin Murphy
Tim Wagg
Yoshiko Teraoka
Yuqing Qiu

UNITEC
Anton Maurer
Blake Beckford
Delena Nathuran
Kyle Grenfell
Nathan Savill
Siobhan Crowley

WHITECLIFFE
Annie Puri
Daphne Simons
Louise Keen
Mark O'Donnell
Vera Lin
Veronika Djoulai

JUDGES 2013

John Daly-Peoples (NBR arts writer)

Paula Savage (Two Rooms Gallery Associate)

Janet McAllister (NZ Herald arts columnist)

2012

Overall Winner 2012 - Ziggy Lever (AUT), "Fort Cautley, June 2012"
Highly Commended - Zainab Hikmet (AUT), "Motions"
Highly Commended - Charlotte Drayton (AUT), "a view from below"
Highly Commended - Vera Zvyagina (Elam), "Nevolyashka # 1, 2"
Board’s Choice - Suhee Kang (Whitecliffe), "Police Officers"

FINALISTS 2012

AUT
Ben Pyne
Benjamin Bradley
Charlotte Drayton
Mason Vincent
Zainab Hikmet
Ziggy Lever

ELAM
Bryn Roberts
David Jarvis Curno
Eun Soo Kim
Hanna Shim
Ruth Stanton
Vera Zvyagina

UNITEC
Alice Mitchell
Kristina Berends
Michael Prosee
Reece King
Sarah Hargrave
Talia Smith

WHITECLIFFE
Brendan Moran
Paris Kirby
Rosalind Horner
Sam Angrignon
Sarah Carson
Suhee Kang

JUDGES 2012

John Daly-Peoples (NBR arts writer)

Chris Saines (Auckland Art Gallery director)

Virgina Were (Art News editor)

2011

Overall Winner 2011 - Donna Summers (Whitecliffe), "Install"
Highly Commended - Loretta Walton (Elam), "C50 M15 Y2 K0"
Highly Commended - Chelsea Rothbart (AUT), "Lean too"
Highly Commended - Dominic Oldrey (Unitec), "Past is Folding in a Ceramic Bowl"

FINALISTS 2011

AUT
Chelsea Rothbart
Deborah Rundle
Fu-On Chumg
Nik Blackburn
Tinaz Karbhari
Vanessa Kong

ELAM
Dahee Lee
Gabriel Green
Jack Hadley
Julian McKinnon
Loretta Walton
Phoebe Pachter

UNITEC
Dominic Oldrey
Julia Glover
Karla Stanley
Kerryanne Wilson
Rosanne Croucher
Sophie Merkens

WHITECLIFFE
Clinton Roberts
Donna Summers
Eric Nauta
Jeremy Hansen
Michaela Challis
Rose Meyer

JUDGES 2011

John Daly-Peoples (NBR arts writer)

Kate Mullins (owner of Seed Gallery)

Caterina Riva (Artspace director)