Compiler

Sue Gardiner

Val Sutherland, A friendly angel, 2005, papier mâché and synthetic polymer paint. Sutherland is from Masterton, NZ and her exhibition Breaking out is at Wollongong City Gallery, Cnr Kembla and Burelli Streets, until 23 October. Call 02 4228 7500 or visit www.wollongongcitygallery.com. Private collection. Breaking out travels to Campbelltown Arts Centre, NSW in December.

Rugby meets art

While Rugby Union All Black player Anton Oliver delivered great opening night speeches in September at both the Auckland Art Fair and the Auckland Art Gallery exhibition Michael Smither – The Wonder Years (no scrums involved except around the bar), the Bledisloe Cup match between the NZ All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies was screened as part of a New Zealand Festival in Federation Square, Melbourne on 3 September.

Presented by Te Roopu Ataawhai Inc, Te Rangatahi Inc and Multicultural Arts Victoria, the festival included displays of traditionally carved Maori Waka (canoes) on the Yarra River (see www.artmonthly.org.au for pics), a festival of food, arts and crafts, and performances from New Zealand musicians, actors and Haka groups.

Art can be dangerous

Sounding more like an award given to a surf life-saver or fireman, the law firm Simpson Grierson has won the 2005 Creative New Zealand Award for Bravery. Announced at the National Business Review Awards for Sponsorship of the Arts, the award was granted for support of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki exhibition, Mixed-Up Childhood [reviewed by John Hurrell in AMA #181 July 2005]. The annual Bravery Award is about recognising and encouraging arts and business partnerships that are visionary and involve elements of risk. Good on them!

Award-mania

Just a smattering of the awards around town at the moment include the Martin Hughes Contemporary Pacific Art Award, in partnership with the Pacific Arts Committee of Creative New Zealand. They are calling for entries from contemporary New Zealand and Pacific Island artists whose work reflects a Pacific influence. The recipient of the award will receive a travel grant of NZ$5,000. The award is in these categories: photography, tapa/textiles, installation, multi-media, printmaking, sculpture, jewellery, painting, weaving and carving. Artists must be based either in New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Tokelau, Tuvalu. Applications close 21 October, so visit www.creativenz.govt.nz … Putting the call out to rural artists, check out The Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award, run in conjunction with the Te Awamutu Museum, which is known to be the only official wire sculpture competition in the world, and which is attracting interest from international artists. There is NZ$5,000 in cash prizes up for grabs and works will be on exhibition at the Te Awamutu Museum for ten weeks from 9 November. Entries close 17 October, so visit www.fieldays.co.nz.