Wallace Art Awards 2011
Akiko Diegel, Cure, 2011.
The annual Wallace Art Awards marks its 20th anniversary this year and The Dowse will showcase the winners and most of the finalists. The Dowse is the only Wellington venue to host this outstanding awards exhibition; the awards are the longest running of their type in New Zealand. With prizes amounting to over $165,000, the awards were presented by Auckland Mayor Len Brown at The Pah Homestead, TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre on Monday 5 September.
Founded by Aucklander James Wallace in 1992, the Wallace Art Awards acknowledge, encourage and financially reward contemporary New Zealand artists producing outstanding work in the mediums of painting, sculpture and photography.
The 2011 Paramount Winner is Akiko Diegel who receives a 6 month-residency at theInternational Studio and Curatorial Program in New York, USA. Akiko’s work is Cure,2011, made up of disprin packets fashioned into bulldog clips.
The 20th Awards were thebiggest yet, with 559 entries received from which 116 finalists have been selected. The Awards were judged by three distinguished New Zealand artists – Philip Trusttum, Sara Hughes and Peter Gibson-Smith.