Winners at Aratoi A second showing for 2019 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award – Painting and Drawing winning works Masterton is set to host 13 new award-winning artworks at Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History, fresh from the 2019 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award – Painting and Drawing exhibition in Whakatāne. This is the first time an extended showing has come to the Wairarapa. Co-ordinator Heather Hourigan says the new partnership with Aratoi is an ideal way to reach out to a different community. “Audiences from the Wairarapa would not normally get to see this national award exhibition,” she says. “We also liked the idea that this extended showing would highlight the opportunities open to Wairarapa artists.” This non-acquisitive award invites entries from New Zealand artists each year, and celebrates a unique variety of conceptual, visual, and geographical terrain. The 2019 Painting and Drawing Award attracted 500 entries, exhibited close to 80 finalists, and distributed a prize pool of more than $20,000 to 13 deserving artists. Twelve of the winners were selected by international Guest Judge Chris McAuliffe (Australia); with one winner selected by public vote during the Whakatāne exhibition. “Aratoi invites everyone to attend the opening event on Thursday 11 April at 5pm, featuring a presentation by MMCA Co-ordinator Heather Hourigan,” says Aratoi Director Susanna Shadbolt. For participating artists, the MMCA offers professional development opportunities by showcasing their practice to peers, collectors, critics, museum curators, the media and the community at large. This special showing includes work by Mark Anstis (Ōpōtiki), John Brown (Hastings), Esther Deans (Auckland), Mary Duggan (Whakatāne), Kirsten Ferguson (Dunedin), Toby George King (Auckland), Teresa HR Lane (Auckland), Raewyn Martyn (Wellington), Nicola McCafferty (Wellington), Adrienne Millwood (Lower Hutt), Sena Park (Paihia), Danae Ripley (Auckland), and Lea-Anne Sheather (Whakatāne). This exhibition of the winning works is toured by 2019 MMCA exhibition partners Arts Whakatāne and Whakatāne District Council, and hosted by Aratoi. ENDS Additional information MCMA basic information The MMCA is one of New Zealand's longest running and most vibrant national contemporary art awards. The inaugural art award was held in 1986 - to launch the Whakatāne Community Arts Council (now known as Arts Whakatāne). In 1991, the Molly Morpeth Canaday Trust (previously a merit award sponsor) became the principal award sponsor and gained naming rights for the exhibition and its programme. In 2012, the Award moved into Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi’s galleries, marking the beginning of the Arts Whakatāne and Whakatāne District Council MMCA partnership. The MMCA is a non-acquisitive annual award that alternates its focus between painting and drawing and three-dimensional art. The Award has developed over 30 years in Whakatāne. This year, our vision is to encourage and celebrate the development of painting and drawing on a national level and reward artists who create outstanding works. We aspire to create a platform for a broad range of art and artists, encourage discussion around contemporary art, and improve arts literacy. The 2019 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award – Painting and Drawing exhibition was shown at Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi – Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre from 17 February – 7 April 2019. The exhibition was presented by exhibition partners Arts Whakatāne and Whakatāne District Council. 2019 Judges Preliminary Judges (tasked with selection of finalists – 78 works chosen for original exhibition from pool of 500 entries) - Andrew McLeod Andrew McLeod is an Auckland-based artist. His prolific practice includes drawings, paintings, prints and books, each blurring into the next. Writer Danae Mossman called his work “a meeting place for the dreamer and the cynic to sit together, legs crossed, examining the master plan”. McLeod completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts in 1998, was the recipient of an Arts Foundation Award for Patronage Donation in 2010, and has an extensive exhibition history. - Ane Tonga Ane Tonga is an artist, curator and writer based in Auckland. She has undertaken curatorial roles at The Dowse Art Museum and Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand, and was formerly the Lead Curator at Rotorua Museum - Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa. She has written for numerous art publications and catalogues on artists such as Fiona Pardington, Lonnie Hutchinson, Amie Siegel, The Pacific Sisters and the recently published monograph Te Ringa Rehe - The Legacy of Emily Schuster. - Kirstin Carlin Kirstin Carlin has received much recognition for her work, and was the 2017 Molly Morpeth Canaday Trust Major Award winner. Carlin’s work is held in major public and private collections, and has been exhibited in many galleries in New Zealand and abroad. She completed a Master of Fine Arts at Glasgow School of Art in 2010. Recent solo shows include The Gardens at The Central Gallery, Christchurch; and New Paintings at Gallery 9, Sydney. Guest Judge (tasked with selecting 12 winners from the finalists) - Dr Christopher McAuliffe Currently a Professor of Art in Practice-led Research at the School of Art and Design, Australian National University, Dr McAuliffe has held significant museum and academic positions since 1988, including Director University of Melbourne’s Ian Potter Museum of Art. He is an influential curator, with his most recent exhibition, Robert Smithson: Time Crystals, showing at the University of Queensland Art Museum this year. A prolific writer and critic, Dr McAuliffe has published over 130 articles, academic papers, reviews, and books, focusing primarily on Australian art. Note: 12 of the 13 winning works were selected by Christopher McAuliffe; the People’s Choice Merit Award was decided by public vote during the exhibition. 2019 Awards and winners Molly Morpeth Canaday Trust Major Award / $10,000 John Brown, The Battle for Tuber Akel Schulte Runner-Up Award / $4000 Teresa HR Lane, Raising of the Brazen Snake Craigs Investment Partners Youth Award / $2,500 Danae Ripley, Nice folk and pleasantries Arts Whakatāne Highly Commended Award / $1,000 Lea-Anne Sheather, Seeking connections 9x Merit Awards / $500 each Mark Anstis, Fencing Assistant [People's Choice Merit Award]; Esther Deans, With and without; Mary Duggan, Fade [Local Artist Merit Award]; Kirsten Ferguson, Garden; Toby George King, The concealment of death; Raewyn Martin, Surfactant (1); Nicola McCafferty, Vintage scene with cat; Adrienne Millwood, Tomorrow today; Sena Park, E-um #9. .