Judges announce short-list for The Parkin Drawing Award

Wednesday 10 July 2013

800 entries received for the inaugural prize

Drawing is certainly alive and well in New Zealand with a high standard of entries received for the inaugural Parkin Drawing Award. The competition attracted an impressive 800 entries, of which 120 have been selected for the short-list*.

The award attracting a major prize of $20,000 was launched by Chris Parkin, arts patron and owner of Museum Art Hotel in Wellington in October last year. Parkin has committed to funding The Parkin Drawing Award for an initial five year period.

An advisory panel, consisting of Senior Lecturer in Painting at the University of Canterbury Roger Boyce, Senior Lecturer at the School of Fine Arts - Massey University Simon Morris, painter Seraphine Pick and former curator of contemporary art at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, Mercedes Vicente, spent hours trawling through hundreds of entries before deciding on the short-list.

The winning submission will be selected and announced by judge, Associate Professor and Head of the School of Fine Arts at Massey University, Heather Galbraith on Friday 26 July 2013 at the opening of the Parkin Drawing Prize exhibition at the NZ Academy of Fine Arts.

“It’s wonderful to have such an enthusiastic response for the first year of this competition. The objective of the award was to bring back the value of drawing in New Zealand by capturing the spirit of invention, risk and discovery fundamental to drawing and making art. During the coming years, the winning entries will also lay the foundations for a national drawing collection,” said Chris Parkin, owner of Museum Art Hotel.

Works in the award exhibition range in size from the small (40 x 95mm) to the grand (3 metres x 3metres). Entries have been received from throughout New Zealand from Auckland to Dunedin and Marton to Timaru.

The award also revealed that drawing is much more than charcoal or pen and ink on paper with artists also submitting Neon lighting tubes, embroidery, felt pens, ceramics, latex, plaster, receipt tickets, wallpaper, biro, and recycled furniture. The exhibition encompasses large expansive works on paper in pen and ink, intimate collage and colour-field works, performance, traditional landscapes, maps, interactive works of art and graphic design.

“We left out of the conditions of entry restrictions on what constitutes drawing leaving artists to define it by their practice. As a result of this we have seen a wide range of works from traditional (and not so traditional) figure drawing through to pure abstraction and beyond. The nature of drawing has always been the subject of discussion and debate. The inaugural exhibition for the Parkin Drawing Prize highlights this, being characterized by a welcome degree of surprise, humour and candour.” said Dr. Warren Feeney, Director of the NZ Academy of Fine Arts.

The winner of The Parkin Drawing Award 2013 will be officially announced on Friday July 26 at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington and will coincide with a public exhibition showcasing all finalists’ works.

For more information please contact:

Rebecca Reed – Communications Manager, Museum Art Hotel 021 205 7718 or Rebecca.reed@museumhotel.co.nz

*The finalists for The Parkin Drawing Prize 2013

Arapere Rewiti
Armstrong Michael
Bagust Judi
Ball Martin
Barton Deborah
Beehre Hannah
Beets Ietje
Blake Marc
Bleakley Joe
Bluett Craig
Brabants Pam
Brown Georgette
Buckley Kate
Calvert Daniel
Cauchi David
Collins Elliot
Cornish John
Cox Michaela
Croucher Tim
Crowe Deborah
Davies Alexandra
Davis Glenda
de Vries Tjalling
Diegel Akiko
Dixon Craig
Douglas Tara
Durkin Denise
Dyne Julien
Edwards Simon
Edwards Johann
Ellis Stephen
Esling Simon
Fairweather Jake
Falls Leslie
Febvre-Richards Emma
Feeney Margaret
Ferguson Irene
Frost Anita
Garratt Trenton
Gilbert Grace
Grayson Ginny
Greenbank Jacquelyn
Hall Jai
Hartigan Paul
Hawksworth Michael
Haycock Jaimi
Haynes Roger
Hayward Heather
Hemer Andre
Herber Veronica
Hewlett Evelyn
Hickman Yolunda
Hinton Thomas
Holloway-Smith Bronwyn
Hubbard Jessica
Humphreys Clive
Hüsselmann Erika
Hutchins Glen
Jansen Monique
Jensen Hannah
Johnston John
Kim Solyi
Kim Clare
King-Cole Aaron
Kreisler Eugene
Le Lievre Marie
Lillico Kirsty
Lundberg Patrick
Madill Philip
Makea-Pardington Akura
Mason Jennifer
McElwee Dominic
McEwin Stephanie
Meek Kim
Middleton Tim
Miller Neil
Millwood Adrienne
Morley Michael
Muller Karamia
Oram James
Otley Jonathan
O'Mahony Antonia 
O'Toole Maria
Paterson B. (Allan)
Patterson Campbell
Paulet Roberto
Pemberton Lorraine
Pretty Kelly
Prosee Michael
Randrup Ellyse
Rasmussen Rebekah
Ritchie Ross
Robertson Jo
Ryan Sarah
Saegusa Natalia
Scott Karen
Scott Sarah
Scott Sophie
Scott-Rowe Marian
Sheather Lea-Anne
Silverwood Margaret
Smith Barbara
Smith Alex
Smith Devon
Smuts-Kennedy Sarah
Sohn Yon Yi
Stevens Kathryn
Stichbury, Douglas
Tackett Marci
Tercel Dean
Thomson Sandra
Townshend Greer
Trolove Jack
Tsutsumi Nagataka
van Hasselt Janna
van Roosmalen Karin
Vullings Elisabeth
Waamu Alfred
Ward-Knox John
Ware Jason
Whyte Robert
Wroe Bonnie