Record number of sculptors selected for finale

With a record number of submissions, July was a tough month for our selectors.

Felicity Milburn, Lead Curator at the Christchurch Art Gallery, and Shirin Khosraviani, Manager & Curator at Ashburton Art Gallery, had their work cut out for them reviewing the 130 outstanding submissions to exhibit at our finale event this November.

Many thanks to all who contributed. We look forward to welcoming 24 new sculptors alongside nearly 50 returning from our previous events.

Emerging and established artists alike

From the submissions received, 72 have been selected.

High profile artists include Paul Dibble, Hannah Kidd, Jeff Thompson, Graham Bennett, Mark Whyte, Alison Erikson and Sam Mahon, amongst many others. This year’s oldest exhibitor is 86-year-old Margaret Riley from Rangiora. First time participants include Shane Woolridge from Arrowtown and Asaki Kajima from Hawkes Bay.

Pieces will range from the miniscule to the mammoth. Many artists have opted to create site specific artworks. We are looking forward to outbuildings, grassy paddocks, woodland areas and skyline ridges providing the backdrop for works created from a very wide range of mediums.

We are all about showcasing contemporary art practice in New Zealand and this is definitely reflected in the calibre of the works selected. This is going to be a very memorable finale!

Finale auction sculptors announced

Our opening night auction, hosted by local raconteur, writer and commentator Joe Bennett, has long been a highlight of the event. We are excited to share the news that this year our auction items will be exquisite works from planks rescued from local buildings and bridges and repurposed as outstanding works of art.

This year’s artists are:

Diana Adams, Anna Dalzell, Alison Erickson, Ben Foster, Jacqui Gibbs Chamberlain, Jason Greig, Gill Hay, Tatyanna Meharry, Lisa Patterson, Danny Summers, Dean Venrooy, Mark Whyte and Tim Wraight.

We are also putting together a retrospective collection of auction items from our previous events — remember the shovels? The cricket bats? The frames, the oars, the saws and the chairs? We welcome anyone who would like to share their special piece for this exhibit, to get in touch with us.

See you in November

We look forward to welcoming you all to the Finale event from 5-7 November this year. Tickets go on sale on 1 October. We know the Grand Opening on Friday 5 November is going to be the hottest ticket in town!