The Craigs Investment Aspiring Art Prize is underway in Wānaka for its 19th year, opening on Friday night (January 9) at Holy Family Catholic School. The event drew a crowd of about 300 people.

The annual exhibition, which raises funds for Holy Family Catholic School, has grown into a nationally recognised event, attracting entries from artists across Aotearoa and showcasing a wide range of contemporary work.

Holy Family Catholic School principal Jane Rush said the art prize had evolved significantly since its early days. She said the show had become “a prestigious nationwide event celebrating the creative spirit from every corner of Aotearoa”.

“Because it is now nationwide, the task of selection is more challenging than ever,” Jane said.

Runner Up Carol Bucknell’s ‘House Proud’.

She said the art prize delivers more than $30,000 a year to the school, providing vital support for students and families. “This support allows us to provide the best possible educational opportunities, specifically, for helping us maintain smaller class sizes, ensuring that a child’s foundational learning sets them up for life,” she said.

Jane said the funding also allows the school to expose students to a world of creativity, opening their eyes to new ways of seeing and understanding the world.

This year’s judging panel included Julia Hutchinson, director of the Hutch gallery in Dunedin, and Polly Gilroy, manager of PG Gallery 192 in Christchurch.

Holy Family Catholic School principal Jane Rush centre with judges Julia Hutchinson left and Polly Gilroy.

Julia said the exhibition reflected both quality and variety. She described it as a “strong and diverse collection of work,” and said “the standard across all of the submissions was exceptionally high”.

Read more: 150+ works for Aspiring Art Prize

The supreme winner was awarded to David Craig for his work ‘Wānaka Audible Landscape’.

“[This piece] instantly caught both of our attentions, rather than depicting the land literally the work expresses its essence through emotive gestures, layering textures in a dynamic interplay of thick and thin oil,” Julia said.

The exhibition will remain open to the public until 4pm today (Monday January 12), giving people the opportunity to view the works, support local education and engage with contemporary New Zealand art. Entry is $5.

Find out more about the Craigs Aspiring Art Prize here.

Prizes:

Merit Award - Alecia Koenigsberger’s ‘To go to the pool'.

Best under 400mm x 400mm - Madeleine Cunliffe’s ‘The Inheritance of Silence’.

Best art work under $1000 - Lynn Brocherie Millar’s ‘Dancing above the Ngahere’.

Best Landscape Artist - Alicja Gear’s ‘As above so below; as within so without; as the universe so the soul’.

Runner Up - Carol Bucknell’s ‘House Proud’.

Supreme winner - David Craig’s ‘Wānaka Audible Landscape’.

PHOTOS: Wānaka App