Arts Whakatāne and Whakatāne Museum and Arts have announced the winners of the 2018 Molly Morpeth Canaday Awards for three-dimensional art. Auckland-based Deborah Rundle has won the Major Award, which includes a $10,000 prize. Six other cash awards celebrating the contemporary art of New Zealand were announced at at the exhibition opening and ceremony at Whakatāne Museum and Galleries on Saturday evening.

"I am so thrilled, surprised and grateful that my work, Employee of the Month, has been chosen for the Major Award,” said winner Deborah Rundle, from her  studio at The British School at Rome, where she is the current Wallace New Zealand Artist in Residence. “ It is really affirming that the interests that motivated me to make the work have found such a receptive audience.”


The 2018 exhibition features nearly 60 works of sculpture, craft, applied arts, mixed-media, and installations, and is on view at Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi – the Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre through 8 April. Awards were judged by Auckland-based artist, academic and art professional Deborah Crowe. 

"Employee of the Month can be seen as a clever commentary on power structures, dry tongue-in-cheek observations of everyday vying for position, or as a poignant reference to Aotearoa New Zealand’s labour relations history," said Crowe. "Initially its irony made me laugh. Then its deeper concerns haunted me a little, recalling personal experiences from the 1970’s. The relatively simple installation, made up of only 3 components, speaks volumes about our attitudes towards employment, social structure, and beyond."

Fran Allison's Your Basic Tee received the Runner Up Award, Josephine Cachemaille took the Highly Commended Award, Whakatane artist Sarah Hudson won the Local Award for her Ngarara / Bacteria / Monster, and Uma Tuffnellwon the Youth Award for A Good Duck. Merit Awards were given to Watene Akuhata for Painted Sticks and Rowan Panther for Lei # 2.  

The Molly Morpeth Canaday Award programme is a partnership between Arts Whakatāne and Whakatāne Museum, alternating each year between painting/drawing and three-dimensional art. This year's programme received over 230 submissions from across New Zealand, representing creative people and ideas from Invercargill to Kaitaia.  

“With our partners, Arts Whakatāne, we intend to keep building a powerhouse annual awards and exhibition programme that provokes dialogue around contemporary art, but also recognises the most interesting things being done in Aotearoa," said Whakatāne Museum Director Eric Holowacz. “Some of the objects now featured in our galleries are subtle and quiet, while other works are bold. political, funny, and even haunting. Taken in its entirety, the 2018 Molly Morpeth Canaday exhibition has something to say about creativity and the modern-day world we inhabit. We invite you to stop and listen."

The programme is made possible by the generous support of the Molly Morpeth Canaday Fund, established by Frank Canaday in memory of his wife, the New Zealand artist Molly Morpeth Canaday. The trust has been a major supporter of the arts in Whakatāne for over 25 years. For more information about the awards or 2018 winners, visit the programme website.

Josephine Cachemaille, Drawing Down Don -(Arts Whakatane Award). Susan Mabin, In Memory of Waitangi Reserve. Rowan Panther, Lei #2 Muka (Merit Award)

Adrienne Ranson, Story-Rock of No-origin. Fran Allison, Your Basic Tee -(Akel Schulte runner up award). Jasmine Togo-Brisby Re:finery

Organisers have announced that the 2018 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award - 3D is to be judged by highly-regarded artist, academic and arts professional Deborah Crowe, with 2016 winner Jasmine te Hira and Dunedin- based artist Scott Eady on the pre-selection panel.

Originally trained at Glasgow School of Art, Scotland, Deborah Crowe has contributed to the fields of art, craft and design in New Zealand and to international conferences and exhibitions for over twenty-five years. Her work includes objects, installations and complex imagery, often challenging to her audience to keep pace, and is held in collections including Te Papa Tongarewa, Glasgow School of Art and the Dowse Art Museum. She will be the sole guest judge in the final stage of judging and will select the $10,000 Major Award, sponsored by the Molly Morpeth Canaday Trust.
 
“This is a valuable and significant national award with a focus on nurturing and promoting three dimensional work across a range of practices. It is a pleasure and an honour to be invited to contribute to the selection and judging process.” she says.
 
Scott Eady is a Senior Lecturer of Sculpture at the Dunedin School of Art at Otago Polytechnic and his work is represented in public and private collections throughout New Zealand, Australia and Russia, while Jasmine te Hira’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, with The Beauty of Invisible Grief being the joint major winner of the 2016 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award – 3D. Jasmine currently works in the museum and gallery sector at Tāmaki Makaurau and is also working on establishing a community research archive at Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust.
       
The Molly Morpeth Canaday Award - 3D is presented by Arts Whakatāne and exhibition partner Whakatāne Museum and Arts.

These awards have been made possible through the generous support of the Molly Morpeth Canaday Trust, established by Frank Canaday in memory of his wife, Molly Morpeth Canaday. The trust has been a major supporter of the arts in Whakatāne for over twenty-five years.

The Tāneatua Gallery is a place that not only exhibits quality art but generates artistic energy in a town that is rebuilding itself..
The gallery is a part of the post settlement healing process for Tūhoe. It creates a platform for the expression of perspectives that are traditionally seen as luxuries to impoverished colonised communities.
Furthermore it provides an environment for artists from around the world to come and share their work and processes with Tūhoe. A dialogue that enriches both Tangata Whenua (Host) and Manuhiri (Guest).
We have been working for well over a year to transform a derelict 100+ year old building into a space to offer this vision.
But we need your help. We need to get rid of the mortgage so we can bring down the overheads and keep the doors open. We also need to finish some remedial building work. PLEDGE-ME TANEATUA GALLERY

Over the recent school holidays, Whakatāne Museum and Arts facilitated two children's' workshops at Te Kōputu with Joanne Black, local artist and educator - other times were self-directed with parent supervision. Day 1 had an amazing response, with nearly 50 children taking over the Sheaff Family Gallery to create a unique sprawling city containing  zoos, party houses and flying foxes instead of cars. 

Gallery visitors, parents and especially kids appreciated the opportunity take over this public space, usually reserved for curated art exhibitions. The room came alive with kids making, creating, and working together to create an evolving  cityscape of boxes, colour and layered towers.

Choral singers came from all around the North Island

The popular musical extravaganza and drawcard event of the Summer Arts Festival attracted a crowd of around 1500 people of all ages. Back by popular demand was The Sunshine Capital Big Band directed by Alan Spence. It was a 40 strong ensemble - a combination of Eastern Bay of Plenty Brass Band and trident High School students. They were joined by Lili Latham, Bailea Twomey, Cameron Rota and Waiewe Vice (Sarah Holmes-Reid, Adele Dixon and Debs Ranapia).
The music included jazz standards, jazz rock and jazz ballads.

by Karl Jenkins Comemmorating ANZAC 100 years.
Conductor -Tony Hogg, Pianist - Olga Stancliff, Timpani - Anne Bovett, Organ - Anne Cleaver, Percussion - Brian Waddell and Ethan Baldey, Flute - Elsie Kane, Cello - Yotam Levy, Trumpet - Maurice Reid, Sandy Herewini & William Herewini.

"The Armed Man was an extraordinarily successful major production presented by the Edgecumbe Choir with weekend performances moving some to tears, some to a numbed silence and everyone to a deep appreciation of the stunning performances. Six of the choristers took solo vocal parts, all with considerable credit. 
The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace was a most fitting conclusion to the ANZAC Centenary weekend."

by Karl Jenkins Comemmorating ANZAC 100 years.
Conductor -Tony Hogg, Pianist - Olga Stancliff, Timpani - Anne Bovett, Organ - Anne Cleaver, Percussion - Brian Waddell and Ethan Baldey, Flute - Elsie Kane, Cello - Yotam Levy, Trumpet - Maurice Reid, Sandy Herewini & William Herewini.

"The Armed Man was an extraordinarily successful major production presented by the Edgecumbe Choir with weekend performances moving some to tears, some to a numbed silence and everyone to a deep appreciation of the stunning performances. Six of the choristers took solo vocal parts, all with considerable credit. 
The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace was a most fitting conclusion to the ANZAC Centenary weekend."