Emerging artists recognised on national stage
From ballerinas to conceptual family portraits, works by emerging New Zealand artists will be shown on a national stage over Queen’s Birthday Weekend.
Artist Ailene Cuthbertson graduated from the Learning Connexion in Taita earlier this year and entered her work in the upcoming New Zealand Art Show, as part of the Emerging Artist Awards.
At the annual event, which was established in 2012, four tertiary art students or recent graduates are chosen as winners and awarded $2500 each. This year, 25 finalists have been named.
‘‘It’s a little bit scary actually, getting your art out there. An artist is trying to say something and you can get apprehensive about . . . how other are people going to see it,’’ Cuthbertson said.
She worked with an aspiring ballerina to create her pieces, mixing photography and digital art. She asked the ballerina how she would know she’d made it as a dancer. The reply was once she’d performed Giselle.
In Giselle, the heroine starts out quite naive, Cuthbertson said. Over the course of the ballet, she grows from a girl to a woman.
Her artwork Freed From The Earth touched on those themes, incorporating ideas of following your heart and following the story of a broken-hearted heroine growing up.
Once Cuthbertson found out she was a finalist, she did a ‘‘happy dance’’.
‘‘It’s such a cool opportunity. It’s getting our work in front of thousands of people.’’
Brittany Taigen is another finalist in the Emerging Artist Awards. Tomorrow, she will graduate from Massey University’s College Of Creative Arts and later that evening, her art will be on display at the New Zealand Art Show Gala.
Taigen works mainly in photography and the pieces she’s entered are part of a series called Flesh & Blood. In her artworks, she explores themes involving families and creates conceptual family photos.
‘‘I’ve always known I wanted to do something creative,’’ she said.
More than 10,000 people will likely attend the New Zealand Art Show over Queen’s Birthday Weekend . The New Zealand Art Show is being held from May 31 to June 4 at the TSB Arena