Entries open for No 8 Wire geniuses
FIELDAYS: A popular competition for artists is bound to go down to the wire
The annual call for Kiwi creatives to flex their skills has arrived. The renowned Fieldays No 8 Wire National Art Award challenges Kiwi artists to transform the iconic agricultural product, No 8 wire, into inspiring art.
Entries for the annual awards, which boast a prize pool of nearly $10,000, are now open.
Hosted by Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato and supported by the New Zealand National Fieldays Society, the event has seen incredible talent manipulate the infamously difficult product into stunning works for sale.
Approaching its 25th year, the award is now recognised as a celebration of true ingenuity. In 2022, the competition will be judged by carver, sculptor, and multi-disciplinary artist Eugene Kara.
With iwi affiliations to Ngā ti Koroki Kahukura, Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāti Tīpā, Ngāti Kōata, Ngā Rauru, Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa, and Ngāti Kahungunu, Kara has been a practising artist for 30 years.
In his time at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, Kara has established Te Ahi Komau, New Zealand’s first Māori foundry and bronze-casting facility.
“It’s an honour to have Eugene on board to select the finalists and eventual winners of this year’s award,” says Liz Cotton, the director of museum and arts at Waikato Museum. “His artworks are recognised and admired around the region, including the commanding tekoteko column beside the Cambridge exit of the Waikato Expressway.
“Fieldays is an iconic event and Waikato Museum is proud to be associated with it through the No 8 Wire Award.”
The New Zealand National
Fieldays Society President James Allen says: “Over the years, we have been privileged to witness many artists work through these awards. We’re proud to continue our support providing a platform for expression of creativity and the grass-roots of agriculture in New Zealand, whilst also connecting a community of likeminded individuals.”
A digital judging platform will be used to review photos and select the finalists. This platform also keeps the entrant identities confidential, enabling the judges to focus solely on the art.
The award culminates in a monthlong exhibition at Hamilton’s ArtsPost Galleries & Shop, opening this year on Friday, April 22.