Last year saw a record number of entries for the Estuary Art & Ecology Award which now enters its 17th year.
The competition is lauded as the only contemporary art prize in New Zealand with ecology at its core.
Artworks will be exhibited in the Uxbridge, Malcolm Smith Gallery. This year there is a new judge.
Benjamin Work will select 20-25 artworks based on their innovative and intelligent response to ecology and the Tāmaki Estuary.
Artists have been invited to research and respond to the Tamaki Estuary, to underscore the ecological value of this vital waterway, and to encourage action against its pollution.
“It’s always a difficult choice as to which works to include or exclude from the main competition so a number of other commended entries will be selected for display outside the main gallery and these entries will also be open for the People’s Award sponsored by the Rice Family Partnership,” organisers said.
Partners and sponsors this year include Howick Local Board, the Tāmaki Estuary Environmental Forum, the Rice Family Partnership and Gordon Harris Art Supplies.
The prize pool this year is $10,000.
Entries are open now until midnight Saturday, May 27. The award ceremony is at 2.30pm on July 1. The exhibition runs from July 1 until August 26.