The Walters Prize is New Zealand's largest contemporary art prize. Held biennially since 2002, the prize aims to 'make contemporary art a more widely recognised and debated feature of cultural life'. The prize is named in honour of New Zealand abstract painter

Gordon Walters Gordon Frederick Walters (24 September 1919 – 5 November 1995) was a Wellington-born artist and graphic designer who is significant to New Zealand culture due to his representation of New Zealand in his Modern Abstract artworks. Education ...

and the founding benefactors and principal donors are Erika and Robin Congreve and Dame Jenny Gibbs. The prize is organised by and held at

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

. Four artists are nominated each year by a panel of four New Zealand-based jurors for a work or body of work exhibited in the previous two years. The four artists are invited to install the nominated works (or version of their nominated show) at the Auckland Art Gallery in a public exhibition. The prize is awarded by a visiting international judge. The winner receives $50,000. The prize attracts significant media coverage every year. The 2016 nominees were considered notable, as three of the four nominees are of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

descent.

Recipients and finalists

2021 Jurors: Allan Smith, Nathan Pohio, Melanie Oliver, Charlotte Huddleston. Finalists: * Mata Aho Collective and Maureen Lander for ''Atapō'' (winner) * Fiona Amundsen for ''A Body That Lives'' *

Sriwhana Spong Sriwhana Spong (born 1979) is an artist and dancer from New Zealand. Spong grew up in Auckland, New Zealand, in a family of Balinese origin. She studied at Elam School of Fine Arts, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2001. Her first exhi ...

for ''The painter-tailor'' *

Sonya Lacey Sonya Lacey (born December 1976) is a New Zealand artist based in Wellington. She works with a range of mediums including performance, video and installation. Her works are in the collection of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Early life ...

for ''Weekend'' There was some controversy over conflict of interest with this iteration of the Walters Prize, as two of the selected works had been in exhibitions curated by jurors. 2018 Jurors: Stephen Cleland, Allan Smith,

Lara Strongman Lara Strongman is a curator, writer and art historian from New Zealand. Biography Strongman studied art history at the University of Canterbury, graduating with a master of art's degree in 1991, with a thesis on Tony Fomison. In 2013 she compl ...

, Megan Tamati-Quennell Finalists: *

Ruth Buchanan Ruth Buchanan (born 1980) is a contemporary New Zealand artist of Te Āti Awa, Taranaki (iwi), Taranaki, and European decent. Buchanan was born in New Plymouth and grew up in Wellington. She lives and works in Berlin. Education Buchanan gradua ...

for ''Bad Visual Systems'' (winner) * Jacqueline Fraser for ''The Making of Mississippi Grind 2017'' * Jess Johnson & Simon Ward for ''Whol Why Wurld'' *

Pati Solomona Tyrell Pati Solomona Tyrell (born 11 August 1992) is an interdisciplinary artist from New Zealand who focuses on performance, videography and photography. Tyrell is a founding member of art collective FAFSWAG. In 2018 Tyrell became the youngest nomine ...

for ''Fāgogo'' 2016 Judge: Doryun Chong Jurors: Emma Bugden, Peter Robinson, Lara Strongman, Nina Tonga Finalists: *

Shannon Te Ao Shannon Te Ao (born in Sydney in 1978) is a New Zealand artist and writer of Ngāti Tūwharetoa descent. He won the 2016 Walters Prize. Education Te Ao completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) and a Graduate Diploma of Teaching at the Uni ...

for ''Two shoots that stretch far out'' (2013–2014) (winner) *

Joyce Campbell Joyce may refer to: People * Joyce (name), list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Joyce, (born 1948), Brazilian singer-songwriter * James Joyce (1882–1941), Irish modernist writer Places * Joyce, Washington, an ...

for ''Flightdream'' (2015) * Nathan Pohio for ''Raise the anchor, unfurl the sails, set course to the centre of an ever setting sun!'' (2015) *

Lisa Reihana Lisa Marie Reihana (born 1964) is a New Zealand artist. Her video work, ''In Pursuit of Venus nfected' (2015), which examines early encounters between Polynesians and European explorers, was featured at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Early life ...

for ''in Pursuit of Venus nfected' (2015) 2014 Judge:

Charles Esche Charles Esche (born 1962, in England) is a museum director, curator and writer. His focus is on art and how it reflects, provokes and influences changes in society. He lives between Edinburgh and Eindhoven. Career Since 2004, he has been director o ...

Jurors:

Tina Barton Christina Joy Barton (born 1958), known as Tina Barton, is a New Zealand art historian, curator and gallery director. She is currently director of the Adam Art Gallery. Education Barton completed a Masters of Art in art history at the Universi ...

, Anna-Marie White, Peter Robinson, Caterina Riva. Finalists: * Luke Willis Thompson for ' (winner) * Maddie Leach for ''If you find the good oil let us know'' * Simon Denny for ''All You Need is Data'' * Kalisolaite 'Uhila for ''Mo'ui tukuhausia'' 2012 Judge:

Mami Kataoka Mami Kataoka (Japanese: 片岡真実) is an art curator and writer. Early life and education Kataoka was born in 1965 in Nagoya. She received a BA from Aichi University of Education in 1988. Career Since 2003, Kataoka has been the Chief Curator o ...

Jurors: David Cross, Aaron Kreisler, Kate Montgomery, Gwynneth Porter. *

Kate Newby Kate Newby (born 1979) is an artist from New Zealand. Background Newby was born in 1979 in the Auckland Region, Auckland region of New Zealand. She attended the Elam School of Fine Arts, receiving a BFA in 2001, an MFA in 2007, and a PhD in ...

for ''Crawl out your window'' (winner) * Simon Denny for ''Introductory logic video tutorial'' * Alicia Frankovich for ''Floor Resistance'' *

for ''Fanta Silver and Song'' 2010 Judge: Vicente Todolí Jurors: Jon Bywater,

Rhana Devenport Rhana Jean Devenport (born 1960) is an Australian-born art curator and museum professional. She was director of the Auckland Art Gallery from 2013 to 2018, and is director of the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide. Early life Devenp ...

, Leonhard Emmerling and Kate Montgomery. * Dan Arps for ''Explaining Things'' (winner) * Alex Monteith for ''Passing Manoeuvre with Two Motorcycles and 584 Vehicles for Two-Channel Video '' *

Fiona Connor Fiona Connor (born 1981) is a visual artist from New Zealand, currently based in Los Angeles. Education Fiona Connor was born in 1981 in Auckland, New Zealand. In 2004 she graduated from the Elam School of Fine Arts with a BFA/BA. She has also ...

for ''Something Transparent (please go round the back) '' * Saskia Leek for ''Yellow is the Putty of the World'' German-based New Zealand artist Michael Stevenson was also nominated for his 2008 exhibition ''Persepolis 2530'' shown in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, but the Auckland Art Gallery stated that 'due to accommodation and budgetary constraints it was not possible to exhibit' the work and therefore while the nomination stood it was not eligible for judging. 2008 Judge:

Catherine David Catherine David (born 1954) is a French art historian, curator and museum director. David was the first woman and the first non-German speaker to curate documenta X in Kassel, Germany (21 June – 28 September 1997). David is currently depu ...

Jurors: Jon Bywater, Elizabeth Caldwell, Andrew Clifford and

* Peter Robinson for ''ACK'' (winner) *

Edith Amituanai Edith Amituanai (born 1980) is a New Zealand photographic artist. In 2007, she was the inaugural recipient of the Marti Friedlander Photographic Award. Examples of her work are held in the collections of Te Papa, Auckland Art Gallery, and th ...

for ''Déjeuner'' *

for ''Digital Marae'' * John Reynolds for ''Cloud'' 2006 Judge:

Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (born December 2, 1957, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, US) is an Italian-American writer, art historian and exhibition maker. She is the recipient of the 2019 Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence. Currently, she is ...

Jurors:

, Andrew Clifford,

Wystan Curnow Wystan Tremayne Le Cren Curnow (born 1939) is a New Zealand art critic, poet, academic, arts administrator, and independent curator. He is the son of Elizabeth Curnow, a painter and printmaker, and poet Allen Curnow. Biography Curnow was born ...

and Heather Galbraith *

Francis Upritchard Francis Upritchard (born in 1976) is a New Zealand contemporary artist based in London. In 2009, she represented New Zealand at the Venice Biennale. Education Upritchard graduated from the Ilam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterb ...

for ''Doomed, Doomed, All Doomed'' (winner) * Stella Brennan for ''Wet Social Sculpture'' * Phil Dadson for ''Polar Projects'' * Peter Robinson for ''The Humours'' 2004 Judge: Robert Storr Jurors:

, Dr Deidre Brown, Greg Burke and

Justin Paton Justin Paton (born 1972) is a New Zealand writer, art critic and curator, currently based in Sydney, Australia. His book ''How to Look at a Painting'' (2005) was adapted into a 12-episode television series by TVNZ in 2011. Education Paton stu ...

* et al. for ''restricted access'' (winner) * Jacqueline Fraser for ''<>'' *

Ronnie van Hout Ronnie van Hout (born 22 January 1962) is a New Zealand artist, living in Melbourne, Australia. He works across a wide variety of media including sculpture, video, painting, photography, embroidery, and sound recordings. Early life and education ...

for ''No Exit Parts 1 and 2'' * Daniel von Sturmer for ''The Truth Effect'' 2002 Judge:

Harald Szeemann '' Harald Szeemann (11 June 1933 – 18 February 2005) was a Swiss curator, artist, and art historian. Having curated more than 200 exhibitions, many of which have been characterized as groundbreaking, Szeemann is said to have helped redefine the r ...

Jurors: Robert Leonard,

, Anna Miles and William McAloon *

Yvonne Todd Yvonne Todd (born 1973) is a contemporary New Zealand photographer known for her manipulation of conventional photographic techniques and genres. Early life and education Todd was born in Takapuna, Auckland. In the mid 1990s, she studied profess ...

for ''Asthma and Eczema'' (winner) * Gavin Hipkins for ''The Homely'' (1997-2000) * John Reynolds for ''Harry Human Heights'' (2001) * Michael Stevenson for ''Call Me Immendorff'' (2000)

References

{{Reflist, 2 New Zealand art awards Art exhibitions in New Zealand Awards established in 2002 2002 establishments in New Zealand Events in Auckland