This year’s Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award will be hotly contested, with Aotearoa New Zealand artists from across the motu staking their claim to a share of $8,500 in prize money this Thursday at Hamilton’s ArtsPost Galleries and Shop.

The awards were launched back in 1997 to give artists a platform to celebrate the iconic material through art and help forge a stronger connection between urban and rural communities.

This year’s competition judge, Rotorua based carver and sculptor, Eugene Kara, has selected 24 finalists that showcase the versatility and inventiveness of the agricultural supply material. 

Previous award winners Gina Ferguson and Asaki Kaijma are among the finalists for the award, and several artists entered not one, but two artworks into the competition. The close competition means that spectators of the month-long exhibition at Hamilton’s ArtsPost Galleries & Shop are in for a sensory treat.

Eugene Kara, who has recently been involved in several large-scale projects, including Hamilton’s central city jetty with five sculptural pillars, says he was taken aback by the diverse methods the artists used to manipulate no.8 wire into compelling art.

The winner will receive a cash prize of $7,000. Prizes of $1,000 and $500 are presented for the second and third place winners respectively. Further prizes are also awarded for People’s Choice and New Zealand National Fieldays Society President’s Choice.

Last year’s winner, Auckland artist Gina Ferguson, created a piece of art with a combination of wire, gorse, and soap, called Wear ‘n’ Tear, reflecting on the situation we found ourselves in with the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Gina, submitting her work to the Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award competition was “a hell of a lot of fun and a challenge.”

“The range of work exhibited is broad, and a bit like number 8 wire itself: tough, quirky, and often really clever. It is definitely reflective of our rural communities and what it means to be creative and live in Aotearoa New Zealand.”

To find out more about the competition, visit waikatomuseum.co.nz/no8wire.

ABOUT FIELDAYS

Fieldays is based on a 114-hectare site at Mystery Creek 10 minutes from Hamilton and is the largest agricultural event in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Fieldays draws people from around the globe – both as exhibitors and visitors. Fieldays Online, launched in 2020 as a world first during COVID-19, attracted 90,455 total visitors and viewership from more than 75 different countries. 

Fieldays 2021 saw 132,776 people visit the event, becoming the second biggest in the event’s 53-year history. Fieldays 2022 has been postponed until Wednesday November 30 to Saturday December 3, 2022.

Fieldays is run by New Zealand National Fieldays Society, a charitable organisation founded in 1968 for the purpose of advancing the primary industries. 

The New Zealand National Fieldays Society thanks their key partners Hyundai, Farmlands, and Vodafone for their continued support.

For more information head to www.fieldays.co.nz.