Finalists announced for Trust Waikato National Contemporary Art Award

Forty-three finalists have been selected from amongst 283 entries for the Trust Waikato National Contemporary Art Award 2009. Now in its ninth year, the annual award is renowned for the challenging and often controversial entries it attracts – and this year is no exception.

Award judge Charlotte Huddleston, who is a well-known curator and essayist, and is currently the Curator of Contemporary Art at Te Papa Tongarewa the Museum of New Zealand, selected the finalists from a diverse range of artists and media.

"If there is a common thread between the 2009 finalists it is a plurality of approach to thinking and making that is most evident," she said. "The works reflect a multi-faceted and enquiring interaction with and response to the experience of contemporary life. It is a real pleasure to be faced with such a variety of works that use material and situation to engage thoughtfully and imaginatively.

"There are a multitude of ways to view the world and as many ways to represent it. The works that I have responded to are those which are reflexive, responding to or questioning their situation, and sometimes challenging ways of being and looking."

Waikato Museum Director Kate Vusoniwailala said the museum is proud of its association with the annual award.

"The award is the highlight of our arts programme for the year and provides a key opportunity for emerging, as well as established artists, to participate in one of the leading contemporary art competitions in New Zealand," she said.

The winner will be announced on 4 September and will receive $15,000 in prize money sponsored by Trust Waikato. The finalists' work will then be exhibited at Waikato Museum from 5 September until 24 January 2010.

Of this year's finalists, four (Lisa Benson, Shelley Norton, Meliors Simms, and David Roper) are Hamilton artists.