Adam Portraiture Award 2022: Call For Entries

Artists from around New Zealand are being invited to enter their works for one of the country’s most prestigious portraiture prize, The Adam Portraiture Award.

The award, generously sponsored by The Adam Foundation and presented by The New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata, is one of the country’s longest running art prizes which has a major cash prize of $20,000 and gains national recognition through touring the country.

Anyone can apply to enter this anonymously selected biennial contest, as long as the artist is a New Zealander. All portraits must be painted only, and subjects have to be a New Zealand resident or citizen.

Previous winners include Sacha-Lees in 2020, Logan Moffat in 2018, André Brönnimann in 2016, Henry Christian-Slane in 2014, Stephen Martyn Welch in 2012, Harriet Bright in 2010, Irene Ferguson in 2008, Freeman White in 2006, Ryuzo Nishida in 2004 and Marianne Muggeridge in 2002 and 2000.

This year, for the first time in the competition’s history, an artist has been selected to be a judge, shortlist the entries and decide on the finalists and winner. Well-known street artist Askew (Elliot O’Donnell) will join Associate Professor Linda Tyler, convenor of Museums and Cultural Heritage at the University of Auckland.

“We are excited about having an artist on board as a judge for the first time. Covid has certainly put a spin on things, which has meant everyone has to get creative and try new things. I am excited to see what’s in store for 2022,” says Jaenine Parkinson, Director of New Zealand Portrait Gallery.

The winner of the competition and recipient of a $20,000 cash prize will be selected by the judges at the start of the public exhibition showcasing all finalists’ works. An additional prize of $2,500 will be awarded for the runner up alongside another $2,500 prize for the People’s Choice, awarded at the end of the exhibition.

Entries close at 4pm on Thursday 24 March 2022 and the winner will be announced on Wednesday 25 May 2022. The exhibition will be on show at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakata in Shed 11 on Wellington’s waterfront from 27 May to 14 August 2022 before touring nationally.

Entry forms and further information are available at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery or online at http://www.nzportraitgallery.org.nz/portraits-online/adam-portraiture-award.

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