5 July 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School wins world-wide 2017 Saatchi Gallery Art Prize for Schools
(Wellington) Samuel Marsden Collegiate School’s artwork ‘Matariki – Māori New Year’ has won the prestigious 2017 Saatchi Gallery (London) Art Prize for Schools. This is one of the most significant student art awards globally and the large collaborative work is on display at the
Saatchi Gallery in London 4 – 13 July. The work was chosen from more than 24,000 entries from 66 countries.
The artwork was created by Year 6-8 students at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School’s Artist in Residence Workshop and
through specialist classes at Marsden led by renowned Artist Michel Tuffery. Invited students from Clyde Quay,
Kilbirnie, Khandallah, St Mark’s, Hataitai and Northland Schools also contributed to the work.
Consisting of paint-pen drawings on see through panels of vinyl the vibrant artwork celebrates Matariki, the Māori New
Year, with Manu Aute or God kite forms giving tribute to past ancestors as they meet with them in the heavens.
The process of making the work collaboratively is a way of celebrating Matariki, the New Zealand indigenous New Year.
“Working together enhanced the awareness of the ‘many’, gave us the chance to talk, laugh, interact and learn as we
created together”, said Tuffery. “The process is as important as the finished work. The students came away feeling
empowered. They left with (artistic) skills, knowledge about Matariki, how to work together and an overall feeling of
well-being.”
Marsden Schools Head of Visual Arts Kaz Bartsch said “The Artist in Residence Programme at Marsden is an invigorating
initiative. We bring in a working artist each year; creative and talented individuals who are experts in the arts, to
extend and inspire our students. We introduce them to concepts beyond the curriculum and are pleased to share our
programmes with the wider school community. This artwork is a true credit to all students involved, Michel Tuffery for
his inspirational time at Marsden and John Denton, the previous Head of Visual Arts at Marsden, who extended and
encouraged students and brought some exciting initiatives to the school in his 12 years with us. We are very excited to
have won this prize! The win will enable us to enhance our Artist in Residence Programme and provide resources so our
students can continue to explore art within and beyond the curriculum. In line with the special character of Marsden we
will also continue to ‘give’ to our wider community, by sharing our programmes with other schools. “
Tuffery imparted the following in the students he worked with “It’s a wonderful exploration when you collaborate
together, with another student or human being, it’s the unknown, a voyage of discovery and trust in each other and
trying to get that synergy right that is important.”
The judging panel of the 2017 Saatchi Gallery Art Prize for Schools this year consisted of Alice Anderson, Artist;
Alistair Hicks, Writer and Curator; Nigel Hurst, CEO of the Saatchi Gallery; Megan Piper, Gallerist and Founder of The
Line; Dea Vanagan, Curator and Director, Hauser & Wirth Somerset. The judges were very complimentary of the Samuel Marsden Collegiate School work, announcing them as
winners in both the Primary School category and as the overall winner, in a ceremony on 4 July 2017 at the Saatchi
Gallery in London.
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School has been providing quality independent education for more than 135 years. Today it has
two campuses. The Marsden School Karori campus provides Preschool education for boys and girls, and education for girls
from Years 1 to 13. Marsden Whitby provides education for boys and girls Years 7 – 13. Marsden School expresses its
vision in terms of what it ultimately wants to achieve for its students. That is to lay the foundation for lives of
meaning, accomplishment and happiness, in a rapidly changing world. Excellence in academic and co-curricular pursuits is
supported, nurtured and celebrated at Marsden and its programmes are built on the pillars of Excellence, Creativity,
Resilience and Giving. The school has innovative programmes that encourage students to collaborate, develop their
entrepreneurship and work on cross-curricular real-life projects. marsden.school.nz
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
More information about the competition and the Samuel Marsden Collegiate school entries can be found here:
Competition Details here
More information about the Samuel Marsden School Artist in Residence Programme can be found here:
Creativity at Marsden: https://www.youtube.com/user/MarsdenNZ