Longevity, resilience, innovation and sustainability are thematic drivers behind the inaugural Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi-led art awards which are judged this Friday evening.
Fourteen artists have entered work for the awards which will be followed by a six-week exhibition of the entries at the Taupō Museum and Art Gallery.
Friday evening's announcement of the first three placegetters by judges Te Maari Gardiner and Gabrielle Belz will bring a lot of hard work to fruition for curators Piata Winitana-Murray and Tyrone Te Waa.
For Winitana-Murray, the exhibition is designed to encourage and promote resilience and aspirational thinking.
"That's the amazing thing about doing things like this is sometimes you see the same artists all the time, but this provides opportunities for new artists to kind of express themselves and we've got some young ones in here doing beautiful, beautiful work."
The support of the Ariki – Tā Tumu Te Heuheu – means seven portraits of past ariki will be exhibited alongside the new works.
The exhibition coincides with Ruia Taitea, the first ever Ahurei (festival) of Ngāti Tūwharetoa this Saturday, at Riverside Park and Unison Amphitheatre.
Friday's awards evening and exhibition opening starts at 5.30pm at the museum.
