New $20,000 award for Canterbury artists
A $20,000 award for Canterbury artists has been established in memory of a Christchurch landscape painter.
The award, one of the largest art grants in Christchurch, will be given to a Canterbury artist every two years and comes with access to studio facilities at Ara School of Art and Design for three months.
Artists who have an association with Canterbury and whose work ‘‘gives consideration to place and environment’’ will be considered for the award.
The award is named after landscape painter Grace Butler, who died in 1962 and whose work is included in the Christchurch Art Gallery’s public collection. Butler’s daughter, Grace Adams, established the Grace Butler Memorial Foundation to run the award before her death in 2012.
Art curator Warren Feeney, who helped set up the award, said the prize will be valuable for local artists.
‘‘The idea that it runs for three months means that an artist has time to prepare a whole new body of work for an exhibition,’’ he said.
The Olivia Spencer Bower award has been offering a cash grant and a year long residency for Canterbury artists since 1987. The award was established by the artist before her death in 1982 and offers artists a $30,000 annual prize with a year-long residency in Christchurch. The residency was based in the Christchurch Arts Centre until the 2011 earthquakes.
Feeney said the Butler award had the ‘‘additional benefit of a studio at Te Ara and access to resources that an artist would not normally be able to access’’.
‘‘I have been working in the arts for 30 years and artists really look after each other,’’ he said.
‘‘Olivia Spencer Bower and Grace Butler have both created opportunities for artists to help them out. This gives artists a break from other distracting activities.’’
Feeney said Adams had wanted to establish the award before her death.
‘‘All those years have gone by since her death and now there is this legacy.’’
Submissions for the first award close on December 15 and a winner will be selected in February. Artists can apply for the award at gracebutleraward.org.nz