NEWS

ZAWAA25 People’s Choice Award Winner Announced

Now in its ninth year, the Zonta Ashburton Women’s Art Awards focuses on the art of emerging and mid-career artists who identify as women living and working in Waitaha Canterbury. ZAWAA seeks to raise the status of visual artists who identify as women and to acknowledge the contribution women make to the greater art discourse. The award is aligned with the values of Zonta International, which exists to advance the status of women worldwide through service and advocacy.

With an unprecedented 126 entries this year, 30 finalists were selected from the 100 entries for the Premier Award, and 25 entries were featured in the Young Generation Award category, for those aged 16-20 years. Since this year’s exhibition opening on March 07, visitors have been voting for their favourite work from the selection of finalists to win our People’s Choice Award. We received 707 total votes this year, almost double the amount from last year’s exhibition.

The winner of this year’s People’s Choice Award is Margarette Erfe for her work I’m an open book?. Margarette was also our Young Generation Award winner, which was announced at the opening night on 07 March. The judges described her work as ‘an endearing, tiny stage set made from book pages that is cleverly constructed and suggests a profusion of competing possible selves and ideas.’

Margarette thanked the public for their support, stating that ‘it’s such an honour to win the People’s Choice award. I never would’ve imagined that my work would receive this much recognition and appreciation—it truly means the world to me.’ She will be awarded a prize of $100 for winning our People’s Choice Award.

The awards exhibition is delivered through a partnership between the Zonta Club of Ashburton and the Ashburton Art Gallery, and generously supported by the following local organisations:

Zonta Club of Ashburton, CNZ Creative Communities Grant, Barker’s Foodstore & Eatery, Forsyth Barr, ANZ Bank, Bushey Park Trust, Everist Gilchrist Lawyers, Straight 8 Estate Wines, Scorpio Books, Samantha Rose Flowers, Kate Murney, Terrace Croft, Cates Grain and Seed, and Rosebank Lifecare.

Image: ZAWAA25 People’s Choice Award and Young Generation Award winner Margarette Erfe with her artwork, I’m an open book?