Image detail: Alexander the Great.The Hooligan of British Fashion Deb Shepherd 2021 Bernina Award recipient
For some inspiration from last years spectacular event.
We would like to thank our guest judges for 2021...
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Lianne Edwards
Lianne Edwards’ art practice focusses on exploring our relationship with the natural world.
Environmental concerns have been foremost in her work, with a recent focus on the key issues facing the marine environment. She has collaborated with organisations such as the Sea Cleaners initiative, repurposing discarded materials from our coastlines and seas; and also with wildlife scientists, to highlight the plight of endangered albatross. Drawing on her background in ecology and conservation she melds art and science to create intricate works from an eclectic collection of materials including postage stamps, fibre and textiles, waste products and science data. Her work is held in the Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wallace Arts Trust and other private and public collections. Lianne is represented by Whitespace Contemporary Art, Auckland.
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Caroline Billing
Caroline Billing is Director of The National, a dealer gallery in Christchurch that specialises in contemporary jewellery, and includes sculpture and object-based works across other media. Established in 2004, the gallery hosts a diverse exhibition schedule that seeks to act as a platform for the ideas and contexts that inform current practice. Billing has played a vital role in nurturing the development of contemporary jewellery in New Zealand, creating links to international practice and offering opportunities for experimentation and critical development in the field.
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Award Winners 2021
Arts Council Nelson congratulate the following artists selected for the 2021 Finalist Showcase.
Sabrina Grabo, Fiona Cable, Samara Davis, Rachel Kiddie McClure, Penny Jameson, Leigh Tawharu, Finn Ferrier, Sarah Peacock, Wouna le Roux, Sherril Jennings, Donna Cleveland and Frances Joseph, Maggy Johnston, Amy Couling, Bailee Lobb, Leanne Rogerson, Ailie Snow, Angela Rowe, Matilda Fraser, Emma Nightingale , Cathy Kenkel, Michelle Mayn, Jeanette Verster, Victoria Mcintosh, Deb Shepherd, Marion Manson, Alysn Midgelow-Marsden, Susan Wells, Dan Collings, Clare Smith, Marina McPherson Whyte, Oliver Cain, Deborah Walsh, Raewyn Turner, Susan Imhasly, Cristina Rule, Lesley Knight, Wai Ching Chan, Larisse Hall, Sarah Pumphrey, Catharine Salmon & Christine Wingels.
Scroll Down for the Winners and profiles.
Supreme Award
$5000 jointly sponsored by Nelson City Council and Arts Council Nelson :
$5000 jointly sponsored by Nelson City Council and Arts Council Nelson :
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Bailee Lobb, Wellington.
Restful Heart 
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Nylon, Polyester, Acid Dye, Plastic, Metal
W2400mm x D1900mm x 1600mm Inflatable Soft Sculpture, Sewing Bailee Lobb is a disabled multi-disciplinary artist who works with colour, soft structures, and movement to create immersive and playful interactive environments. Her current work explores environments as stimulatory tools for self-regulating; she creates spaces that encourage haptic and sensory play, through her use of tactile materials, movement, and colour.In Restful Heart Bailee has hand dyed nylon fabric light red, orange, and magenta to create a glowing red interior space for rest, reflection, and visual stimulation. Bailee was born in Whanganui, New Zealand, 1989, to a family of skilled creatives. Her artistic education began with textile craft workshops, later developing into a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with majors in Textile Arts, and Sculpture, Performance and Installation Arts. Her early exposure to craft has had a clear and visible influence on her practice, demonstrated through her diverse skillset, consistent use of vibrant colours, architectural forms, and craft-based art making materials. |
Bernina Award
$2000 Sponsored by Bernina New Zealand for the most creative use of a sewing machine:
$2000 Sponsored by Bernina New Zealand for the most creative use of a sewing machine:
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Thread, Acrylic Paint, Silk and Canvas
1060mm x 1060mm x 32mm Free motion stitch Alexander the Great – “The Hooligan of British Fashion” In memory of Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (1969 – 2010) Innovative, dramatic, unconventional, extravagant, shocking, rebellious….GENIUS Creativity through art, fashion, textiles, and predominantly stitch, has always played a fundamental role in my life. I am inspired by experiences and aspects of life that create an emotive response in my psyche, such as music, film, fashion, cultural icons, and the natural world. Through experimentations with *free motion stitch as a creative drawing medium, combined with paint and collage, my artwork entwines my love for figurative drawing, painting and the textile arts. *Free motion stitch - a drawing with thread technique where there is no automated feed of the fabric under the needle of a machine, instead the needle acts as the pen, and the fabric is freely moved around beneath to create the image. + People's Choice Award Recipient Sponsored by Making More Possible and Benjamin Black Goldsmith. The artist received a bespoke pair of earings created especially by Benjamin Black. Winner of the Voters Lucky Dip: Karen Stade. |
Deb Shepherd, Paeroa.
Alexander the Great "The Hooligan of British Fashion" 
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Award of Distinction
$1500 jointly sponsored by Quiet Dog Gallery, Fresh Choice Nelson, Creative Journeys and Arts Council Nelson
$1500 jointly sponsored by Quiet Dog Gallery, Fresh Choice Nelson, Creative Journeys and Arts Council Nelson
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Maggy Johnston, Nelson.
Snakes and Ladders. 
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mixed media recycled materials
1230mm x 1230mm x 250mm crochet, embroidery, sewing ‘Snakes and Ladders’ is an expression of the surreal nature of the pandemic that has turned our world up-side down, and the work of Hieronymus Bosch in ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’, with its surreal, convoluted and chaotic layers, seems understandable as we negotiate this dangerous path, while the voluptuous Mae West Lips created by Salvador Dali expresses our need for soft, all-encompassing comfort. |
‘Snakes and Ladders,’ a sumptuous floor cushion made out of pre-used materials found in my home, should exude connotations of comfort and safety. The juxtaposition of the soft silk embroidery with the hard ‘masculine’ wires, metal washers, architectural artifacts and opulent textiles, represents the stress and confusion we feel as we face this new reality this new reality. Showcasing traditional womanly skills, ‘Snakes and Ladders’ instead, with its layers of chaos and normality clashing on the linen, expresses our doubts, fears and intuitive need for comfort.
Dame Suzie Moncrieff Merit Award
$350. Sponsored by Dame Suzie Moncrieff, Robyn Reynolds and Broomfields & Co:
$350. Sponsored by Dame Suzie Moncrieff, Robyn Reynolds and Broomfields & Co:
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Felted Wool 22.5cm x 133cm Wet felted I draw my inspiration not only from the natural world, but from the fragile wool itself, working it together using heat, humidity and friction to form something solid. My work is minimalistic, simple and abstract. Designed to make viewers feel calm while still leaving room for individual interpretation. Life is energy, emotions. Moving on a scale from positive to negative. I work just with black and white wool, these reflect the two opposite states. Through the felting process those fibres intertwine with each other and result in different shades of grey. The emotions that are between the two ends. |
Susan Imhasley, New Plymouth. Balance 
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Virtual TourSee below....The 2021 showcase was stunning and was best experienced in person. But these are tricky times. Our friends at Uniquely Nelson have put together a virtual tour for those who were unable to be with us on the opening night. See below... |
Catalogue 2021
Our huge thanks to the Lion Foundation for supporting the design and production of the
2021 catalogue 
Sorry all catalogues have now sold out. |
A warm thank you to our entrants, finalists, selectors, judges, supporters, collaborators and Award Sponsors for 2021.
