KEY POINTS:
A new creative generation, including a Fat Freddy's Drop musician, an Oscar-nominated film-maker and an artist with a penchant for packing tape, have been given a $25,000 boost to help develop their careers.
The Arts Foundation and presenting sponsor Freemasons said the recipients of the inaugural 2006 New Generation Awards had "demonstrated excellence in the early stages of their careers".
The five recipients were musician Warren Maxwell, film director and actor Taika Waititi, visual artist Eve Armstrong, writer Tze Ming Mok, and stone artist and jeweller Joe Sheehan.
Maxwell is influential in the Wellington music scene, having founded the now disbanded Trinity Roots and as a member of high profile group Fat Freddy's Drop.
He said the award was life-changing as it opened up endless possibilities.
"As an artist, you always have the next level in mind, you get out a couple of albums and they seem to do pretty well and you travel overseas and that's amazing," he said.
"But you don't really realise your accomplishments until somebody else comes along like this and gives you a pat on the back, quite a big pat on the back, and says keep going."
The award would allow him to create his own studio.
"I've always had a dream of having a bit of land that I could live on and have a studio. That's pretty much what this will enable. I'll be able to build a barn over in the Wairarapa and put a studio in it, in a kind of concrete-free environment."
Waititi, another Wellingtonian, is involved in the film industry and theatre. His short film, Two Cars, One Night, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 and his film, Tama Tu, was selected for the Berlin, Sundance and Aspen film festivals in 2005. His first feature film, Eagle vs Shark, is due for release next year.
Aucklander Armstrong's art involves the use of "found" materials, with a particular passion for packing tape. Her work appears at Christchurch Art Gallery and she will participate in Turbulence: 3rd Auckland Triennial 2007.
Fellow Aucklander Mok has had her poetry, fiction, reviews, features and opinions published in Landfall, JAAM, Sport, The Listener and the Sunday Star-Times. Her short story Daily Special also appears in The Best New Zealand Fiction Volume 2.
Wellingtonian Sheehan is a stone carver with a contemporary approach to greenstone. He had his first solo show in Wellington in 2004 and earlier this year exhibited in Auckland.
David Mace, Grand Master of Freemasons New Zealand, said the organisation was pleased to support the next generation of artistic talent.
"The New Generation Awards not only give artists a financial boost but also the confidence to reach new heights in their careers," he said. "Freemasons NZ encourages everyone to aim high and achieve to benefit the whole nation."
- NZPA
