Phone book cover art displayed

For 21 years, the national telephone books' art award competition took contemporary art into nearly every New Zealand home.

So, when the cover art competition ended in 2011, many were left wondering what happened to some of the original artworks entered for the annual award.

A lucky few got the answer during this month's Artweek when they visited Spark's central Auckland headquarters for an Unlocked Collections tour. The tours are among the most popular events during Artweek because they allow the public to see art that's usually hidden away in corporate towers and institutions.

Formerly Telecom New Zealand, Spark inherited the corporate art collection which Sir Roderick Deane, former Telecom chairman, started in the 1990s. It includes paintings by artists like Ralph Hotere, Rita Angus, Brent Wong, Don Binney, Pat Hanly, Richard Killeen and Allen Maddox along with ceramics and sculpture.

Now managed by the Spark Art Trust, pieces from the collection can be found in Spark offices throughout New Zealand with most well-secured in Auckland and Wellington. The collection also includes a number of the winning entries from the phone book cover art competition, done by artists across the country - from 18 "phone book regions" - to reflect what they loved about their locality.

In the Victoria Street West building, these hang in a public area where visitors can admire them and reminisce about the days when delivery of a phone book was something New Zealanders looked forward to.

Started by Telecom, the competition was originally known as the White Pages Art Awards but was revamped when the Yellow Pages section of the business was sold in 2007. It became the Yellow Pages Group Art Awards but the competition ended in 2011.

Spark Art Trust spokeswoman Jenny Steele says Spark rarely buys art now - the most recent was Rebecca Rose's "Spark" sculpture - but the company is keen to ensure what they have is well looked after.

Fellow trustee Jessica Moloney says corporations play an important role in supporting the arts and collections like Spark's ensure the work and achievements of some of our best known artists are recognised. Ms Moloney says having art in a corporate environment is also inspiring for those who work there.

"If you look around the world, at the most exciting places to work, they create stimulating environments and that often involves using art to do so," she says.

Other companies and institutions that led tours during Artweek included law firms Russell McVeagh and Chapman Tripp, the BNZ and ANZ banks, the Wallace Arts Trust Collection at Auckland Council while the University of Auckland while Auckland Art Gallery opened its conservation laboratories.