CURRENT GALLERY EXHIBITIONS
The only contemporary art award in Aotearoa New Zealand with ecology at its core.
The Estuary Art and Ecology Awards are Aotearoa’s only annual contemporary art awards with ecology at the core. Artists are invited to research and respond to the Tāmaki Estuary, explore the ecological value of this vital waterway, and encourage action against its pollution. Finalists will be exhibited in the Malcolm Smith Gallery at UXBRIDGE Arts and Culture and winning artworks will be intelligent and innovative responses to ecology in the field of contemporary art.
KEY DATES
Entries open 4 April 2025
Entries close 23 May 2025 – deadline extended to midnight, 25 May 2025
Finalists Announced 13 June 2025
Exhibition of Finalists 5 July – 30 August 2025
Opening function and awards ceremony Saturday 5 July 2025, 4:30PM
AWARDS
First Place: $5,000
Second Place: $2,000
Third Place: $1000
Merit Awards (2): $250 + $150 Gordon Harris Art Supplies Voucher
People’s Choice Award: $1,000
FINALISTS
Lucy Boermans, Tony Clarke, Charli de Koning, Inga Fillary, GENIUS: Geena & Nikki Simpkin-Hill, Helen Harvey, Kristin Hatland, Rose Lee, Misty Lynn, Kelly Rowe, Madi Sexton, Anna Tang, Grace Thresher, Saskia Eliane Van Dijk, Maraky Vowells, Rīhari Warnock and Roger Wyllie.
JUDGE – Shannon Novak
Unfortunately, our judge Hannah Buckley PhD. has had to withdraw from judging this years’ Estuary Art and Ecology Awards. Though this is disappointing news, we are grateful to have Safe Space Alliance founder, artist and curator 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗻 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗸 agree to judge in her stead.
Image courtesy of Shannon Novak.
While Novak is not an “eco-artist” in the traditional sense of working with land, natural materials, or explicit environmental activism, a significant ecological link exists in his work through a focus on social and psychological ecologies. His practice is deeply concerned with the health and sustainability of human systems, specifically the environments that impact the well-being of LGBTQI+ communities. This is best understood as the study of the interrelationships between individuals and their social environments. He investigates how these “ecosystems” can be nurtured to become safe, supportive, and life-sustaining. This manifests as socially engaged and collaborative painting, photography, installation, sculpture, and curatorial practice that often extends beyond traditional exhibition spaces. The work explores light and dark in the past, present, and future, but ultimately seeks to grow hope for a better world where queer communities can live without fear. For example, “Biological Exuberance” at Queensland Museum, 2021, celebrates the diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity, framing it as a natural and essential part of human biodiversity.
Novak founded the Safe Space Alliance, a global LGBTQI+ led nonprofit organisation that aims to help people identify, navigate, and create safe spaces for LGBTQI+ communities. Museums and galleries have joined from around the world including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York City, New York, US), MCA Denver (Denver, Colorado, US), Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, Massachusetts, US), Remai Modern (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada), and Museum of London (London, UK). Novak also founded Velebit, a project that aims to grow safety in relationships between queer communities and emerging technologies.
Novak has developed work for national and international institutions, festivals, and public spaces, including the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki (Auckland, New Zealand), Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia), Ningbo Museum of Art (Ningbo, China), Stanford University (Stanford, California, US), Institute of Contemporary Art San José (San José, California, US), The McKinney Avenue Contemporary (Dallas, Texas, US), St. Lawrence University (Canton, New York, US), and Georgia Museum of Art (Athens, Georgia, US).
SPONSORS
The 19th Estuary Art and Ecology Awards are generously funded by Auckland Council’s Howick Local Board, Tāmaki Estuary Environmental Forum (TEEF), the Rice Family Partnership, and Gordon Harris Art Supplies.
Join us in the Gallery Café for a casual yet informative conversation over tea and coffee with exhibiting artist Eve Boermans and centre director Paul Brobbel.
Eve and Paul will lead a conversation for artists and art lovers looking at the themes explored in the exhibition Threads alongside insights into Eve’s wider practice.
Wednesday 1 May, 2 – 3pm, Gallery Café
Bookings essential: $10 for coffee/tea/scone and conversation.
Threads
Threads is an exploration of metaphorical threads in time – observing memories and recognising the subsequent evocations from these moments; emotions, sounds, smells, light. Small, unfinished paintings are positioned carefully on Uxbridge’s concourse wall and connected by material threads. Although unfinished, these paintings feel more human, more natural, more intriguing. Each canvas piques the viewer’s interest, containing different subject matter from piece to piece. Locating the work in a transitional space enhances the potential for interpretation. The viewer can imagine their own conclusions for each piece, whether it be material or emotional.
Threads is an invitation, an offering to the viewer, for connection, for recollection, for feeling.
About the artist
Eve Boermans is an East Auckland-based artist and student at Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. Working in a variety of disciplines including dramatic and literary arts, her artistic work is currently focused on painting and installation. Boerman’s work has been seen locally in exhibitions such as the Focus Exhibition (2022). She was a finalist in the Wallace Art Awards (2022).
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Join us for a kōrero in the Gallery Café led by exhibiting artist Coral Noel Yang and Centre Director Paul Brobbel. Our conversation will be informed by the themes explored in Tokimeku, currently exhibiting in the Malcolm Smith Gallery. This is a great opportunity for artists, art lovers and the artistically curious alike to engage with contemporary art in an open and friendly environment.
All are welcome.
Tuesday 21st May, 2 – 3pm at the Gallery Café
Complementary coffee/tea are included in your ticket.
Bookings are essential. To secure your spot, please book through our website.
Tokimeku
‘Tokimeku’ (ときめく) is a Japanese word that beautifully captures the sensation of a throbbing, fluttering, and palpitating heart—a visceral response to the dance of anticipation. This concept serves as the inspiration for Coral Noel Yang latest collection of expressive abstract works. Influenced by her immersive experience at Tamagawa Hot Spring, a secluded mountain healing site in her mother’s hometown, Akita, Japan, these artworks vividly reflect the essence of her journey, where the heartbeat of nature resonates in captivating visual expressions.
As Coral delves into the memories of her travels, central themes of wonder, awakening, connection, and rebirth crystallise within this collection. A poignant narrative thread weaves through her heartfelt reunion with family after a period of Covid-induced separation, alongside tales of healing and the therapeutic energy found in Tamagawa. Coral’s purpose is to imbue her works with the vitality and sense of belonging she absorbed from this transformative journey.
About the Artist
Coral Noel Yang, an Auckland-based contemporary painter, specializes in abstract and floral art using acrylic, blending Soak-Stain techniques with Asian water-ink traditions. Her vibrant and layered works exude luminous hues and expressive marks, drawing inspiration from Aotearoa’s landscapes and florals, her 15 years of global filmmaking experience, and her Chinese-Japanese heritage. Enthralled by the unpredictable beauty of fluidity, she navigates between intuitive material play and meticulous design, crafting layers adorned with water marks, organic shapes, and whimsical brushstrokes. Her paintings capture nature’s essence intertwined with human emotions, evoking a profound sense of wonder and belonging, resonating both locally and internationally. Since 2021, Coral has held solo exhibitions in Auckland, notably including Unfurling (2023) and Tokimeku (2024). Additionally, she is invited to showcase her work at both The Auckland Art Show 2024 and Art in the Park 2024. In 2023, she received the John Wells award at the Emerging Artist Awards of Upstairs Gallery and was a finalist at Craigs Aspiring Art Prize in 2024.
Instagram link: @coralnoelyangart
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