Bicultural Dialogue I, by Kereama Taepa.
Kereama Taepa has beaten148 other entries from across the Bay of Plenty to win this year's $10,000 Rotorua Museum Supreme Art Award with his work Bicultural Dialogue I.
Jill Fleming and Cheyenne Rose were also named winners, taking home the Innovation in Art award and Emerging Artist award respectively.
The winners were announced by judge Emma Bugden in front of more than 300 guests at a gala awards this evening .
The three winning works and 45 other selected finalists will remain on display to the public at Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre until October 6.
The winners and finalists were chosen using a blind judging process, based purely on the merits of the artworks.
Ms Bugden said she knew the Bay of Plenty has a rich art tradition which was reflected in this year's entries.
"Altogether, the high standard on show was exciting. Art in the region has got a direction and a purpose which thrusts it right into the national cultural conversation."
Announcing Kereama Taepa Bicultural Dialogue I as the Supreme Award winner, Ms Bugden said his work was set apart by its simplicity; superb execution, and the smart and funny way it drew her in and held her attention.
"While the sculpture tackles big subjects-the complexity of cultural identity and the changing nature of craft in a digital era-it does it with cheek and humour. The legacy of tradition is seen through a contemporary lens, simultaneously throwing light on the past and the future."
In awarding the Toi Ohomai Innovation in Art Award to Jill Fleming for her work Ascension, Ms Budgen noted that innovation did not have to mean discarding heritage.
"Ascension respectfully reworks craft traditions into a new form where every detail is carefully considered. The work makes connections between Western and Maori traditions, enhancing our understanding of both."
In selecting Cheyenne Rose's work Legs for the Friends of Rotorua Museum Emerging Artist Award, Ms Bugden asked the question: "What does a page torn from a book have to do with legs without a torso?"
"Legs has raw energy. Startling elements are collaged together in a playfully mysterious work by an artist who combines found materials with paint in a nonchalant nod to surrealism."
In addition to the three awards announced tonight , people can vote for their favourite artwork either in the gallery or via the Rotorua Museum Facebook page.
This year the More FM People's Choice Award will offer $500 to the artist whose work receives the most public votes in the gallery and $500 for the work with the most online votes by the end of the exhibition.
Rotorua Lakes Council arts and culture manager Stewart Brown said it wasn't a hard decision to hold this year's art awards, despite Rotorua Museum being closed.
"It is important that we actively support artists from the Bay of Plenty. The museum team have worked hard to find venues to exhibit the finalist artworks at Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre, and to also organise a Salon des Refuses at Rotorua Library to showcase the high quality of all other entries."