Locals encouraged to enter art awards

Entries have opened for the 2015 Rotorua Museum Art Awards.

The biennial awards, which were reinstated in 2013 after a 10 year absence, aim to inspire local artists and highlight the wealth of talent in the Bay of Plenty region.

Rotorua Lakes Council's Creative Communities portfolio lead Glenys Searancke said she was excited to see what Bay of Plenty artists would create for this year's Art Awards.

"The calibre of entries in 2013 was extremely high, with 130 works entered by 98 artists. I'm really looking forward to another wonderful exhibition of works by home grown talent from across our region," she said.

Rotorua Museum curator Karl Chitham is hoping for even more entries this year.

"Lots of artists who didn't enter last year have heard how successful it was, and with the great prizes on offer it's a great opportunity for them."

This year there is $13,000 in prizes up for grabs, including The Rotorua Museum Supreme Award prize of $10,000 and The Friends of Rotorua Museum Emerging Artist Award with $1000 in prize money.

Two new prize categories for 2015 are the Waiariki Institute of Technology Innovation in Art Award with a prize of $1000, and the MORE FM People's Choice Award also with a prize of $1000.

The first three awards will be announced at a special evening on June 19. An exhibition of approximately 30 finalist entries will open to the public from June 20 until October 11.

The MORE FM People's Choice Award will run for the length of the exhibition allowing visitors to vote for their favourites in the gallery and online via Rotorua Museum's Facebook page.

Rotorua Museum Director Stewart Brown said the Art Awards were a great way to engage with the local arts community.

"We had overwhelmingly positive feedback from all involved last time and we can't wait to see what our talented region produces this year."

For more information about the awards and how to enter, visit www.rotoruamuseum.co.nz. Entries close 5pm, May 4.