Awarding Arts Review prizes hard call, says judge

JUDGING: Helen Telford was at Wanganui's Sarjeant Gallery yesterday deciding which art works should get the five prizes and seven merit awards in the 2010 Carey Smith & Co Ltd Whanganui Arts Review.
She is the assistant director of New Plymouth's Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and said the job was a hard one because of the quality.
There are 99 works in the show, which opens tonight at 6pm. They were chosen by media artist Julian Priest, gallery curator Greg Donson and Te Manawa curator Nicole Jennings, from 144 submissions.
Mr Donson said there were more paintings than usual this year, and less sculpture, glass and student work.
The show is the biggest of its kind in New Zealand, and limited to artists in the Whanganui region. There could be as many as 500 people at the opening tonight.