"But deep down what I really hoped to find was an artist whose work I wasn't familiar with at all and something that totally surprised delighted and baffled me in equal measure."
She said Connolly's work delivered on that.
Connolly's winning piece 'PAST POSSESSIVE, FUTURE POSSESSIVE (i) (UMPIRE CHAIR IN SIX PARTS)' is the first mixed media piece of a series.
The Sarjeant Gallery's curator & public programmes manager Greg Donson said there were 212 entries and of those, 133 works were included in the exhibition.
"There's a lot to see and the standard of entries was very high," Donson said.
Chris Connolly won the Open Award with his piece "PAST POSSESSIVE, FUTURE POSSESSIVE (i) (UMPIRE CHAIR IN SIX PARTS)". Photo / Supplied
Connolly won $7000 cash and secured the Pattillo Project - a solo artist exhibition that will be in the newly reopened Sarjeant Gallery at Pukenamu Queen's Park.
He also won a website designed and hosted by Two Monkeys, plus the Making It: Capability Building for Creatives sessions courtesy of Whanganui & Partners.
Tia Ranginui and Isabella London were the winners of the two Excellence Awards.
The eight Merit Awards went to Lesa Ann Hepburn, Debbie Hahn, Sarah Bradfield, Jillian Karl, Julie Anne Coffey, Lynn Hurst, Ellen Jackson and Brit Bunkley.
Shanai Atkinson won the Whanganui Youth Council, Youth Recognition Award.
The Sarjeant describes the exhibition as a "snapshot of the region's creative output now".
Works are accepted in any medium, as long as they are completed in the last 12 months by artists living in the Whanganui region or an area that links to the Whanganui River including Whanganui, Ruapehu, Rangitīkei and South Taranaki.
For the first time, any student enrolled at Whanganui UCOL studying towards a degree, diploma or certificate in Creative Industries was eligible to enter regardless of where they live.
