Submission closing date for pattillo Whanganui Arts Review fast approaching

Renata Szarvas and Matt Dutton will enter the pattillo Whanganui Arts Review again this year. Photo / Michael McKeagg

Submissions for the 2021 pattillo Whanganui Arts Review close on February 23, and local artists Renata Szarvas and Matt Dutton are gearing up to enter the competition again this year.

In 2021 the principal sponsor of the event, Anne Pattillo, upped the value of the open award cash prize to $6500, and Szarvas herself provides sponsorship for a merit award through her business, Renata's Art and Framing.

As well as preparing works for submission, Szarvas works on frames for some of the other artists who enter, meaning the first two months of the year are usually a busy time.

"If you're an artist and your work involves other professionals like painters or picture framers, don't leave it to the last minute to submit," Szarvas said.

"My advice would be to plan ahead."

Any original artwork in any medium is able to be submitted, as long as it was completed in the last 12 months and the artist lived in the Whanganui region, including Ruapehu, Rangitīkei and South Taranaki districts.

The review was one of the biggest events for artists in Whanganui, Szarvas said.

"The quality and quantity of submitted work exceeds last year, every single year, so being accepted is a big deal.

"The Sarjeant itself is respected as one of the premier galleries in the southern hemisphere and with something like the arts review, the call is out for every creative to submit work.

"For me as an artist, as well as a picture framer, presentation of the work always shows not only the care that artists take in presenting their work, but also the respect of that grand place where the art is exhibited."

Dutton said his work hadn't been accepted the first two times he submitted it, and it wasn't until a few years later that he got selected into the exhibition.

"Because it's curated, you're sort of sitting there thinking 'am I going to get accepted or not'," Dutton said.

"Sometimes I might do a piece and think 'oh, that would be good for the review', or I might just pick my latest work.

"This a serious award, and the top prize is really quite significant for people. That's not just in financial terms, but also with the professional practice and development that comes with the show.

"It's artists supporting the Sarjeant, but it's the Sarjeant supporting artists as well."

Szarvas said a great thing about the review was the fact the entry requirements were so wide.

"It doesn't just have to be professionals, anyone who loves their art can enter. Even if you're just a hobby artist, you have the chance to be exhibited alongside big names.

"That is an incredible award on its own."

Dutton, a painter, said he had a "couple of pieces on the go" which he was considering submitting, while Szarvas, a textile artist, started a piece several months ago.

"I knew with the first stitches that it would be the piece I'd like to enter," Szarvas said.

"I'm pretty well set."