Nominated for: 

A Body That Lives, 2018, Exhibited ST PAUL St Gallery, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, 28 September 2018–26 October 2018

Nominated for: 

Aka, 2019, Exhibited Àbadakone | Continuous Fire | Feu continuel, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 8 November 2019–5 April 2020

Nominated for: 

Weekend, 2018, Exhibited in the group exhibition Solo, The Dowse Art Museum, Wellington, 10 November 2018–17 March 2019

Nominated for: 

Now Spectral, Now Animal, 2019/2020, Exhibited Edinburgh Art Festival, 2019 and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 22 February–7 June 2020

Every two years Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki presents an exhibition by four artists who have been nominated for their outstanding contribution to contemporary art in New Zealand. The Walters Prize is unique because it focuses on an outstanding artwork or body of work made within a two-year period, as opposed to an artist’s entire practice. The prize is named after New Zealand artist Gordon Walters (1919–1995). Walters, a leading modernist, produced abstract art of remarkable refinement and stimulated an ongoing discussion about the interrelationships between European, Māori and Pacific visual art traditions.

The prize, established in 2002, was the initiative of Founding Benefactors and Principal Donors Erika and Robin Congreve and Dame Jenny Gibbs, working in partnership with Auckland Art Gallery. Our shared belief is in helping to increase access to and grow understanding of contemporary New Zealand art.

The Gallery establishes an external jury two years prior to the exhibition. This consists of four art professionals from outside Auckland Art Gallery whose job it is to determine which artworks exhibited over the two-year period contribute to enhancing art practice and the understanding of contemporary art in New Zealand. Regardless of an artist’s age, ethnicity or location, their work needs to have exerted a remarkable impact or influence on the nature, perception or development of contemporary art in this country.

This year the jury members were:

• Charlotte Huddleston, Former Director, ST PAUL ST Gallery, Auckland University of Technology 
• Melanie Oliver, Former Senior Curator at The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt, now Curator, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
• Nathan Pohio (Kāi Tahu), Artist, Assistant Curator, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
• Allan Smith, Freelance curator/writer and senior lecturer, Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland

To determine the Walters Prize winner from the four nominated artists, an international judge is invited to New Zealand to view the artworks presented here and assess their merits. The judge is an art professional with the highest of international reputations, and must be a leading figure in the curation of contemporary art.

This year’s judge will be announced soon. The judge will announce the winner at an awards dinner on Saturday 7 August.

Previous judges have included: Harald Szeemann (2002), Robert Storr (2004), Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (2006), Catherine David (2008), Vicente Todolí (2010), Mami Takaoka (2012), Charles Esche (2014), Doryun Chong (2016) and Adriano Pedrosa (2018).