National Contemporary Art Award
Brave, colourful, and never shy. The art of now.
The National Contemporary Art Award brings the best in Aotearoa contemporary art to the Waikato. The finalists on display are selected via a blind-judging process by the guest judge.
In 2024 it was announced that the National Contemporary Art Award would be moving to a biennial competition, occurring every two years from 2025.
The next call for entries will be open in early 2025.
2025 timeline
Here's our schedule for 2025. Some dates are to be confirmed, please check back here for updates.
- Call for entries open: early March
- Entries close: Thursday 1 May
- Finalists announced: late May
- Opening gala and announcement of winners: Thursday 31 July
- Exhibition open from: Friday 1 August
- People's Choice Winner announced: late October
- Exhibition closes: Sunday 16 November