If art is the gift that keeps on giving, then it's only fair some of that giving goes back to the artists.

One of the annual highlights of the craft world is the announcement of the Dame Doreen’s Gift recipients - with the Blumhardt Foundation bestowing the $10,000 boosts on two artists whose outstanding craft/object art practices have garnered the admiration and respect of peers, sector leaders and institutions.

The 2024 recipients have been named as contemporary jeweller Frances Stachl (Ngāpuhi) from Whanganui and West Coast-based contemporary weaver Annie Mackenzie.

Mackenzie, who can credit her exhibition Genuine Article at the Sarjeant Gallery for her five-figure cash injection, states this unexpected outside affirmation "has woken me up and put the wind back in my sails."

She told The Big Idea "It’s still feeling pretty surreal actually.

I’m just so grateful that Dame Doreen Blumhardt (the foundation founder, noted potter and arts advocate) left the goods to give this gift. What absolute wisdom. It’s just a beautiful thing.

"For me, the gift is in the acknowledgement from those who have seen my work even when I’ve felt pretty hidden away. It’s given me the warmest feeling.

"To make things with your hands is a loving gesture to the world and I can’t wait to spend more time doing that."
 

Stachl will be in the same boat - Blumhardt Foundation Chair Brian Wood praising her "dedication to her practice as a self-supporting working jeweller, which balances making with selling; her development as a maker, respect for material, acknowledging her heritage and being a great support to others in the sector.”

Stachl refers to the gift as an "incredible, astonishing vote of confidence."

She told The Big Idea "As a jeweller, I spend a lot of my time by myself at the bench. I’m usually not sure what kind of reception my work might be getting (other than the monthly gallery payments for sales). I’m always a bit surprised when people outside my own whānau/friend/community network are aware of my work.

As a fairly reclusive mid-career jeweller who works in the provinces rather than the city, an award like this is intensely surprising.  

"Dame Doreen's gift makes me realise that I might not quite be as obscure as I thought. This is a really nice thing, though for me, it also comes with a bit of uncomfortable imposter syndrome."

She continues "My work is what it is because of so many other ringatoi/ringarehe Māori who have gone before me, beside me and everyone who will come after. I would not be who I am as a maker or as a person without this whakapapa and whanaungatanga."

When asked how the money might impact her career, Stachl insists she hadn't given it much thought. 

"I’m fairly cautious financially so I’ve put the money into a term deposit for a while so I can think about it - or ignore it - for a bit until I’ve decided what I might do. I made a donation to the PCRF (Palestinian Children's Relief Fund) because that felt like the right thing for me to do. 

"I’ve got a couple of projects to complete over the next few months which I will tackle before making any decisions. Financial injections like this almost always give a maker the freedom and space to explore new ideas. 

"Money isn’t the ultimate goal, but it certainly gives you the ability to make choices." 

Some of those choices are in line with the simpler pleasures in life for this proud great auntie. "And to my littlest irāmutu, aē, this gift will buy us a LOT of aihikirīmi (ice cream)."