The Arts Foundation has announced its five 2009 Laureates. They are: carver Lyonel Grant, writer Witi Ihimaera, musician Chris Knox, musician specialising in Maori instruments Richard Nunns, and photographer Anne Noble.

Each of the five Laureates will receive a $50,000, no-strings-attached donation to celebrate their past achievements and invest in their future.

“The Laureate awards are about recognising senior New Zealand artists who have a substantial track record of excellence, and who still have plenty of creative juices left in the tank,” says Foundation chairperson Ros Burdon.

This year’s Laureate Awards, held in Auckland on November 17, marked the Arts Foundation’s tenth birthday. The Foundation has now awarded 49 Laureateships, worth a total of $2.12 million, since it was founded in 2000 to help grow private support for the arts.

Performers at the ceremony included several previous Laureates, such as singer Moana Maniapoto and ta moko artist Derek Lardelli. Experimental musician Alastair Galbraith, a 2006 Laureate, unveiled the latest version of his glass-tube fire organ.

2009 Arts Foundation Laureates

Lyonel Grant (Te Arawa) is a master carver and sculptor who works in many media, including stone, wood, bronze, glass, ceramics and paint. Each of his creations has its own distinct character. Lyonel is a graduate of the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, and he now moves between classical and contemporary practice using his own unique methods. Lyonel’s most recent work is Te Noho Kotahitanga, the marae at Unitec in Auckland.  Lyonel built the whare using classical construction methods.  Lyonel was awarded an honorary doctorate by Unitec in July 2009. He has been invited to contribute to the 2010 Expo pavilion, Shanghai, China and has new work in Roundabout scheduled for Wellington’s City Gallery in September 2010.

Witi Ihimaera (Te Whanau a Kai, Ngati Porou, Te Aitanga a Mahaki). His fiction is written very much from a Maori perspective; Witi sees “the world I’m in as being Maori, not European”. Witi published his first collection of short stories, Pounamu Pounamu, in 1972, followed by the novel Tangi in 1974, making him the first Maori writer to publish both short stories and a novel. Significant works since then include The Matriarch (1985) and Nights in the Gardens of Spain (1995). His 1987 novel The Whale Rider became an internationally successful feature film. Witi is now a writer of international status. He has produced new work for opera, theatre, ballet and film.

Richard Nunns is a living authority on nga taonga puoro (Maori traditional musical instruments) and is described as one of New Zealand’s most remarkable musicians. Working with the late composer Hirini Melbourne and with Nelson carver Brian Flintoff, Richard helped rediscover many traditional instruments. Richard, who lives in Nelson, has a strong commitment to research, as well as to presenting and performing on traditional musical instruments.  Richard was awarded a Queens Service Medal earlier this year. Richard will be working on three different recording projects from mid-November. His next major performing event is with Latitude 35 Degrees South, a group of musicians from New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina, who will play for the first time at the Bay of Islands Arts Festival in February.

Anne Noble is one of New Zealand’s most widely recognised and respected contemporary photographers. She has been described as “one of New Zealand photography’s most subtle and poetic of practitioners”. Anne is Professor of Fine Arts (Photography) at Massey University in Wellington, and was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to photography in 2003.  Anne’s series Ruby’s Room was selected by the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris as the keynote contemporary photography exhibition for the inaugural Paris PhotoQuai Biennale of Photography in 2007. Anne travelled to Antarctica in 2002 as part of the Artists to Antarctica scheme.  She returned to Antarctica in 2008 after winning a prestigious US National Science Foundation Artists and Writers Award. An exhibition of work from that trip is showing at Bartley + Company Art in Wellington until 28 November. The work explores ideas of beauty and toxicity, surface and depth in relation to photography and the Antarctic environment.

Chris Knox’s output is not confined to making music. He is also known for his spirited and original contributions to film, video, cartoons, writing and criticism in leading New Zealand magazines, and on radio and television. Chris is known as the “spiritual godfather” of the celebrated Flying Nun record label. As well as releasing his own music on Flying Nun, Chris also helped many bands record on the label. He also designed their LP covers and shot film clips. Chris has been a mentor to many New Zealand bands, and he has an international reputation as an influential  musician. Stroke, a new album of Chris’s songs performed by local and international musicians, is being released on November 16.

The Arts Foundation