Artist Timeline

SEPTEMBER 1 – OCTOBER 31: Applications open. Fill out the application form below.

NOVEMBER 11: Finalists Selected. A panel of experts will review your application and applicants will be notified abut selection results by this date.
Selected finalists will be emailed a link to confirm their participation and accept our terms and conditions.

DECEMBER 2: Finalists’ Confirmation. Selected finalists must confirm their participation and accept our terms and conditions by this date.

MAY 1: Details of Sculpture Submission. Finalists will be emailed a link to a form to fill out, providing details of their sculpture.

MAY 8: Submission forms due. Finalists must complete their submission forms by this date

MAY 26 & 27: Delivery of Sculptures. Artworks will need to be delivered to TSB Arena, Wellington for judging and exhibition. Artworks that are delicate or require assembly will need to installed by artist on the 27th.

MAY 29 – VIP and Gala Evening: Exhibition Open to Friends and Sponsors. All sculptures will be for sale and attendees will vote for their favourite work for the People’s Choice Award

MAY 30 to June 1: Exhibition Open to the Public. All sculptures will be for sale and attendees will vote for their favourite work for the People’s Choice Award

MAY 30 – 5.30pm: Winners Announced. The judges will announce the winners at a private event, the 2025 NZ Art Show VIP Preview. All finalists are invited to attend.

June 1 -3: Collection of Artworks: Unsold artworks to be collected or couriered from the venue. Artworks that are delicate, or require disassembly will need to be un-installed by artist, including sold artworks.

TERMS: All applicants agree to be bound by the following:

• Artists must be a living New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
• Previous recipients of the Premier Award are NOT eligible if they have won the award from 2021 – 2024
• Previous recipients of a Highly Commended Award are eligible
• If you are selected as a finalist, you will submit a sculpture specifically for the awards: it will not be shown publicly or sold prior to the awards
• Artworks must be new, original and not a copy of someone else’s art
• Finalists’ artworks will be exhibited within the NZ Art Show 29^th May – 1^st June 2025 where they will be available for sale.
• Artworks are subject to a price limit of $10,000
• A 25% commission will apply on sold artworks
• Plinth-based works must fit within a 600 x 1000mm space. Artists may provide their own plinth
• Wall-hung artworks must fit within a 1m wide parameter
• Each artwork must be able to be carried comfortably by one person