Lani Kalapu has taken out the top honour at this year’s Changing Threads Contemporary Textile and Fibre Art Awards, as the long-running Nelson event celebrates another strong showing of creativity from across Aotearoa.
Awards were announced on Friday, 5 June, with Lani, who grew up in Nelson, claiming the Supreme Award and $5000 for his piece Maiden X. Lani also picked up the Hiwa | Arts Pasifika Award for the same piece.
Nelson artist Tammy Savage secured the Bernina Award and $2000 for Cutting In, while Gina Coatsworth received the Hiwa | Ngā Toi Māori Award and $2000 for Resource Management Act (1991).
Other winners included Zarah Stubbs, who took out the Hiwa | Emerging Artist Award and $1000 for Be soft, bloodied hands, and Michelle Mayn, who won the Hiwa | Award of Excellence and $1000 for Kākano.
The annual exhibition, now in its 16th year, continues to attract a high calibre of contemporary textile and fibre art, highlighting innovation, expertise, conceptual thinking and humour.
This year saw 136 works submitted by 96 artists nationwide. From those entries, 51 works by 43 artists were selected as finalists and are now on show across three gallery spaces, reflecting a wide range of contemporary approaches to traditional practice.
Judge Toni MacKinnon, director of The Suter Art Gallery, and fellow judge Maureen Lander, a weaver, sculptor, multimedia installation artist and academic, noted the breadth of talent on show.
“We were impressed by the distinct and various approaches to exploring and engaging with textiles. This year it was wonderful to see that the awards were marked by a higher number of emergent artists which gave the exhibition a new energy. Also, it was refreshing to see a diverse range of cultural stories and influences in the art works.”
“Started by Ronnie Martin, Changing Threads continues to go from strength to strength as seen in the record number of entries this year.”
Arts Council Nelson continues to position the region as a leading centre for crafts, with Changing Threads sitting alongside events such as Nelson Jewellery Week and Nelson Clay Week in building national visibility.
Gallery manager Janja Heathfield, who has worked on the exhibition since 2019, says it remains a highlight of the calendar.
“Changing Threads is one of the most well-attended exhibitions in our calendar, and I still get incredibly energised with every new suite of works. It’s a thrill to see the innovation and skill in the finalist works, especially those that investigate the endless possibilities of contemporary textile practise.”
