Unique public sculpture opportunity for Elam students

Encouraging Elam students to engage with public sculpture, as well as celebrating creativity, innovation and talent, is the aim of the inaugural Collin Post Sculpture Award and Longveld Plinth Award.

The award, for which expressions of interest are now open, provides a unique opportunity for students to design, develop, and publicly exhibit an outdoor sculpture, says Elam Associate Professor of Fine Arts Fiona Jack.

“We hope to make a significant contribution to the field of public sculpture in Aotearoa by enabling emerging artists to explore this medium.”

The award will connect the successful student with global public art company UAP (Urban Art Projects) to develop the winning sculpture into a digital model through an international residency at UAP’s studio and workshop in Brisbane, Australia. The work, which will be made of metal, will then be fabricated by Hamilton company Longveld, who are leading metal fabricators of public artworks.

The winner will have submitted an outstanding concept that responds to the site, brief, materials and scale requirements, have engaged with the workshops and processes related to the award and be ready to work with the associated award partners.

The award, which includes a fully funded residency at UAP in Brisbane, also comes with a $3,000 cash prize and is open to all domestic second and third-year Elam Bachelor of Fine Arts students, as well as all Elam domestic postgraduate students. Doctoral fine arts candidates can apply if the work they submit relates to their PhD.
 

A prize of $500 will go to each of the four finalists who attend the design workshop on how to develop their proposal, and who therefore reach the stage of submitting a final proposal.

Each year, the winning work will be displayed on a purpose-built plinth that will remain in-situ for one year, in the style of the famous ‘fourth plinth’ in London’s Trafalgar Square.

Fiona Jack says public sculpture is an exciting field but for many artists it’s difficult to find pathways into it, “which is why we’ve partnered with a group of generous supporters to create this exciting opportunity for Elam students to gain hands on experience in public art.

“Many Elam students each year will be involved in workshops with industry professionals learning about this complex and dynamic field,” she says.

A proposal is not required from interested students at this early stage, says Jack.

“Just a short explanation about who they are, what artwork they make, the kinds of art and ideas they’d like to explore and why the opportunity attracts them, alongside some images of their work.”

Jack says the award came about through Elam being approached by the family of the late Collin Post, who wanted to establish an award or programme that would develop New Zealand-based sculptors who are capable of producing monumental sculpture – or large-scale, publicly accessible sculpture.
 

Charlie Post, Collin’s son, said the family wanted to create a development pathway project that would honour their father and be delivered by the best university in New Zealand.

“It’s a wonderful and logical accompaniment to the Collin Post 4 Plinths Project we established in Wellington, also in commemoration of dad.”

Jack says the added bonus for the winning student, thanks to UAP and Longveld adding their support to that of the Post family, is not only a cash prize and support for the design, but also fabrication and installation of the project, which could otherwise be an insurmountable financial obstacle for an emerging artist.

Applications are now open and the submission deadline is Tuesday 24 March at 5pm.

Interested students are also invited to attend an information session at midday on 12 March in the Elam lecture theatre at 20 Whitaker Place with Fiona Jack and prize project lead Deborah McCormick of DMC Art, or join on Zoom.