The forthcoming, biennial Molly Morpeth Canaday 3D Award is to be judged by the director of Auckland’s Objectspace, Kim Paton.

Kim Paton is a highly-regarded artist and art academic whose recent work, The Free Store Project, was included in the 29th Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Formerly the Research Leader and lecturer at Wintec’s School of Media Arts, she took up the Director role at Objectspace in 2015.

Ms Paton also holds a first class honours degree in sculpture from Massey University in Wellington and says she is looking forward to her task of evaluating the diverse entries the Molly Morpeth Canaday 3D Art Award.

“This is an important award in a national sense because it has provided a stepping stone for a number of artists to successful careers in applied arts. It’s an honour to be involved and to contribute to the development of object based arts practice in such a meaningful and personal way,” she says.

Established to encourage creativity in three-dimensional arts – sculpture, ceramics, jewellery and other applied art practices – the Award is a nationally recognised competition which offers a $5000 prize to the winning artist.

Online entries must be submitted by Sunday, 26 June, with preliminary judging based on supplied images to be completed by 14 July. Then, the final works to be exhibited at Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi in Whakatāne will be selected by the judge, ahead of the exhibition opening on 4 August.

Meanwhile, Whakatāne Museum and Arts Team Leader Hamish Pettengell says the ongoing generosity of the Molly Morpeth Canaday Trust has played a cornerstone role in the evolution of the Award. “This award and the exhibition it brings together every two years would not be possible without the Trust’s financial and organisational support,” he says.