The Grace Butler Memorial Foundation Award at Ara 2027 is inviting expressions of interest from artists for its 2027 studio residency.
The biennial award was established in 2017 by the late Grace Adams and the Grace Butler Memorial Foundation to maintain the legacy of Adams’ mother, Waitaha Canterbury plein air artist Grace Butler, who died in 1962.
It is aimed at art students or graduates who are Canterbury-based, or who have an association with the region, and whose work gives attention to, and reveals a regard for, place and environment, natural and built.
The Award includes access to a studio and related resources at the Ara School of Art and Design for the duration of the residency.
“The Award is an excellent opportunity for an artist or arts student,” says Mark McEntyre, creative and media portfolio manager at Ara. “It provides much-needed space and financial support for the artist and an invaluable opportunity for Ara students to engage with an arts practitioner.”
The Award also includes a grant of $25,000 – up from $20,000 in 2024.
Grace Butler Memorial Foundation trustee Victoria Pfahlert says the increase reflects the original goal of the Award to allow contemporary artists and art students to focus on the realisation of a body of work free from the need to seek outside employment.
“We know Grace Butler relied on scholarships during her studies so we are really pleased to honour this legacy and her standing as an Ōtautahi artist in providing financial support for an artist or arts student with a connection to Canterbury.”
Selectors for the 2027 biennial award are: Chloe Cull, pouarataki curator Māori at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū; Ōtautahi based artist and University of Canterbury fine arts graduate Emma Fitts; and Oliver Perkins, a contemporary painter and tutor in the Bachelor of Design programme at Ara Institute of Canterbury.
Applications close at 4pm on 28 January 2027 with the winner to be announced on 9 February. For more information or to make an application, please go to: www.gracebutleraward.org.nz