# Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award 2027

Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award 2027 is a prize offered by Te Pūkenga Whakaata – New Zealand Portrait Gallery (Wellington, NZ).
Applications close on 24 March 2027.
Funding or payment: First Prize $20,000 NZD; Young Artist Award $2,500 NZD; People's Choice Award $2,500 NZD.
The entry fee is 50 NZD.

**Disciplines:** Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Ceramics, Digital, Printmaking, Drawing, Textile, Glass, Weaving / Fibre, Film & Video, Mixed Media, Multidisciplinary, Visual Art, Craft
**Career stage:** All stages

The Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award is a prestigious competition that celebrates Māori artistic excellence by inviting Māori artists to create portraits of their tupuna (ancestors). The Award is hosted by Te Pūkenga Whakaata – the New Zealand Portrait Gallery – in honour of the late Māori King, Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, with the blessing of Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po.

Portraits may be in any medium — from paint, carved wood, metal, and glass, to whakairo, raranga, whatu, tā moko, and digital or electronic imagery. The only requirement is that the subject must be a tupuna of the artist, and the work must have been completed within the last two years.

**Prizes:**
- First Prize: $20,000 NZD (open to all eligible entrants)
- Young Artist Award: $2,500 NZD (for artists aged 30 or under at the time of the Award Ceremony, i.e. born after 19 May 1996)
- People's Choice Award: $2,500 NZD (decided by gallery visitors)

The first prize winning artwork will be gifted to the Kiingitanga and held in perpetuity in their collection.

**Who can enter:**
All Māori artists are eligible, regardless of career stage or age. Collaborative works are welcome, provided all collaborators are Māori artists with whakapapa connections to the depicted tupuna. Previous winners may re-enter. Each entrant may submit one work only.

**Entry requirements:**
- A high-quality digital image, audio file, or video link of your work
- An artist biography (max 100 words) confirming Māori descent and iwi affiliations
- A statement (max 100 words) about your chosen tupuna and your relationship to them
- $50 non-refundable entry fee

Note: AI-generated content (in whole or in part) is not permitted.

**Key dates:**
- October 2026: Entries open
- 24 March 2027 (4pm): Entries close
- 12 April 2027: Finalists notified
- 7 May 2027: Finalist portraits must arrive
- 17 May 2027: Final judging begins
- 19 May 2027: Exhibition opens and winners announced
- 20 May – 18 August 2027: Exhibition runs at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington
- July 2027: Touring selection announced

Finalist works may be offered for sale through the Gallery (30% commission applies). Selected works will tour venues across Aotearoa for up to 24 months following the close of the Wellington exhibition.

Emerging Māori artists seeking funding to create their work may also wish to apply to Creative New Zealand's Toi Tipu Toi Rea Fund, which offers up to $10,000 for eligible projects.

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Source: https://patronage.nz/opportunities/te-pukenga-whakaata-new-zealand-portrait-kiingi-tuheitia-portraiture-award-2027 (Patronage, patronage.nz). Apply or check the latest details at the organiser's own page: https://www.nzportraitgallery.org.nz