Auckland artist Ngaroma Riley has been named the winner of the prestigious Molly Morpeth Canaday Award 2025, taking home the $10,000 Major Award for her piece, Fisher/Kai hī ika.

The work, made from tōtara, acrylic paint, bone, muka, and tung oil, was selected by guest judge Sonya Korohina, who described it as a “quiet, contemplative work”.

Korohina praised the piece, noting, “From a distance this work appears to be sculpted from clay. As I get closer, it is a single piece of tōtara expertly shaped by the artist, their confident use of the chisel ... has created a lifelike small figure. The features of the wooden figure are recognisably tangata whenua and there is a gentleness in their posture. The figure perches on the edge of a cleverly splayed blue plinth, raising them up to the view of the onlooker.”

Riley, who was “gobsmacked” to win the top prize, explained that her piece reflected and celebrated pre-colonial Māori life.

“It recognises skills that have been threatened but still can be remembered and reclaimed. It alludes to food sovereignty and the right to consume healthy, traditional kai from te taiao.”

The 2025 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award received over 500 entries, and the works of 50 finalists are now on display at Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi – Whakatāne Library and Exhibition Centre. The exhibition highlights exceptional contemporary art from across New Zealand.

The awards, now in its 39th year, is presented by Arts Whakatāne in collaboration with Te Kōputu a te Whanga a Toi.

Whakatāne artist Estelle Withy was also celebrated for her work Humanity Hanging on by a Thread, which won her the Mayor’s prize.

A delighted Withy said this was the first time she had entered the Molly Morpeth award.

“It is just such a prestigious award and I feel very proud to have my work sit among these artworks.

“Creating this piece took over five months, including two-and-a-half months spent harvesting harakeke and preparing the weaving. It’s a long process, but it is so worth it; it is a taonga that will live on.”

Withy, who moved back to Whakatāne just three years ago, reflected on the personal significance of her win: “I remember attending the Molly Morpeth exhibitions when I was little, so this feels like a full-circle moment. It’s incredibly special.”

The 2025 award winners were selected by a panel of three preliminary judges: Fiona Jack (head of Elam School of Fine Arts), Elliot Collins (artist, educator, and MMCA 2024 winner), and James Gatt (curator at Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery).

A People’s Choice Award, sponsored by The Whakatāne Society of Arts & Crafts and Anne Tolley, will also be announced at the end of the exhibition, which runs until March 22. All works displayed in the exhibition are available for purchase.

Molly Morpeth Canaday Award 2025 prize winners

* Supreme award:  Ngaroma Riley (Auckland) – Fisher/Kai hī ika

* Akel Award runner-up: Julia Holden & Sarah McGaughran (Waiheke, Dunedin) – Intertrigo

* Craigs Investment Partners Youth Award: Anoushka Coulter (Auckland) – Noxie

* Robinson Law Highly Commended: Beau Cotton (Dunedin) – The Necklace

* The Mayor’s Prize: Estelle Withy (Whakatāne) – Humanity hanging on by a thread

* Merit Award: Mickey Smith (Auckland) – Artificial Intelligence

* Merit Award: Matt Arbuckle (Auckland) – Coloured Time

* Merit Award:  Fa’amele Etuale – His last birthday 30/10/2013

* Merit Award:  Kāryn Taylor (Tasman) – Dual State

* Merit Award:  Luca Nicholas – Dries Van Noten Fall 2015 Menswear

* Merit Award:  Andrew Rankin – Rewarewa on Rewarewa, composition #3

* The People’s Choice – to be announced at the end of the exhibition