Our School of Creative Industries has continued its run of success at the annual Eden Arts Art Schools Award, receiving three out of the top five awards at this year's event held at Webb's Gallery, in Mt Eden last Friday, 25 October. 

This year’s success is a repeat of last year when Unitec took out three of the top five honours as well.

Unitec was represented by five of its Contemporary Art tauira: Samuel Tuaiti, Will Zhou, Carla Davies, Lesinga Vaiaku and Mara Szekely with Samuel Tuaiti named as one of three joint overall winners for his work Tivaevae (to patch) new traditions. 

Samuel Tuaiti received the Highly Commended Award. Title of Sam’s work is “Tivaevae (to patch) new traditions.

Lesinga Vaiaku (Pō Fananga), and Mara Szekely (Pork pieces) both received the Board’s Choice Awards. 

The five award winners from all of the participating Auckland art schools share the $9,000 prize money awarded by the Eden Arts Trust. The judges for this year's event were Te Uru Gallery director AD Schierning and award-winning artist Peata Larkin. 

Unitec’s continued success at this event is a credit to the amazing Unitec Contemporary Arts team; Emma Smith, Kristy Gorman, Gina Ferguson, Allan McDonald, Rebecca Swan, Karen Crisp, Danny Rawlinson, and Discipline Leader Richard Fahey, according to Head of School for Unitec’s Creative Industries, Vanessa Byrnes.

“We are thrilled to have such diverse and insightful works gain recognition at the 2025 Eden Arts Awards,” says Dr Byrnes.
 
“The range of works submitted is evidence that our School brings a strong sense of purpose to these kinds of events and the award winners richly deserve their plaudits. 

“Besides recognising the talent and hard work of our artists, I’m thankful to our staff in DCA who bring decades of knowledge to support the students in their endeavours. Honestly, it’s a team effort by the best people.”

Launched in 2011, the Eden Arts Art Schools Award is a collaborative venture with the major Central Auckland art institutions. It presents the very best student works from each of Elam, Unitec, AUT and Whitecliffe in a single exhibition, awarding a cash prize to selected students. The award is open to full-time undergraduates. 

Five student entries are nominated by each school and judged by independent judges appointed by Eden Arts.

Find out more about the Eden Arts Art School Awards