Libby Hunsdale at the Pop-up Gallery in Wellington. Libby starred in the 2021 film Poppy and was one of the judges for the 2022 IHC Art Awards.

On 27 July the 2022, IHC Art Awards winners were announced and the Top 100 Artworks showcased in a Pop-up Gallery on Wellington’s Willis Street. The awards provide a forum for artists with an intellectual disability where their talent can be recognised, and their voices heard. It’s also an opportunity to sell their work.

The range of artworks exemplify a broad range of techniques and styles of art. It must have been a very difficult task to choose the winners. This year the judging was done by Libby Hunsdale who starred in the 2021 film Poppy, sculptor Simon Lewis Wards, and New Zealander of the Year Sam Johnson. They selected the following winners:

$5,000 First Place Winner - Mark Warner from Auckland with his drawing titled 'Meeting'

$3,000 Second Place Winner - Sarah Holten from Auckland with her ink artwork titled 'Serious Strokes'

$2,000 Third Place Winner - Emma White from Hamilton with her acrylic painting titled 'Portrait of Lorde'

$1,500 Youth Award Winner - Helena Brocklebank from Kāpiti with her drawing titled 'Angry'

IHC Art Award judges with Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet, IHC Art Awards Ambassador.

In addition to the judges’ selection every year there is also a people’s choice award. The L’affare People’s Choice Award is made up of the 30 finalists artworks selected by the judges from the Top 100 artworks. This includes the four winners (first, second and third places and the Youth Award) and any highly commended artists.

The competition is still live and finishes on 12 August. To see the full range and vote, visit the L’affare People’s Choice Award page. 

Even though you can see a good range of artworks online, it’s still very worthwhile visiting the Pop-up Gallery – my personal favourite artwork (pictured below) didn’t make the 30 finalists so it’s definitely worth a visit in person - the range and quality of the works are inspirational.

Cottage in Autumn by Sharon Gleeson

It’s with great pride that this year our July stamp issue featured the L’affare People’s Choice Award winners from the past four years. It was a really fabulous project, and one that I hope will enthuse stamp collectors and art lovers throughout New Zealand and around the globe.