National Art Prize Taking Aotearoa NZ Artist To The Next Level
Acclaimed contemporary carver Ngaroma Riley has been awarded the $40,000 Fair Trust Art Prize
Fair Trust Art Prize recipient Ngaroma Riley – Photo credit Tui Hirabayashi
This award recognises her work which playfully draws on traditional Māori carving forms including karetao (Māori puppetry), storytelling, autobiography and popular culture. The prize includes support for her first full-scale exhibition, which will be developed for Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and Heritage in Te Papaioea Palmerston North.
Riley (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri and Pākehā descent) says that she didn’t believe the announcement at first. “I’d just returned home from Japan, and I thought it was a hoax when I read the email. But I looked through all the attachments and realised it was real!
New Zealand carver Ngaroma Riley working at Te Ana o Hine – Photo credit Taarn Scott
“As a full-time artist, I’m still terrified each time I make new work, so it’s incredibly validating and humbling to be a recipient of the Fair Trust Art Prize. I’ve had three solo exhibitions, but this is the first time I’ve had a budget like this, which is such a gift because it means I can focus on creating. I’m excited and so grateful to the legacy of Dr Eileen Fair and her Trust, as well as the curators who recommended me, and the team at Te Manawa.”
The Prize is funded by the Eileen Fair Charitable Trust, in honour of the late Dr Fair, who wanted to support a flourishing contemporary arts scene by bringing talented artists to the Manawatū region. Delivered in partnership with Te Manawa, it aims to discover new talent, celebrating mid-career artists whose work is ready to be taken to the next level.
Riley’s carving journey began in Japan, learning from Buddhist statue makers. Since returning home in 2020, she has exhibited widely, including at Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival, Season Aotearoa, Artspace Aotearoa, and Aotearoa Art Fair. In 2025, she was awarded the Molly Morpeth Canaday Major Award, and this year won the Caselberg Trust Creative Connections residency in Dunedin. She is represented by Tim Melville gallery.
Alongside her own art practice, Riley is a co-founder for the Shared Lines Collective and Te Ana o Hine. The former was developed to support resilient cities through artistic exchange between Aotearoa and Japan, after major earthquakes in each country, while Te Ana o Hine is a wahine-led carving shed at Te Tuhi, Pakuranga, which offers a safe and supportive environment for wāhine taketake and others who may encounter barriers in the carving world.
New Zealand carver Ngaroma Riley working at Te Ana o Hine – Photo credit Taarn Scott
Te Manawa Senior Curator, Sian van Dyk, says Riley was a clear standout for the judging panel.
“Ngaroma’s mahi is conceptually and visually strong, while still being accessible to so many different communities. Her pathway as an artist is an example of the worldwide interest in contemporary indigenous artists who are looking to taonga and to re-engage themselves and audiences with their heritage. Combining techniques from carvers across the world, Ngaroma’s work brings with it a unique combination of local and global relevance.”
“It’s fantastic that this prize has a focus on community engagement,” says Riley. “There aren’t a lot of pathways for people to get hands-on experience in sculpture, so I’m looking forward to running community workshops, and I hope to offer inspiration to aspiring carvers. So many places in Aotearoa have their own unique histories and kōrero. I’m always inspired by whakapapa, and I’m really excited to get to know the Manawatū better.”
Further details about Riley’s exhibition and public programme will be announced later in the year. The previous Prize recipient, multi-media artist Emily Hartley-Skudder, will lead a workshop programme for the region’s top secondary school art students, among other community initiatives, before her exhibition opens in August.
To learn more about programmes at Te Manawa Art Gallery join their Toi | Art mailing list.
