Shining the spotlight on local artists

The Taranaki Fashion Art Awards show has become a cultural staple in the calendar of regional events. The project was originally founded in 2001 as a way to bring a wearable art show to the region, allowing local fashion designers across Taranaki the chance to showcase their talent and encouraging local students to get creative. Four years later the formal Taranaki Fashion Art Award Charitable Trust was established and the annual show went from strength to strength.

Lois Finderup, Director of the Taranaki Fashion Art Award Trust, and the rest of the trustees work hard during the year leading up to the show to pull everything together. “The show is open to all, but it primarily involves all the schools in the Taranaki region. It’s been really important to us to encourage both secondary and tertiary students in the Taranaki area to get creative."

TSB Community Trust have supported the show with a series of grants over the last 18 years. The latest grant of $10,000, given to support the last show in October 2018, enabled 125 local New Zealand artists to show their work on the stage at the TSB Showplace to an audience of 1,000 people.

“There are prizes for every category, across child, student and open sections, to encourage excellence in all the local entrants to really pursue their creativity. The size of the show not only gives local artists a pla?orm, but it creates the opportunity for many dancers, singers, aspiring models, entertainers and hair & makeup artists to get involved in a large production".

“Even if we get each section sponsored, and sellout the venue completely, putting on a production of this kind and this size is absolutely impossible without the support of charitable trusts like the TSB Community Trust.” Gaining sponsorship has proved so difficult annually, that the Taranaki Fashion Art Award Charitable Trust made the decision to move the next event to 2020 to ensure they can gain adequate funding on a bi-annual basis.
Hopefully, this iconic Taranaki event can continue o encourage local budding artists to share their creativity for many years to come.