WOW factor set to continue
09 Oct 2008
Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, is to continue hosting the country's largest art event, The World of WearableArt Awards, in a fresh deal signed at the closing of this year’s successful show.
The new deal, worth more than NZ$40 million, secures the show's future in Wellington for another four years. The Wellington City Council's contract to host the popular international event was set to expire after the 2009 show.
Wellington's Mayor Kerry Prendergast said it had been "a thrill" to host the show. "This is a really significant event for the city. Not only does it reinforce our status as New Zealand's arts and events capital, it also brings in excess of $10 million to the city every year."
Major growth
WOW moved to Wellington from Nelson in 2003 having outgrown its original home.
The first WOW awards were held as a promotion for a rural art gallery in 1987. Now audiences number around 35,000 and about 60 percent of show goers are from out of town.
The show has turned into a global phenomenon with a third of entries coming from overseas.
The 2008 event was a 20th birthday extravaganza that included acrobatics, dance, comedy, pyrotechnics and a menagerie of white birds. More than 300 totally unique garments featured in the production.
Supreme Award-winner
The Supreme Award-winner was Wellington costume designer Nadine Jaggi, who works for the Oscar-winning WETA Workshop - film maker Peter Jackson's television and film effects facility. Jaggi’s intricate leather creation represented 'Omitho Maia' (the bird mother) and also won the Air New Zealand South Pacific section.
WOW guest judge, BBC correspondent Michael Peschardt described the event as "colourful, spectacular, artistic, funny, and almost impossible to judge. I’ve seen major cultural and fashion shows around the world and this is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before."
Other winners
Celebrated New Zealand artist Bill Hammond inspired German designer Margarete Palz, of Zweibrucken, whose double ensemble in recycled photographic paper - High Societies Visit Bill Hammond's Paradise - was the Supreme Award runner-up.
A previous award winner, Palz discovered Hammond's art when she came to New Zealand for the 2007 WOW awards.
A full list of winners is available on the World of Wearable Art website.
Video News Release:
Take a peek behind the scenes at the making of WOW
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