Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Gisborne artist George Watson has been named the inaugural recipient of the Jann Medlicott Award for Contemporary Art, a new biennial prize recognising significant contributions to contemporary art in Aotearoa New Zealand. Announced on 17 March, the $30,000 award was established through a bequest from arts patron Jann Medlicott and is delivered by the Acorn Foundation in partnership with Toi Tauranga Art Gallery.

Watson (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Mutunga) was recognised for Apologia, an exhibition presented at Wellington’s Robert Heald Gallery from 7–30 August 2025. Bringing together materials including wool bale sacking, pins, cultivated sea pearls and paraffin wax, the work considers invasion and ancestry through objects that carry their own histories of labour, value and transformation.

The award extends that recognition into a new institutional context: Watson will present an exhibition at Toi Tauranga Art Gallery, opening on 7 November 2026. The prize establishes a significant new platform for contemporary art in Aotearoa, with a focus on practices making a critical impact in the field.

“I am incredibly honoured to be awarded the first iteration of the Jann Medlicott Award for Contemporary Art,” Watson said. She described the award as an opportunity to support the development of her practice and those of future recipients.

The award’s inaugural judging panel comprised Andrew Clifford, director of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery; Sophie Davis, director of Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery; and artist and academic John Vea.