Please note that entry criteria for 2025 is yet to be established.
The Awards are open to full or part-time students enrolled at a New Zealand* tertiary institution during 2021, or who completed the final year of their course in 2020. Students must be enrolled, or have completed a course in 2020, in a Lighting, Furniture, Product Design, Ceramics, Fashion, Textile, Jewellery or Visual Communication Design related course (or similar) to be eligible.
Students are eligible:
if you are currently studying an undergraduate course in 2021 (ie: Bachelor, Certificate, Diploma and any year including 1st to 4th years)
If you are currently studying a postgraduate course in 2021 (ie: Masters or Postgraduate Diploma)
if you completed an undergraduate course in 2020 (ie: Bachelor, Certificate or Diploma level)
if you completed a postgraduate course in 2020 (ie: Masters or Postgraduate Diploma level)
If you have any questions regarding your eligibility, please email studentcraftdesignawards@gmail.com.
All entries will automatically receive a free student membership to The Friends of The Dowse.
The Supreme Award winner will receive $1,000 in prize money.
Exhibition of the winning design at The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt from the 13 - 25th November 2021. If the design is oversized and not able to sent by courier, post or hand delivered, then the freight costs to send the winning design to The Dowse Art Museum, and return the entry to the winner, will be supplied free of charge by Efficient Moving and Storage, the Awards Freight sponsors.
The winner will be announced online and will be invited to attend an awards presentation at the exhibition opening on the 12th November. The winning design will be placed on the ECC NZ Student Craft / Design Award website, www.nzcraftdesignawards.com, The Dowse website and ECC website and on the related social media channels.
The winner of the L'affare Innovation in Sustainability Award will be chosen from all entries. One prize will be allocated. This award recognises work that uses innovative sustainability practices across craft or design applications.
The Winner of the ECC Ltd Lighting Award will be selected from all lighting entries. One prize will be allocated. Lighting finalists must have working models which have been checked and certified by an electrician before it can be placed in the exhibition.
The winner of The Dowse Art Museum Ceramics Award will be selected from all ceramics entries. One prize will be allocated.
The winner of the Village Goldsmith Jewellery Award will be selected from all jewellery entries. One prize will be allocated.
The winner of the ECC Ltd Furniture Design Award will be selected from all furniture entries. One prize will be allocated.
The winner of the ECC Ltd Product Design Award will be selected from all product entries. One prize will be allocated.
The winner of the Fashion Design Award will be selected from all fashion entries. One prize will be allocated.
The winner of the Surface Design Award will be selected from all surface design entries. One prize will be allocated.
The winner of the Tuatara Visual Communication Design Illustration Award will be selected from all the Visual Communication Design Illustration entries. One prize will be allocated.
The People’s Choice Award winner is chosen by an online public voting system. Winners of the Supreme Award, Category Awards and Highly Commended entries will be eligible to win the People’s Choice Award. Those entries eligible for the People’s Choice Award will be provided in an online gallery, with the entrants name and tertiary institution information only. There will NOT be any indication as to whether they are a Supreme Award winner, Category Award winner or a Highly Commended entry.
The People’s Choice Award winner will receive $1,000 in prize money.
They will have their entry placed on display at the awards exhibition at The Dowse Art Museum from the 20th November.
The winning design will be placed on the ECC NZ Student Craft / Design Award website, www.nzcraftdesignawards.com, The Dowse website and ECC website.
Ten highly commended entries will receive certificates and imagery of their work placed on the ECC NZ Student Craft / Design Award website. They will also be invited to have their designs exhibited at The Dowse Art Museum. It is at the discretion of the judges to either reduce or increase the number of Highly Commended entries.
Students are invited to submit entries presenting a work / project completed in the 2021 or 2020 academic year. The Award is offered to encourage creativity and excellence in contemporary New Zealand Craft and Design and aims to celebrate creative solutions and artistic merit. The entry should exhibit innovative and imaginative ideas based on a design brief provided by the tertiary institution in any of the various mediums related to the fields of lighting, furniture and product design, ceramics, textiles, surface design, fashion, jewellery or visual communication design. The finished craft or design should have the potential to be displayed at The Dowse Art Museum or be able to have a recording made of it for display (if it is selected). The entry should exhibit an excellent standard of presentation.
1. The awards online submission opens on 1 September and closes at 12pm on 10 October 2020. Late entries will not be accepted.
2. Entries are open only via our online entry form found at www.nzcraftdesignawards.com including uploading supporting imagery.
3. This year we are accepting entries from the following fields:
Ceramic Design
Lighting Design
Furniture Design
Product Design
Jewellery Design
Fashion Design
Surface Design
Visual Communication Design / Illustration
4. Entries are not accepted for drawings or paintings EXCEPT in the Visual Communication Design Illustration & Surface Design Categories.
5. Entrants may submit as many different works as they wish, but must do this as individual submissions online and must not be the same or a similar variation of a design you have already submitted in the same year.
6. Group entries are accepted, but must have one person selected as the contact for all ECC NZ Student Craft / Design Award submissions. All group member names must be included in the “personal statement” of the award. Contact details for all group members will be gathered at the time of entry within our online form.
7. By entering, you give the Friends of The Dowse the permission to use your entry for promotional and PR purposes.
8. Category and Highly Commends finalists will be notified the day after judging, via email. At that time it will be discussed with the finalists their availability to exhibit at The Dowse Art Museum. If your entry is oversized, Efficient Moving and Storage (the Awards freight sponsors) will assist students in getting their winning work to The Dowse Art Museum by the desired date. Entries will be returned by arrangement.
9. To meet the high quality standard of the awards, your design should be well thought out and the idea must be clearly recognisable and presented with clear imagery and high quality photography. This will be a judging consideration.
10. It is important that the entry is your own creation and stems from your own ideas.
11. Anyone who breaches copyright will unfortunately have to be excluded from the competition.
12. If you are unsure of whether your entry meets any of the above requirements, please email: studentcraftdesignawards@gmail.com.
Insurance while in transit and on display at ECC will need to be covered 'you' the Student, entrant.
* Please note that the Friends of The Dowse Committee reserve the right to allow entries from New Zealand students participating in tertiary studies outside of New Zealand. This is only provided on a case by case basis and would not normally be allowed unless in special circumstances.
Please contact studentcraftdesignawards@gmail.com if you have any queries.
The awards will return in 2023. Please note that the awards entry criteria will be updated and available online early 2023.