$10k award for young Canterbury performers

Dame Malvina Major. Photo: dmmfoundation.org.nz
Dame Malvina Major. Photo: dmmfoundation.org.nz
The Dame Malvina Major Foundation is inviting talented young performing artists with a connection to Canterbury to apply for Arts Excellence Awards and the Cecily Maccoll High Achiever Award by June 30.

The Arts Excellence Awards, worth up to $10,000, are funded by the foundation from community events organised by its Christchurch committee.

The $1000 Cecily Maccoll High Achiever Award is funded by a legacy from the late Cecily Maccoll.

Anna Midgley, chairwoman of the Dame Malvina Major Foundation Christchurch Committee, says she is constantly delighted by the calibre and talent of young people in the performing arts in Canterbury.

"We’re now in our 18th year of the Dame Malvina Major Foundation Arts Excellence Awards for the Canterbury region.

"Over that time we have had a wide range of well-deserving recipients from across the performing arts, among them opera singers William O’Brien, Elisabeth Harris, Amina Edris and Polly Ott, conductor Vincent Hardaker, dancers Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson and Tasman Davids, pianist Bradley Wood, and violist Briony Gibson-Cornish.

"So many of the recipients of these awards, now scattered around the world, are enjoying successful careers which is testament to Dame Malvina’s desire to ‘Share the Dream’."

The foundation helps young Kiwis in the performing arts to achieve their potential by providing a range of grants, prizes and scholarships to enable education and training opportunities.

The focus of the foundation’s regional committees is on fostering local talent and supporting their development. Along with financial support, this can include professional guidance and organising local fundraising events where artists have the opportunity to perform.

Applications close at 5pm on Tuesday, June 30.