This year the promotion ran from 17th September through to 29th October giving local businesses an opportunity to celebrate Nelson’s vibrant arts culture.
Art in Windows is a joint initiative between Arts Council Nelson and Uniquely Nelson.
The two businesses with the best window displays received two $500 advertising vouchers each from the Nelson Mail and Radio Nelson. The runner up received a $250 morning tea shout courtesy of NBS.
Over the past few years Art in Windows has enjoyed a huge increase in popularity and in 2011 we’ve shared the creativity of Nelson’s artists with the large number of visitors who visited the Nelson Region during this busy sporting season.
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Sheep with wings and red shoes; Barbie and her hippie friends lounging around at the Surf Shop; Monarch butterflies, fish and seashells - these are some of the winning themes on display in the 2011 Art in Windows competition.
The best windows have now been announced after a tough decision narrowing down three winners from 10 finalists. The winning windows are:
1st Profile Boutique - Paintings by Lisa White & Maria Middlebrook-Wells
2nd Kitts Shoes - Paintings by Aralyn Doiron
3rd Toyworld - Installation by Zara Palmer
In selecting the winners, the judges looked for creativity in the way the artworks had been integrated into the window display and how retail products had been matched to elements of the artworks.
Profile Boutique had carefully chosen fashions, accessories and other props that complemented and highlighted the paintings by Lisa White & Maria Middlebrook-Wells.
Kitts Shoes had also carefully chosen shoes and handbags that matched the same quirky elements in the paintings by Aralyn Doiron.
Toyworld’s display by Zara Palmer put various Barbie & Ken dolls in laid-back sun and surf settings, with Barbie riding a surfboard across a glittering sea dotted with turtles, lobsters and starfish.
The other finalists have been highly commended for their window displays: TradeAid, Magnificent NZ Gifts, Dames, Woodlea Floral Studio, Foxy Lady, Tempus Jewellers, Crackerjack Toys.
Uniquely Nelson Manager Cathy Madigan congratulated the winners of the competition and commended the other finalists. “The standard of Art in Windows displays is very high this year and it made choosing the final winners so much harder! The windows at Profile Boutique, Kitts Shoes and Toyworld all showed a great deal of creativity in both subject matter and in the way the artworks and retail products had been integrated into the display.”
Arts Council Nelson Manager Lloyd Harwood has paired many of the artists with relevant retailers and he is constantly surprised and inspired with the creativity of the displays. “Every year the displays seem to keep getting better and better, and we have noticed some real effort going into creating the winning displays. It’s just great to see the arts community working alongside Nelson’s retailers to turn shop windows into a visual showcase,” says Lloyd.
