The Grace Butler Memorial Foundation Award at Ara is a biennial award established in 2017 by the late Grace Adams and the Grace Butler Memorial Foundation to maintain the legacy of Adams’ mother, Waitaha Canterbury plein air artist Grace Butler, who died in 1962.

The 2027 Award is now open to expressions of interest from art students or graduates who are Canterbury-based or have an association with the region and whose work gives attention to, and reveals a regard for, place and environment, natural and built.

The three-month residency includes a $25,000 grant and access to a studio and related resources at the Ara School of Art and Design for the duration of the residency (please note, accommodation is not provided).

Previous recipients are Zina Swanson (2018), Louise Palmer (2020), Ana Iti (2022) and Melissa Macleod (2024/25).

Selectors for the 2027 biennial award are: Chloe Cull, pouarataki curator Māori at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū; Ōtautahi based artist and University of Canterbury fine arts graduate Emma Fitts; and Oliver Perkins, a contemporary painter and tutor in the Bachelor of Design programme at Ara Institute of Canterbury.

Applications close at 4pm on 28 January 2027 with the winner to be announced on 9 February. For more information or to make an application, please go to the Award Terms page of this website.