01 May 2023

Announcing the 2023 FAME Mid-Career Award Winners

Announcing the 2023 FAME Mid-Career Award Winners

In partnership with The FAME Trust (Fund for Acting and Musical Endeavours) and PANNZ (Performing Arts Network of New Zealand), we are honoured to announce the five recipients of The FAME Mid-Career Awards for 2023. The three recipients for the Artists Awards are Ben Crowder, Tānemahuta Gray and Hannah Smith. The two recipients of the inaugural Technical Awards are Jane Hakaraia and Rowan Pierce. Each award-winner will receive $15,000.

The recipients of this year’s FAME Mid-Career Awards demonstrated not only an ability to create excellent and diverse works over their careers, but also a strong commitment to performing arts advocacy, and a generosity in creating pathways for peers through mentoring and collaboration. It is this holistic exemplification of career that serves the community as a whole, and makes these five arts-makers worthy of such an award.

The assessors would like to acknowledge the high-calibre of artists, designers and technicians who applied this year. PANNZ CEO Louise Gallagher noted that “the applications paint a promising snapshot of the talent, capability and perseverance in our industry. It is truly exciting to see.”

The FAME Mid-Career Awards offer recipients one of the largest cash prizes available to the performing arts community. The prize money will be used at the discretion of the award-winners, and their plans include conducting further research, undertaking new studies, building international relationships, and developing new works. 

Huge congratulations to these talented and passionate artists and technicians, whose contributions to the performing arts fabric of New Zealand are so highly valued. The Acorn Foundation, on behalf of the FAME Trust, is immensely grateful for everything that these deserving recipients do to challenge our thinking, make us laugh and cry, and bring music and theatre to our lives.

The awards are made possible by the generosity of private Tauranga-based philanthropic donors who make up The FAME Trust. Founded in 2007, The FAME Trust has long provided support for young and mid-career artists, plus funded national organisations like the NZSO, Toi Whakaari NZ Drama School and the NZ School of Dance, and local groups such as Opus Orchestra, Youth Philharmonic and BOP Symphonia.

Make sure to follow us on Facebook to learn more about each of this year's recipients!

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