2010 WELLINGTONIAN OF
THE YEAR AWARDS

The time has come again, The Wellington Company is sponsoring the prestigious Arts category at the Welly Awards. The Wellingtonian of the Year Awards are a celebration of the many great individuals across all sectors of the community who make our region such an exciting and vibrant place in which to live and work.

THIS YEARS ARTS CATEGORY FINALISTS

JOHN PSATHAS

John Psathas is one of a few New Zealand composers who are continually performed on the international stage. His music has been commissioned and performed by many great musicians and orchestras around the world, including much of the ceremonial music for the 2004 Olympic Games. This year his work received it’s Carnegie Hall debut, he completed his first feature film score for “Good For Nothing” - the world’s first pavlova western, and he was Distinguished Guest Composer at Winnipeg’s 2010 New Music Festival.

TAIKA WAITITI

At the Qantas Film and Television Awards in September 2010, film-maker Taika Waititi scored an unprecedented triple header by winning awards for best director, screenplay and supporting actor for his movie Boy. They’re not the only awards for the movie or Taika. He is also famous for his Eagle vs Shark and contributions to the Flight of the Conchords series.

ALISON WONG

First time novelist Alison Wong won the 2010 New Zealand Post Book Award for Fiction for her book, As The Earth Turns Silver. The impressive debut was the culmination of more than a decade of research and writing, and a startling career change, as Alison made the jump from maths graduate IT worker to poet and novelist.

The Wellingtonian of the Year Awards will be held on Thursday, 25 November 2010 at the Wellington Town Hall.