2024 recipient

The Prize was first awarded in 2024, to Wellington-based artist Emily Hartley-Skudder. This was following a recommendation process led by Te Manawa Senior Manager Curatorial & Collections, Sian van Dyk.

“I am so grateful to be the first recipient of the Fair Trust Art Prize,” says Emily. “My exhibition will explore the historic women’s restroom ‘Ladies Rest’ in Te Marae o Hine (The Square) in Palmerston North.

“The story of the Palmerston North Ladies Rest space is complex; not only from a historical or architectural perspective, but from a social perspective. The research I am undertaking allows me to highlight the value of ordinary, public and private spaces in society and the gender divisions attached to them.”

Emily’s project is currently under development, with her exhibition scheduled for August 2026 at Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and Heritage.

“While exhibiting my work at Te Manawa will be a great experience, I am also looking forward to delivering the community engagement element of the Prize. I want to use the exhibition to further shine a light on the everyday conveniences we take for granted and encourage audiences to consider what a safe space to rest really means.”

Emily Hartley-Skudder (born 1988, Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland) is a contemporary artist living in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington.

Known for her hyper-realistic paintings, assemblages, and site-specific installations, Emily delves into the artificial ordinary and faux domestic. Alongside inescapable art historical references, Emily mixes ingredients of humour, feminism, desire, and bathroomware, offering a playful subversion of a historically male-dominated art world.

Emily graduated from Ilam School of Fine Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (First Class Honours) in 2012. She has exhibited widely in Aotearoa and participated in shows in New York, Australia, Japan, and China. Recent exhibitions include Petite Spa at the Aotearoa Art Fair, Auckland Viaduct (2025); Meet Me in the Bathroom, Christchurch Art Centre (2024); Rinse & Repeat, Jhana Millers Gallery (2023); Wendy’s Cigarette with Heather Straka, Jonathan Smart Gallery (2023); New Old Stock, Window Gallery (2021); Petting Aggression, The Dowse Art Museum (2020); Additions + Alterations, Dunedin Public Art Gallery (2020); and We’re Not Too Big to Care, Gus Fisher Gallery (2019).

Her work is held in public collections, including the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū and Wellington City Council Me Heke Ki Pōneke. In 2023, Emily was the Frances Hodgkins Fellow and Molly Morpeth Canaday Major Award Winner. She is represented by Jhana Millers Gallery, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, and Jonathan Smart Gallery, Ōtautahi.