In recognition of the visionary and risky nature of its support of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki exhibition, Mixed-Up Childhood, Creative New Zealand announced that the winner of the 2005 Creative New Zealand Award for Bravery at the National Business Review Awards for Sponsorship of the Arts is commercial law firm Simpson Grierson. The annual Award aims to recognise and encourage arts and business partnerships that are visionary and involve elements of risk, and is one of three annual awards that Creative New Zealand supports to acknowledge the contribution that other sectors make to the arts sector. Simpson Grierson made history by being the first business to win this award in consecutive years. Peter Biggs, Chair of Creative New Zealand, says: “Winning this award two years in a row is testament to the way in which Simpson Grierson continues to be bold and visionary in its arts sponsorship. Mixed-Up Childhood and its sponsorship by Simpson Grierson capture the essence of the Creative New Zealand Award for Bravery - vision and the courage to embrace risk.” The judges for the award described Simpson Grierson’s sponsorship of Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki as “a long-term sponsorship relationship that is becoming bolder and more effective over time, differentiating the law firm Simpson Grierson from its competition”. The gallery’s exhibition, Mixed-Up Childhood, was a challenging and provocative depiction of childhood and featured the work of more than 20 international contemporary artists, including Sally Mann from the United States, Grayson Perry and the Chapman brothers from Britain, as well as Yvonne Todd, Sima Urale and Gregor Nicholas from New Zealand. Curators Robert Leonard and Janita Craw wanted to present a collision of contrasting takes on childhood. They described Mixed-Up Childhood as “a show for grown-ups. It’s about how we understand childhood retrospectively; how, as adults, we reverse engineer our childhoods from our memories and concerns, and the things that get lost and found in the process.” To view the Simpson Grierson website, CLICK HERE For further information, CLICK HERE