Dudley Benson Receives New Generation Award 2014

Composer, performer and producer Dudley Benson received a New Generation Award at the 2014 Westpac New Zealand Arts Awards at a ceremony on Monday evening in Auckland. Benson was one of three recipients of the award, which comes with a cash donation of $25,000 to support artistic endeavours.

The New Generation Awards were established in 2006 with the support of Freemasons New Zealand, but are now funded by a group of donors called the New Generation Patrons. The other two recipients of the award were actor-director duo Vela Manusaute and Anapela Polataivao, alongside painter Star Gossage. There were also five Laureate Awards Winners announced, Cliff Curtis, Lisa Reihana, Goeff Cochrane, Ross Harris and Charles Koroneho. Each laureate winner receives a cash donation of $50,000.

Benson says he is hugely grateful for the award, adding: "I think it's often the younger and somewhat still evolving artists who help push things forward, and it's an honour to have my music acknowledged in this way and among the other winners." The Christchurch-born musician is currently recording his third album and has just released Deforestation, a record of remixes of songs from his 2010 album Forest. Profits from Deforestation go towards the Ulva Island Charitable Trust, the caretakers of the bird sanctuary on the tiny island in the far south.