An intricately hand-painted and stitched tapestry which summons an ethereal night goddess from the deep native forests of Aotearoa took out the Supreme Award at the 2026 World of WearableArt Awards in Wellington last night.
Called Sacred Nightfall, it was made by New Zealand artist Kayla Christensen. A 10-time WOW finalist from Waikanae who has received six prior awards, including placing first in the Aotearoa Section in 2024 and the Dame Suzie Moncrieff Award in 2019.
WOW Head of Competition Sarah Nathan says judges described Sacred Nightfall as mesmerising and multilayered, rich with kaitiakitanga and wairua.
Sacred Nightfall, WOW 2026 Supreme Award winner by Kayla Christensen. Photography Stephen A’Court
“Sacred Nightfall asks us to listen to what remains in the darkness and protect what still lives. The extinct whēkau and ruru hinapō are painted back into existence, restoring their memory and honouring the fragile natural world that still surrounds us,” she says.
Kiwi husband-and-wife team Erna Van Der Wat and Karl Van Der Wat received the WOW Runner-Up Award for Armour of Pain, inspired by Erna’s journey with chronic pain, and its transformation from tormentor to mentor – which judges described as a “fearless portrayal of pain and power”.
Armour of Pain by Erna Van Der Wat and Karl Van Der Wat, 2026.
Though different, it reminds us – in concept – of former WOW supreme award 1994 winner Mandi Kingsbury’s 2007 entry which was also runner-up for her entry, Motion and Stillness – a personal protest against MS.
At the time Kingsbury, a New Zealander and international stylist, described MS as a “silent assailant” and an “cruel, random, incurable physiological hacker” that left her “unblemished on the outside” to onlookers while inside she experienced blurred vision, inexplicable tiredness, numbness, weakness and cognitive problems.
“From time to time it’s had me beaten. But recently, I’ve seen it as a form of inspiration. An opportunity to express my hidden fears and confusion. To gain strength from the chance to protest,” said Kingsbury.
Mandi passed away after a heroic battle with MS, which left her paralysed, on 7 September aged 53.
Motion & Stillness by Mandi Kingsbury, 2007.
Full list of winners here
Supreme WOW Award: Sacred Nightfall , Kayla Christensen, New Zealand
Supreme WOW Award Runner-up: Armour of Pain , Erna Van Der Wat & Karl Van Der Wat, New Zealand
Open Section
Winner: More , Katherine Bertram, New Zealand
Runner-up: Spectrum of a Wallflower , Louise MacKay & Allison MacKay, New Zealand
Avant-garde Section
Winner: Hard Exterior, Alter Ego , Bethany Cordwell, Australia
Runner-up: Marginal Gravity , Chao Po-Chien, Shih Chien University, Taiwan
Aotearoa Section
Winner: Sacred Nightfall , Kayla Christensen, New Zealand
Runner-up: MOTHER VAKA , Vasemaca Tavola & Czarina Wilson, New Zealand
Metallic Section
Winner: Armour of Pain , Erna Van Der Wat & Karl Van Der Wat, New Zealand
Runner-up: The Golden Illusion , Shantanu Singh, India
Kinetic Section
Winner: Thoughts , Tracey Murphy & Isabel Costley, New Zealand
Runner-up: Lophii , Joe Blanck, Australia
Bizarre Bra Section
Winner: Bust a Move , Lyndal Linton, New Zealand
Runner-up: Busted!, Katherine Bertram, New Zealand
Special awards
Ko te Tohu Toi Rākei / Toi Rākei Award: Te Whare Eke Nei , Glenda Hape, Ngāti Pūkeko, New Zealand
ALL ACCOR First-time Entrant Award: Platinum , Lisa Newsome, New Zealand
Student Distinction Award: Geomanifest , Ya-Hsuan Chen, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan
Absolutely Positively Wellington International Design Merit Award: Artemisa , Cecilio Castrillo, Spain
Sustainability Award: Hine P ō , Nathan Wharton, Ngāpuhi, Te Arawa, New Zealand
New Zealand Design Merit Award: Acantha , Tracey Vickers, New Zealand
SERKO Transformation Innovation Award: Voyager , Dinah Walker & Mark Walker, New Zealand
Wētā Workshop Outstanding Design Award: Waldschrat – Horror of the Forest , Nils Reinosch, Germany
Dame Suzie Moncrieff Award: Hu Ye the Tiger Deity , Cheng-Hung Lin, Shih Chien University, TaiwanGreat Journeys New Zealand Designer Development Award: Ece Ozalp, Turkey
