Aotearoa Poster Competition 2020, Young Persons category winner

This poster was the winning entry in the ‘Young Persons’ (13-17 years) category of the inaugural Aotearoa Poster Competition 2020. It was designed by Year 11 student Minna Zhu from Queenstown and depicts an individual standing out from a diverse crowd of faces to shout 'I'm a Kiwi too!" The message 'We're all in this together/He Waka Eke Noa' is featured prominently at the bottom.

Zhu says she avoided giving the poster an overly serious tone as she wanted viewers to be able to come to their own conclusions about its potential meanings.

“A lot of advocacy posters, they steer you towards one particular perspective or viewpoint and I wanted this one to be, not too vague, but kind of…you have an idea and you can interpret it the way you want”.

Reflecting on her motivations for entering the Competition, Zhu says the competition’s theme and overall mission (see below) compelled her to enter as a New Zealand-born woman of ethnic Chinese heritage interested in issues of race and identity.

“My interest in racial matters largely stems from my own experiences [as a Chinese New
Zealander] growing up in a primarily white, homogenous environment. My racial and cultural identity was something that I grew up a bit confused about.

"Race is something that I feel not enough people talk about currently, although it has definitely come more into light with Black Lives Matter. There’s very rarely a competition or event that specifically deals with Asian racism, though.”

As one of four winning entries, Zhu's poster was printed and mounted in prominent locations around New Zealand cities and a large digital e-site public display in Queenstown where she lives.

Aotearoa Poster Competition

The inaugural Aotearoa Poster Competition, led by fourth-generation Chinese New Zealander and wellbeing researcher Bev Hong and fellow organisers Bruce Mahalski, Dr Grace Wong, Professor Bernard Guerin and Brittany Young, was born during the April 2020 Covid-19 Level Four lockdown. Concerned about the heightened racism directed at ethnic Chinese communities in New Zealand during the pandemic, the organisers decided to create a poster competition that would engage the public, promote advice about what people can do when they witness anti-Chinese racist behaviour and foster a greater sense of inclusion for people of ethnic Chinese heritage in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

From the beginning the Competition was collaborative in nature – with strong encouragement, support and input from the New Zealand Chinese Association as well as Asian Family Services and The Asian Network Incorporated (TANI). It was also developed in consultation with the Department of Internal Affairs and the Human Rights Commission. Substantive funding was provided by the Office of Ethnic Communities – Community Development Fund.

The team commissioned artist Veronica Brett to create an initial set of original poster artworks to launch and promote the competition – these were displayed around the city and depicted positive anti-racist behaviour. The competition itself, which was divided into several categories, targeted secondary school-aged students, emerging and established artists and the general public. The artwork entry period was from 10 August to 21 September 2020. Entries in three of its categories were judged by a diverse panel, while the winner of the final category was decided by nationwide popular vote.

Over 50 poster entries were submitted and the Competition received significant media coverage in Stuff and the Dominion Post. The inaugural 2020 Aotearoa Poster Competition winners were

- Chloe Or (Public Vote category)
- Nicholas Reid (Established Artist category)
- Raymund Santos (New and Emerging Artist category)
- Minna Zhu (Young Persons category)

Each winner received $500 and had their winning posters displayed in cities around New Zealand. Support for the latter was provided by Competition sponsor Phantom Billstickers.