Prizegiving celebrates outstanding artwork created by rangatahi

Date: 25 Jun 2026

This year, we decided to put the design of our cover of the Canterbury Regional Land Transport Plan 27-37 (RLTP) in the hands of the region’s students – and they delivered.

The competition was open to young creatives aged 14-24 across Canterbury and the judges were genuinely impressed by the overall quality of the entries. 

Meet the winning artists

• Winner: Chloe Walker – Ara Institute of Technology (cover artwork)
• Runner-up: Quin Stransky – Hagley Community College
• Runner-up: Isaac Rendall – Lincoln High School

All the artworks will feature in the plan with Chloe’s appearing on the cover.

Chloe said she entered the competition because it felt like a great way to gain real-world experience, build her portfolio and potentially open further opportunities in the industry.

“I entered the competition after my tutor encouraged me to take part, as it seemed like a valuable opportunity to challenge myself.”

Prizegiving celebrates young talent

The students were recognised at a prizegiving event on Thursday 18 June, with their prizes presented by Chair Dr Deon Swiggs and Elizabeth Cunningham.  

The idea for the competition came from Koukourarata Port Levy Representative Elizabeth Cunningham during a wānanga held to engage Māori with the development of the plan.  

Elizabeth said she was thrilled to see all the young people at the prizegiving and that her idea had come to life. 

“It’s vital that our rangatahi have a voice. I think art can really help them to form a powerful, lasting and meaningful impression of their dreams and what they see for our future. It’s important that we can encourage them and inspire them to actively participate in what comes next.” 

Canterbury Regional Council Chair Dr Deon Swiggs said it was great to see the amount of effort that went into each of the entries. 

“The prizes were well deserved and it was clear how much thought, creativity and effort went into every entry. It’s encouraging to see our rangatahi engaging with the future of Canterbury and sharing their ideas through their artwork.  

Competitions like this give young people an opportunity to contribute to something that will help shape our region,” Dr Swiggs said. 

About the Canterbury Regional Land Transport Plan 

The RLTP is what guides our land transport planning and investment within the region. 

It sets out the current state of the region’s transport network, the challenges the network faces and our vision, objectives and priorities for investment over the next 10 years.

Learn about our transport plans