The Fruit Bin: Hawke's Bay Poetry Slam Champion&The Marie Dunningham Spirit of the Slam Award
The Fruit Bin: Hawke's Bay Poetry Slam Champion & The Marie Dunningham Spirit of the Slam Award began as old apple bins and some glass left over from a leadlight lampshade.
Marie Dunningham was a long time supporter of our work in Hawke's Bay, and a competitor at our first Hawke's Bay Slam in 2018. In a lineup mostly of teenagers she stood her ground and represented her generation. Recent hip surgery meant she took a while to get to the mic, but once she got there she blew everyone away with her incisive, funny, wonderful poetry. She had the audience in the palm of her hand, made it to the final round and embodied what we're trying to achieve with these slams. Marie passed away a couple of months later, so with permission of her husband Roy we named our Spirit of the Slam Award in her honour.
Karen Fagan is the artist behind the trophies for Hawke's Bay, Tauranga and Otago. Karen has been creating things from other things for as long as she can remember. At different times she has dabbled in play dough, screen printing, lead lighting, painting, sculpture, and felting, depending on the ages of her children and what was around. Bringing these crafts together is reflected in the trophy designs, along with the fact that she lives in rural Hawke's Bay and has a practical and patient partner who helps her with the chainsaw and nailing parts.
