The Icon Awards Whakamana Hiranga are the highest honour bestowed by The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi, recognising extraordinary lifetime achievement and lasting contribution to the cultural life of Aotearoa.
Last night at Government House Wellington, the Governor-General hosted the 2026 awards and celebrated our newest Icons – Ann Robinson, Darcy Nicholas, the Topp Twins, and Witi Ihimaera – alongside Ana Iti, recipient of the Harriet Friedlander Residency.
In her speech, Dame Cindy reflected on the way great artists help us see the world, and one another, more clearly: “The title ‘Icon’ may suggest distance or grandeur. What strikes me tonight is just the opposite: the way these artists have all drawn us closer – to an idea, to this place, to one another.”
The evening also honoured Maurice Gee, Sir Donald McIntyre, Greer Twiss, and Fred Graham, whose Icon medallions were passed forward, as well as Sir Sam Neill and Dame Jools Topp.
To find more images, please visit the image gallery for the 2026 Icon Awards Whakamana Hiranga.
To read Dame Cindy's full speech, please visit Her Excellency's speech for the 2026 Icon Awards Whakamana Hiranga.