Ross Giblin/Stuff Dowse Art Museum director Karl Chitham is the judge of this year's National Contemporary Art Award. (File photo) Avant-garde artists from around New Zealand are being invited to enter their works for one of the country’s top modern arts prizes. The $20,000 National Contemporary Art Award regularly attracts art that challenges the viewer and compels them to consider social and environmental issues, as well as the very nature of what constitutes art. Entries open on Thursday and close at 1pm on Wednesday, June 2. The winner, as well as the recipient of a $5000 runner-up prize and two merit awards worth $1000 each will be announced at an event on August 27.