National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award
Encyclopedia
The National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) is one of the most prestigious art awards in Australia. Established in 1984 by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
, and awarded annually, it is sponsored by Telstra
, so is commonly known as the Telstra Award.
Prize-winners include Ngoia Napaltjarri Pollard
and Dorothy Napangardi
.
The competition is open to all adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
artists, with the aim of showcasing the best Indigenous art
from around the country.
The first prize of $40,000 is awarded to the work considered the most outstanding in the exhibition. Additional prizes of $4,000 each are awarded in four media categories.
The five categories in which prizes are awarded are:
The exhibition features artists from all over Australia, focusing on a wide range of themes, styles and media including paintings on bark, canvas and paper, prints, sculpture, fibre art, ceramics
, glass, photography
, digital media
and video.
The Award is an important showcase for both established and emerging artists and has come to be regarded as the premier national event in the Australian Indigenous art calendar.
Telstra
has sponsored the Award since 1992. In 2000, they doubled the First Prize money from $20,000 to $40,000 making it the highest amount offered for any Indigenous art award.
There have also been two travelling exhibitions, in 2000 and 2003, enabling around 40 - 50 selected works to be shown in regional galleries around Australia, promoting the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art to a wide audience across the country.
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory is the main museum in the Northern Territory. The museum is located in the inner Darwin suburb of Fannie Bay...
, and awarded annually, it is sponsored by Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
, so is commonly known as the Telstra Award.
Prize-winners include Ngoia Napaltjarri Pollard
Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri
Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri is a Walpiri-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Ngoia Pollard married Jack Tjampitjinpa, who became an artist working with the Papunya Tula company, and they had five children.Having commenced painting in 1997, Ngoia Pollard won a major...
and Dorothy Napangardi
Dorothy Napangardi
Dorothy Napangardi is a distinguished contemporary Indigenous Australian artist from Mina Mina. She is one of around 3,000 Warlpiri speakers who live in or are originally from the Tanami Desert region of Central Australia....
.
The competition is open to all adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
artists, with the aim of showcasing the best Indigenous art
Contemporary Indigenous Australian art
Contemporary Indigenous Australian art is the modern art work produced by Indigenous Australians. It is generally regarded as beginning with a painting movement that started at Papunya, northwest of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in 1971, involving artists such as Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri...
from around the country.
The first prize of $40,000 is awarded to the work considered the most outstanding in the exhibition. Additional prizes of $4,000 each are awarded in four media categories.
The five categories in which prizes are awarded are:
- the Telstra Award (previously called the First Prize)
- the Telstra General Painting Award
- the Telstra Bark Painting Award
- the Telstra Work on Paper Award
- the Wandjuk MarikaWandjuk MarikaWandjuk Marika OBE, born 1927, died 1987, was an Australian Aboriginal painter, actor, composer and land rights activist. He was a member of the Riratjingu clan of the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land, Northern Australia...
3D Memorial Award (sponsored by Telstra)
The exhibition features artists from all over Australia, focusing on a wide range of themes, styles and media including paintings on bark, canvas and paper, prints, sculpture, fibre art, ceramics
Ceramic art
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
, glass, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, digital media
Digital media
Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
and video.
The Award is an important showcase for both established and emerging artists and has come to be regarded as the premier national event in the Australian Indigenous art calendar.
Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
has sponsored the Award since 1992. In 2000, they doubled the First Prize money from $20,000 to $40,000 making it the highest amount offered for any Indigenous art award.
There have also been two travelling exhibitions, in 2000 and 2003, enabling around 40 - 50 selected works to be shown in regional galleries around Australia, promoting the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art to a wide audience across the country.
List of winners
| No. | Year | Artist(s) | Name of work | Other notable artists exhibited | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28th | 2011 | Dickie Minyintiri | Kanyalakutjina (Euro tracks) | ||
| 27th | 2010 | Mr Donegan | Papa Tjukurpa and Pukara | ||
| 26th | 2009 | Danie Mellor Danie Mellor Danie Mellor is a contemporary Indigenous Australian artist and the winner of the 2009 National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award... |
From Rite to Ritual | ||
| 25th | 2008 | Makinti Napanangka Makinti Napanangka Makinti Napanangka was a Pintupi-speaking Indigenous Australian artist from Australia's Western Desert region... |
no title | ||
| 24th | 2007 | Dennis Nona | Ubirikubiri | ||
| 23rd | 2006 | Ngoia Napaltjarri Pollard Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri is a Walpiri-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Ngoia Pollard married Jack Tjampitjinpa, who became an artist working with the Papunya Tula company, and they had five children.Having commenced painting in 1997, Ngoia Pollard won a major... |
Swamps west of Nyirripi | ||
| 22nd | 2005 | Blackstone Tjanpi Weavers (Kantjupayi Benson, N. Donegan (dec'd), Angaliya Mitchell, Margaret Donegan, Melissa Donegan, Mary Smith, Freda Lane, Diedre Lane, Elaine Lane, Wendy Lane, Janet Lane, Janet Forbes, Shirley Bennet, Gail, Angela Lyon, Sarkaway Lyon, Ruby Forbes, Jean Lane) |
Tjanpi Grass Toyota | ||
| 21st | 2004 | Gulumbu Yunupinguu | Garak, The Universe | ||
| 20th | 2003 | Richard Bell Richard Bell (artist) Richard Bell is an Australian artist and political activist.Bell came to the attention of the wider community after his painting Scientia E Metaphysica won the 2003 Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award... |
Scientia E Metaphysica (Bell’s Theorem) | ||
| 19th | 2002 | Gawirrin Gumana | Birrkuda Ringgitji Hollow Log | ||
| 18th | 2001 | Dorothy Napangardi Dorothy Napangardi Dorothy Napangardi is a distinguished contemporary Indigenous Australian artist from Mina Mina. She is one of around 3,000 Warlpiri speakers who live in or are originally from the Tanami Desert region of Central Australia.... |
Salt on Mina Mina | ||
| 17th | 2000 | Barbara Napangarti Reid | Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri was a Pintupi- and Luritja-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region, and sister of artist Molly Jugadai Napaltjarri... |
||
| 16th | 1999 | Long Tom Tjapanangka | Ulampuwarra (Haasts Bluff Mountain) | ||
| 15th | 1998 | Jody Broun | "White Fellas Come Talk About the Land" | Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri was a Pintupi- and Luritja-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region, and sister of artist Molly Jugadai Napaltjarri... |
|
| 14th | 1997 | ||||
| 13th | 1996 | Kathleen Petyarre Kathleen Petyarre Kathleen Petyarre is an eminent Australian Aboriginal artist, known for her paintings displaying an extremely refined layering technique with intricate dotting. Her art refers directly to her country and her Dreamings, concepts that may be difficult to grasp for the non-Aboriginal viewer... |
|||
| 12th | 1995 | Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri was a Pintupi- and Luritja-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region, and sister of artist Molly Jugadai Napaltjarri... |
|||
| 11th | 1994 | ||||
| 10th | 1993 | Paddy Fordham Wainburranga | Eagle Hawk and Crow | Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri was a Pintupi- and Luritja-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region, and sister of artist Molly Jugadai Napaltjarri... |
|
| 9th | 1992 | ||||
| 8th | 1991 | ||||
| 7th | 1990 | ||||
| 6th | 1989 | Pansy Napangardi Pansy Napangardi Pansy Napangardi was born at Haasts Bluff in the late 1940s and was moved with the settlement to Papunya in the early 1960s. She is a major painter in what is today known as the Papunya Tula movement... |
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| 5th | 1988 | ||||
| 4th | 1987 | ||||
| 3rd | 1986 | ||||
| 2nd | 1985 | ||||
| 1st | 1984 |