The winners of the 2024 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAAs) have been announced. Noli Rictor, a Pitjantjatjara artist from Tjuntjuntjara in Western Australia, has won the $100,000 Telstra Art Award in Australia’s most prestigious Indigenous art awards.
Rictor’s winning piece is Kamanti, a painting depicting the site of Kamanti in Spinifex Lands, home to the Wati Kutjara Tjukurpa (Two Men Creation Line), a narrative that follows the journey of a father and son water serpent travelling on ceremonial business.
Adam Worrall, director of Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) says, “We are thrilled to celebrate Noli Rictor as the recipient of the Telstra Award. Noli’s work is a testament to his exceptional talent and deep connection to the Spinifex Lands. His depiction of the Wati Kutjara Tjukurpa at Kamanti offers a powerful glimpse into his heritage, beautifully illustrating the Ancestral narratives that shape his Country and community.”
Other NATSIAA winners include:
– Telstra General Painting Award: Lydia Balbal, Keeping up with the Balbals
– Telstra Bark Painting Award: Wurrandan Marawili, Rumbal, the body/the truth
– Telstra Work on Paper Award: Shannon Brett, An Australian Landscape
– Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award: Obed Namirrkki, Kunkurra
– Telstra Multimedia Award: Natalie Daveu, River report
– Telstra Emerging Artist Award: Josina Pumani, Maralinga
Each category winner received a cash prize of $15,000. The judging panel consists of Putuparri Tom Lawford, Keith Munro and Katina Davidson, who said, “We were greatly impressed by the calibre of work presented by all entrants and were excited to learn of artists who we weren’t familiar with. The diversity in artistic materials and the artist’s interpretation of their stories moved and sometimes surprised us. Several artworks discussed timely themes which have recently received national attention, and the judges commend each artist for using their practice to give attention to important stories at this prestigious event. The diversity of cultural, social, political- and ceremonial stories across all media should be celebrated.”
2023 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
On now—27 January 2025
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