Prizes have doubled for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, making it Australia’s richest art prize
The winners of Australia’s largest and most prestigious Indigenous art prizes will be announced in Darwin tonight, with each taking home a share of what is now the country’s richest art prize.
Key points:
- National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards jackpot doubled this year to $190,000
- The grand prize winner will take home $100,000, a prize now equal in value to the Archibald Portrait Prize
- The awards celebrate new works from across the country and styles of visual art, from traditional to modern and experimental.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards welcome entries from across Australia and from all types of visual art, from bark paintings and traditional weavings to digital works and sculpture.
This year, the overall winner will receive $100,000, bringing the top gong into line for the top prize in the annual Archibald Prize.
It’s an acknowledgment that curator and Arabana, Mualgal and Wuthathi woman Rebekah Raymond is “delighted” to see paid to the artists involved.
“I think [the increased prize money] really shows a commitment to celebrating these artists,” she said.
“It shows an understanding that the vibrancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art practice is globally, and the prize pool should respect and reflect that.”
Six other individual category winners will take home $15,000, an amount tripled this year by longtime sponsor Telstra.
The combined total of $190,000 is the largest of any art prize in Australia.
Dozens of finalists from hundreds of entries – and seven winners
The winners will be announced at a gala in Darwin on Friday evening, which coincides with the opening of the two-week Darwin Festival.
A panel of three judges narrowed down more than 200 entries to 63 finalists, who were installed together for the annual blockbuster – free – exhibition at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT).
“Expanding practices, pushing the limits”
A winner for the general prize is chosen from among the finalists, as well as one for six categories including:
- General painting price
- bark painting prices
- Works on Paper Awards
- Wandjuk Marika 3D Price
- Multimedia Awards
- Emerging Artist Award
Now in its 38th year, NATSIAA has celebrated some of the art world’s biggest names and most influential figures, from Djambawa Marawili and Betty Muffler to Vincent Namatjira and Kaylene Whiskey.
While the stories and techniques behind some of the bark paintings, weavings and carvings are ancient and traditional, Ms Raymond said it was a mistake to think that only young artists were experimenting and innovating.
“There have been incredible innovations in bark painting, especially by older women [from north east Arnhem Land],” she says.
“These are contemporary works – they perpetuate an art that has existed since time immemorial, but they expand practices, they push boundaries.
Online presentations, the People’s Choice Award to be won
This year’s exhibition will once again be accessible online, which has been the case since the first year of the pandemic.
The NATSIAAs and other major events throughout the Darwin Festival trigger an influx of visitors to the Top End every dry season.
But would-be gallery-goers who can’t travel from state to state are missing out — unlike other grand prix like the Archibald, NATSIAA isn’t yet a traveling exhibit.
Ms Raymond said the virtual gallery has been a success and is the best thing available at the moment.
“It’s not a game, but it’s a way to cross borders and really open up audiences, not just nationally but globally,” she said.
“For me, I think touring and sharing works is an important way to engage with more people and for people to understand how important these works are.”
After the judges announce their picks, members of the public will also be able to have their say on their favorite works.
Voting for NATSIAA’s People’s Choice Award is open until the show closes in January next year.
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