The finalists for the 2018 ‘Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards’ have been selected with 66 works drawn from 308 entries to be unveiled in an exhibition at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) on show from 11 August to 25 November. The announcement of the winners will take place at the opening and awards ceremony at MAGNT on Friday evening, 10 August 2018.
‘This year’s Awards have attracted entries of an extraordinary artistic calibre, from diverse geographic regions, highlighting the continuing growth of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts sector,’ said Luke Scholes, MAGNT Curator of Aboriginal Art.

Winner Telstra Works on Paper Award 2017. Robert Fielding, Milkali Kutju – One blood, synthetic polymer paint and ink on burnt and pierced paper, 34th Telstra NATSIAA. Courtesy the artist and Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
2018 Finalists: Adrian Jangala Robertson, Baluka Maymuru, Barayuwa Mununggurr, Barrmula Yunupingu, Bernadette Watt and Annabell Amagula, Betty Kuntiwa Pumani, Betty Muffler, Bobby West Tjupurrula, Bugai Whyoulter and Cyril Whyoulter, Carlene Thompson, Charlotte Phillipus Napurrula, Daisy Japulija, David Frank, Dhambit Munuŋgurr, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Elizabeth Dunn, George Nona, Gunybi Ganambarr, Guykuḏa Munuŋgurr, Helen Ganalmirriwuy, Jan Goongaja Griffiths, Janet Fieldhouse, Jenna Lee, Jimmy Pompey, Joe Guymala, John Prince Siddon, Johnson Ooldigi Lane, Kathy Inkamala, Kaye Brown, Kaylene Whiskey, Ken Sisters Collaborative, Kent Morris, Lawrence Pennington, Lisa Waup, Mabel Juli, Mantua Nangala, Marlene Brumby, Matthew Dhamuliya Gurruwiwi, Mavis Ngallametta, Mervyn Rubuntja, Mervyn Street, Mitakiki Men’s Collaborative, Mumu Mike Williams, Nannette Shaw, Napuwarri Marawili, Ngarralja Tommy May, Niningka Lewis, Nyaparu (William) Gardiner, Nyurpaya Kaika, Patrina Liyadurrkitj Mununggurr, Pepai Jangala Carroll, Peter Mungkuri, Ray Ken, Robert Fielding, Sally M Muld, Sebastian Arrow, Sonia Kurarra, Sylvia Ken, Tamika Grant-Iramu, Tiger Yaltangki, Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, Vincent Namatjira, Wawiriya Burton, Wukun Wanambi, Yalanba Waṉambi, Yaritji Young, Yukultji Napangati.
The major $50,000 ‘Telstra Art Award’ will be awarded to the work considered by the judges to be the most outstanding across all seven categories. A further $5,000 is offered in each of the following six categories; Telstra Bark Painting, Telstra General Painting, Telstra Works on Paper (includes photography, print making, drawing), Wandjuk Marika Memorial Three-Dimensional, and includes the Telstra Multimedia Award and the Telstra Emerging Artist Award, both of which were initiated in 2017.
The judging panel welcomes artist Daniel Boyd; Director of the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne, Kelly Gellatly; and artist Judith Inkamala, senior member of the Hermannsburg Potters.
Boyd has forged a successful career as an artist since finishing art school in 2005, exhibiting both nationally and internationally; Gellatly has more than 20 years curatorial experience working in leading public art institutions; and Inkamala has been crafting her unique ceramics and passing her knowledge on to the next generation for 25 years as a Hermannsburg Potter.
The ‘Telstra NATSIAA’ are Australia’s longest running and most prestigious Indigenous art competition, with the awards now firmly established as a key event on Australia’s cultural calendar. The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory with Telstra, deliver this unique annual event to showcase the best in Indigenous art from across the country.
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
11 August to 11 November 2018
Darwin