Winners of the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards Just Announced
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory has just announced the winners of the 2021 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards via a virtual awards ceremony.
NATSIAA winner Lake Baker by Timo Hogan, from Spinifex Arts Project Aboriginal Corporation.
Western Australian artist Timo Hogan has won the coveted Telstra Art Award with Lake Baker 2020. Hogan’s spectacular winning work pays homage to his father’s Country and invites the onlooker to witness his knowledge and custodianship of this significant site.
Timo Hogan, winner of the 2021 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (Telstra NATSIAA), presented by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) in Darwin. Photographed on country in Tjuntjuntjarra, Great Victorian Desert, Western Australia; 30th July 2021 by Philip Gostelow.
“I am very happy to have won this award. It makes me feel strong inside. Painting is important for Anangu (Aboriginal people) to tell their stories. The Art Centre is a good place for people to come and be together and paint their Country. I’m happy for this prize and that people see this work is important,” says Timo.
Timo’s masterwork hanging at the finalists’ exhibition at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) in Darwin.
Timo’s impressive painting depicts Lake Baker and tells of the Tjukurpa within the landscape and the inhabitants that made it. In this representation of the Wati Kutjara Tjukurpa (Two Men creation line), the men watch carefully as the powerful Wanampi (water serpent) departs his home and skirts the edge of the lake.
“I’m painting Lake Baker. It’s a sacred place. My father showed me the Tjukurpa (spiritual / ancestral creation story) when I was a boy. It’s got a big story, but I can’t tell all of it, miilmiilpa (highly sacred), only the front part,” explains Timo.
Timo Hogan, winner of the 2021 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (Telstra NATSIAA), presented by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) in Darwin. Photographed on country in Tjuntjuntjarra, Great Victorian Desert, Western Australia; 30th July 2021 by Philip Gostelow.
“A masterful painting of international calibre, Lake Baker heralds Timo Hogan as a remarkably confident artist with talent that exceeds his age and experience. In a work of this scale, there is nowhere for an artist to hide: Timo’s restrained use of paint, texture and form not only demonstrates exceptional artistic instinct, but also his intimate connection to Country. Lake Baker is a mediative, connected and assured master work by one of Australia’s most exciting up and coming artists,” says the 2021 Judging Panel.
Rebekah Raymond, Curator of Aboriginal Art and Aaterial Culture at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, taking in the NATSIAA finalists at yesterday’s media preview.
Presented in partnership with MAGNT, the 2021 Telstra NATSIAA encompasses seven awards categories and presents 65 powerful new works which interpret history, spark conversations, and celebrate culture and Country. The 2021 Telstra NATSIAA features an incredible range of outstanding artworks by some of Australia’s best emerging and established artists. Now in its 38th year, Telstra NATSIAA is Australia’s longest running and most prestigious art award for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and can be experienced in person at MAGNT in Darwin or via the virtual gallery at www.natsiaa.com.au.
MAGNT Director, Marcus Schutenko, revealing the winners at yesterday’s media briefing. Can you spot a member of the Bluethumb team?
The category award winners include our reigning Bluethumb Art Prize champion, Hubert Pareroultja, in collaboration with another of our collectable artists, Mervyn Rubuntja, both from lltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre. Their ingenious watercolour on silk screens work has won the Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award – and the team at Bluethumb are all in awe of both the artwork and the artists’ achievement!
NATSIAA Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award winner Through the veil of time by Hubert Pareroultja and Mervyn Rubuntja, from Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre.
“It was great to have won this award,” says Hubert. “We worked really hard on these silk paintings so we’re so happy they were selected as one of the winners.”
It was our first time painting on silk so it was really hard,” adds Mervyn.
“Hubert Pareroultja and Mervyn Rubuntja’s immersive work Through the Veil of Time transported the judging panel to the Central Desert, and allowed us to experience Country through the eyes of the Hermannsburg School. Traditionally small-scale watercolourists, we were excited to see the artists working collaboratively and scaling up the size of their work,” says the 2021 Judging Panel.
Click here to see Hubert’s and Mervyn’s available works on Bluethumb.
Another Bluethumb NATSIAA finalist! Ngayulu Munu Ngayuku Papa (Me and My Dogs) by Roma Nyutjangka Butler, from Tjanpi Desert Weavers.
Watch our Youtube video below to find out all the winners and hear their reactions:
We were lucky enough to be at the media preview yesterday. Take the tour on our latest Instagram Reel:
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See Telstra NATSIAA at MAGNT Darwin or via natsiaa.com.au from Saturday 7 August 2021, 10am until Sunday 6 February 2022.
Click here to see more incredible art from Indigenous artists on Bluethumb.
Congratulations to the winners beautiful art work with so much meaning to their story. Sandra Messner.
It is so inspiring to see joy & happy hearts from these amazing artists.
Beautiful Australian art, true art from the heart.