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Master Arnhem Land artist Margaret Rarru Garrawurra wins top prize in 2022 NATSIAA’s with sweeping woven sail

A smiling woman wearing a bright orange jacket standing in front of a large thatched artwork, inside an art gallery.

A sweeping, large-scale woven sail, once used on fishing boats between Arnhem Land and Indonesia prior to colonization, has won first prize in the prestigious National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.

Six other artists have won category prizes including bark painting and multi-media works, picked from 63 finalists from over 200 entries.

This year the NATSIAA’s became the richest art award in the country, with $190,000 in the overall prize pool and a doubling of the top prize to $100,000.

These are the winners.

Telstra Art Award

Women sitting beside a large woven artwork.
Margaret Rarru Garrawurra with her winning work.(ABC News: Pete Garnish)

The major prize this year went to senior Yolngu artist Margaret Rarru Garrawurra for Dhomala (pandanus sail).

Ms Garrawurra, who lives in Milingimbi in north east Arnhem Land, recreated the type of sail used on Macassan fishing by boats, which came to trade with Yolngu in north east Arnhem Land prior to colonisation.

A photograph of an orange and black woven sail

The weaving style used in the piece was taught to her by her father, who was taught by his father.

The work features the rich black plant dye Ms Garrawurra has become renowned for, which she gathers and prepares herself.

Friend and sister Helen Ganalmirriwuy, who helped interpret for Ms Garrawurra, said that of all the mediums her sister works in, weaving is “her favorite in her heart”.

General Painting Award

An intricate painting of white markings scrawled across a black canvas.
Ngangkari Ngura, by Betty Muffler.(Supplied: MAGNT)

Indulkana artist Betty Muffler won the General Painting Award with a piece titled Ngangkari Ngura (Healing Country).

Bark Painting Award

A woman stands next to a bark painting featuring cream-coloured water spirit figures and a red and pink sea.
Yirrkala elder Meriki Ganambarr-Stubbs with the late D Yunupingu’s winning work Yunupiŋu —The Rock.(Supplied: MAGNT)
wider d yunupingu work
D Yunupingu’s work among other finalists.(Supplied: MAGNT)

The Bark Painting Award this year recognized a work titled Yunupingu (the rock) by D Yunupingu from Yirrkala, who died in 2021.

Works on Paper Award

A black and white photo of a man, with a collage of flowers edited into the background.
Detail of Gary Lee’s winning piece for Works on Paper Award, titled Nagi.(Supplied: MAGNT)
A man sitting in front of a black-and-white portrait handing on a wall in a gallery. He wears a pearl necklace.

Larrakia man Gary Lee, from Garramilla/Darwin, won the Works on Paper Award with a pastel, pencil and digital print work titled Nagi.

Wadjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award

Two elderly women in an art gallery, sitting in front of a large woven fish trap suspended behind them.
Bonnie Burangarra and Freda Ali Wayartja with their work that won the Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award.
A picture of the inside of a woven basket.
A large cylindrical thatched artwork hangs from the ceiling of an art gallery.

A joint work by Bonnie Burangarra and Freda Ali Wayartja from Yilan in the Northern Territory won this year’s Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award. The work is titled An-gujechiya.

Multimedia Award

artwork by Jimmy Thaiday
A still from Jimmy Thaiday’s winning work for the Multimedia Award, Beyond the Lines.(Supplied: MAGNT)
Three people sitting on a settee watching a video on a large screen, inside a dark room inside an art gallery.

A video work by Jimmy John Thaiday from Erub in the Torres Strait,titled Beyond the Lineswon this year’s Multimedia Award.

Emerging Artist Award

A beaming woman standing in front of a large artwork hung on a black wall with her hands on her hips.
Louise Malarvie with her winning work.(Supplied: MAGNT)

The Emerging Artist Award, given to an artist in the first five years in their practice, this year went to Louise Malarvie from Kununurra, for a work titled Pamar Yara.

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Australia

Prize money doubles for National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, making it Australia’s richest art prize

Prize money doubles for National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, making it Australia's richest art prize

The winners of Australia’s biggest and most prestigious Indigenous art awards will be announced in Darwin tonight, with each to take home a share of what’s now the richest art prize in the country.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards takes entries from across Australia and all types of visual arts, from bark paintings and traditional weavings, to digital works and sculpture.

This year the overall winner will be awarded $100,000, bringing the top gong in line with the first prize in the annual Archibald Prize.

It’s recognition that curator and Arabana, Mualgal, and Wuthathi woman Rebekah Raymond is “overjoyed” 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 at a global level, and the prize pool needs to respect and reflect that.”

A sign saying 'gallery changeover in progress, with two people carrying boxes and painting on walls behind it.
The winners will be announced at a gala event in Darwin on Friday night.

Six other winners of individual categories will take home $15,000, an amount tripled this year by long-time awards sponsor Telstra.

The combined total of $190,000 is the biggest for any art prize in Australia.

Dozens of finalists from hundreds of entries — and seven winners

The winners will be announced at a gala event in Darwin on Friday night, which coincides with the opening of the two-week Darwin Festival.

A panel of three judges have narrowed more than 200 entries down to 63 finalists, which have been installed together for the annual — free — blockbuster exhibition at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT).

A woman stands in a darkly-lit gallery with out-of-focus, colorful artworks installed around here
Ms Raymond and two other judges have picked seven winners out of 63 finalists.(ABC News: Che Chorley)

‘Expanding practices, pushing boundaries’

A winner for the overall prize is chosen from among the finalists, as well as one for six categories including:

  • General Painting Award
  • Bark Painting Award
  • Works on Paper Award
  • Wadjuk Marika 3D Award
  • Multimedia Award
  • Emerging Artist Award

Now in its 38th year, the NATSIAA’s have 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’s a mistake to think that only the younger artists are experimenting and innovating.

“There’s been amazing innovations within bark painting, especially by senior ladies [from north east Arnhem Land],” she said.

“These are contemporary works — they’re carrying on art that’s been around from time immemorial but they’re expanding practices, they’re pushing boundaries.

Artist Dhambit Munungurr sits in her wheelchair, smiling, with her hands raised in celebration.
Previous bark painting winner Dhambit Munungurr is among the senior Yirrkala ladies experimenting with new color palettes.(ABC News: Che Chorley)

On display online, People’s Choice Award up for grabs

This year’s exhibition will again be accessible online, which has been the case since the first year of the pandemic.

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