2023 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards Finalists Announced

Sixty-three finalists have been announced in the 2023 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (Telstra NATSIAA), presented by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) and principal partner Telstra. The award ceremony will be held on Friday 11 August 2023 on Larrakia Country (Darwin).

Of the selected entries, 31 finalists are from the Northern Territory, 13 from South Australia, eight from Queensland, six from Western Australia, two from the Australian Capital Territory, and one each from New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria. Sixteen finalists fall under the emerging artist category.

Telstra NATSIAA is the longest running Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art award in Australia, and is a celebration of culture, artistic practice and connection to Country. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have shaped the Awards through their contributions as artists, curators, coordinators, selection committee members and judges.

Telstra NATSIAA, with thanks to principal partner Telstra, has generated significant and positive impact on the awareness, development, and growth of the First Nations visual arts sector.



Since 1984, MAGNT has proudly presented the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA) on Larrakia Country. The establishment of NATSIAA came at a critical time when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and artists were first widely being recognised, artistically, critically and commercially.

'It is an honour for MAGNT to congratulate and welcome this year’s Telstra NATSIAA finalists to be part of the awards’ 40th anniversary milestone,' MAGNT Director Adam Worrall said. 

'Thanks to the time and care taken by our selection panelists, this year’s finalists continue to forge new ideas and perspectives through a breadth of exemplary works and mediums produced over the past 12 months from all states and territories in Australia.'

'For four decades, NATSIAA has provided an opportunity for the rich and diverse stories of our First Nations people to be told,' Telstra CEO Vicki Brady said. 

'Telstra has been a part of the NATSIAAs for 32 years and last year we increased the prize pool to encourage more emerging and established artists to enter. The breadth and scope of the 2023 finalists is exceptional. I congratulate them all and we look forward to seeing the exhibition in August on Larrakia Country.”

40 Celebrating four decades of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards will present a selection of artworks from each decade of the Awards. The exhibition will open to the public at MAGNT on Saturday 12 August 2023.