The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) and principal partner Telstra have announced the return of the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in 2026.
Presented on Larrakia Country (Darwin), this year the awards mark their 43rd year in operation and celebrate a 35-year-long partnership with Telstra.
Celebrating excellence, cultural strength and innovation through art, the awards provide a nationally significant platform for sharing powerful stories and unique practices from across the continent, showcasing the very best of contemporary art. With hundreds of entries from across Australia each year, the awards attract and honour acclaimed artists and Elders, along with emerging artists and those making their debut.
A finalist in the Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award (Sponsored by Telstra) in the 2025 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Juanella Donovan (nee McKenzie) recently visited Darwin to give a powerful talk about her artwork 'Desert Flower', a piece was using a practice she learned as a child.
A multidisciplinary artist and mother of four, Donovan uses her practice to preserve and share knowledge passed down by Elders keeping culture strong for future generations. Donovan is a proud Adnyamathanha, Luritja and Lower Southern Arrernte woman and strong leader, living and working on Barngarla Country in Port Augusta.
On her visit to Darwin the talented artist spoke about her art and the impact of NATSIAA.
"I entered the NATSIAA this year because it's important to me to be part be part of such an amazing award, it's a good platform for artists to share their story and raise their profile, network and promote yourself," she said.
"NATSIAA is really significant because it plays a role in showcasing our stories from mob's voices and helping in that cultural continuation and preserving the cultural practice through arts."
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), and principal partner Telstra have also announced that entries are still open for the 2026 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, with entries closing on the 23rd of February 2026.
"I think it's important for mob to enter the NATSIAA. It doesn't matter what practice it is; it could be multimedia, or it could be woven like mine," said Donovan.
Telstra NATSIAA awards a total of $190,000 across seven categories, with the Telstra Art Award of $100,000 awarded to the work considered by the judges to be the most outstanding work across all categories.
Prizes of $15,000 each are on offer in categories including Telstra Bark Painting Award, Telstra General Painting Award, Telstra Work on Paper Award, Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award (sponsored by Telstra), Telstra Multimedia Award and the Telstra Emerging Artist Award.
A final non-monetary Award is the Telstra People's Choice which is given to the most popular work as selected by visitors throughout the run of the exhibition.
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