Art centres supported by the Australian Government’s Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support (IVAIS) program have won big at one of Australia’s most prestigious art awards.

Wikmunea, Keith. Ku’, Theewith & Kalampang: The White Cockatoo, Galah and the Wandering Dog 2023, Aurukun, Queensland.
Wikmunea, Keith. Ku’, Theewith & Kalampang: The White Cockatoo, Galah and the Wandering Dog 2023, Aurukun, Queensland.

The 2023 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), hosted by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and Telstra on Larrakia Country (Darwin), showcases a dazzling cross section of First Nations contemporary art from across Australia.

Of the 7 winners, 6 are artists from art centres supported through the IVAIS program.

The Government joins the chorus of congratulations for the winners, including Keith Wikmunea, a Thu’ Apalech man and artist from Aurukun in Queensland who took out the main award for his sculptural piece Ku’, Theewith & Kalampang: The White Cockatoo, Galah and the Wandering Dog 2023.

The NATSIAA finalists’ works are an example of the richness and diversity of contemporary Indigenous art practices across Australia.

The IVAIS program helps fund the operations of over 85 Indigenous art centres, industry service organisations and a number of other art events across Australia.

A full list of winners as well as a virtual tour of the exhibition can be seen via the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.