Pre-Selection Underway to Select Telstra Art Award Finalists

Aboriginal Art Directory | 30.04.10

Pre-selection for the 27th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award is underway at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) this week. Telstra Art Award curator Kate Podger said MAGNT and Telstra were thrilled with the high number of quality works entered. "We have received more than 300 entries and still have the Telstra New Media Award entries to look forward to by the end of the month," Ms Podger said.

The pre-selection members for this year's Telstra Art Award pre-selection panel include: Bruce McLean – Associate Curator of Indigenous Art at the Queensland Art Gallery Gordon Bull - Senior Lecturer and Head of the School of Art, Australian National University (ANU); and Julie Gough – Visual Artist and former Curator of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. MAGNT and principal sponsor Telstra also welcome judges Sylvia Kleinert and Djambawa Marawili to judge this year's Telstra Art Award. Sylvia Kleinert is an Adjunct Associate Professor at ANU and Charles Darwin University and co-editor of the prize winning reference work The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art (2000). Sylvia's research interests include contemporary and historical Indigenous art. Djambawa Marawili AM is a visual artist, traditional leader of the Madarrpa clan from East Arnhem Land and currently Chairman of the Association of Northern and Kimberley Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA). In 2010 Djambawa received a member of the order of Australia (AM) for his service to the arts and preservation of Indigenous culture. Ms Podger said the pre-selection panel and one of this year's two judges, Sylvia Kleinert will be looking at all the entries submitted from Indigenous artists across Australia and selecting finalists for this year's Telstra Art Award. "Selecting art works for this prestigious national exhibition is an exciting challenge and I'm delighted each year by the extraordinary talents of the mature artist and innovations by emerging artists from both capital cities and remote regional areas," Ms Podger said. "The high calibre of entries from each category reflects the status of this national premier Indigenous art award." Telstra Chief Marketing Officer Kate McKenzie said she was delighted with the influx of entries. "Telstra is thrilled to see Indigenous artists have come forward in such numbers to offer their art works for consideration for an award. "Telstra looks forward to seeing this year's selected works, and how artists have used new media to interpret the theme of 'Connections'," she said.

The deadline for the Telstra New Media Award is tomorrow with entries set to close Friday, 30 April 2010. Pre-selection for this category will take place Monday, 10 May 2010.

The 27th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award exhibition opens, and award presentations will be made, on Friday, 13 August 2010.

For more information about the Telstra Art Award or to view the online gallery of works from previous Telstra Art Award exhibitions go to www.magnt.nt.gov.au/natsiaa. To follow the Telstra Art Award on Twitter go to www.twitter.com/natsiaa

For media inquiries or interviews please contact Anne Marshall on 08 8999 4730

The 27th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award is supported by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments

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