2018 Telstra NATSIAA winner Wakun Wanambi

Source: NITV.

2018 Telstra NATSIAA winner, Wakun Wanambi, shares the story behind his winning work, NITV, 3 October 2018

NITV speaks with award-winning Yirrkala artist, Wakun Wanambi.

In this year’s Telstra NATSIAA, Wakun Wanambi from the Northern Territory was awarded the Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award for his artwork Destiny. Wakun candidly spoke with NITV, explaining how his engagement with culture and art has evolved over time, and how he uses new technologies to tell stories.

Wakun’s practice is an example and of how Indigenous art continues to adapt and evolve, combining tradition and technology to continue to tell stories of the world’s oldest living culture. The Telstra NATSIAA have evolved with these changes over the years, introducing new categories to celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of modern Indigenous art.

See video

Established in 1984, the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards are Australia’s longest running and most prestigious Indigenous art awards. Telstra has been the Principal Partner of Telstra NATSIAA for 27 years and together with the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, deliver this unique annual event to showcase the best in Indigenous art from across the country. The awards are now firmly established as a key event on Australia’s cultural calendar.

This year unearths new artistic developments in contemporary Indigenous art practices for new and emerging artists, whilst also including major works by some of Australia’s most revered artists.
The Telstra NATSIAA exhibition is now open to the public at MAGNT, 19 Conacher Street, The Gardens, Darwin from 10:00am – 5:00pm daily.

Read more about the Telstra NATSIAA.