The 2026 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA) will open in Darwin this weekend, with three First Nations artists, curators and cultural leaders named to judge this year's winners.
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory will open the exhibition on Saturday, June 27, giving visitors the chance to see the finalist works before the winners are announced in August.
The judging panel for the 2026 awards is Trawlwoolway artist, writer and curator Julie Gough, Kokatha and Nukunu artist Yhonnie Scarce and Kamilaroi visual artist, lecturer and PhD candidate Warraba Weatherall.
Ms Gough is an installation, sound and video artist whose research and art practice examines hidden and contested histories, including her family's experiences as Tasmanian Aboriginal people. She is also a curator of First People's Art and Culture at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart and has exhibited in more than 200 exhibitions.
Ms Scarce's interdisciplinary practice works across glass and photography, often exploring the ongoing effects of colonisation on Aboriginal people.
Her work has looked at the removal and relocation of Aboriginal people from their homelands and the forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their families, with family history central to her practice.
Mr Weatherall's practice has a strong focus on archives, cultural knowledge systems and the way social power is shaped through visual language and form.
He is based in Magandjin and works across artistic practice, education and curation.
Wakka Wakka, Butchulla and Gurang Gurang artist and 2026 Telstra NATSIAA Curator Dr Shannon Brett said the panel brought artistic, cultural and academic expertise to the awards.
"We are honoured to have these three powerhouses on board to select this year's Telstra NATSIAA winners," Dr Brett said.
Now in its 43rd year, Telstra NATSIAA brings together artists from remote art centres, small townships and inner-city studios.
The 64 finalist works were selected from 221 entries and reflect themes including intergenerational storytelling, the continuation of cultures, connections to Country and the impacts of Australia's colonial history.
The finalists include emerging artists as well as established names in contemporary Indigenous art.
The awards are presented by MAGNT in partnership with Telstra and remain one of the country's major platforms for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.
MAGNT Director Adam Worrall welcomed the judges and encouraged audiences to see the exhibition in Darwin.
"We are thrilled to have these incredible representatives join us for the 2026 Telstra NATSIAA," Mr Worrall said.
"We are also incredibly excited to welcome visitors from across Australia and around the world to experience these works in Darwin."
The awards include categories covering bark painting, general painting, works on paper, multimedia and sculpture.
Artists from across the country will share in a total prize pool of $190,000, including the $100,000 Telstra Art Award.
The award categories also include the $15,000 Telstra General Painting Award, Telstra Bark Painting Award, Telstra Work on Paper Award, Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award, Telstra Emerging Artist Award and Telstra Multimedia Award.
The Telstra People's Choice Award will be decided by public vote during the exhibition.
The 2026 awards follow last year's major prize win by Yolŋu artist Gaypalani Waṉambi, from Yirrkala in Arnhem Land.
Ms Waṉambi won the $100,000 Telstra Art Award for Burwu, blossom, a monumental etched metal work connected to Wuyal, the Ancestral honey hunter and an important Ancestor of the Marrakulu clan.
The work used discarded road signs, with judges describing it as a piece that explored different relationships to Country through the Ancestral journeys of Wuyal.
The finalists were curated, shortlisted and judged by Meriam artist Gail Mabo and pakana artist Dean Greeno, alongside Dr Brett.
The 2026 awards also mark 40 years of the Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award, which commemorates Yolŋu artist and leader Wandjuk Marika OBE.
The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Friday, August 7, with Drifting Clouds to headline the event on the lawns of MAGNT.
