APY Artists

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:34): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. Can the minister tell the chamber about the success of the APY artists in the 2016 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Award?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:35): I thank the honourable member for his question and his ongoing interest in Aboriginal affairs generally, and Aboriginal art in particular, in his role as Chair of the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee. The museum and art gallery of the Northern Territory has hosted the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Award since 1984, and is widely regarded as a premier Indigenous art prize in Australia.

The awards recognise Indigenous artists from right across Australia, showcasing both established and emerging artists. This year marks the 25^th anniversary of Telstra's sponsorship of the awards, and I am told that they have something special planned for this celebration. I travelled to the APY lands in the last week of April, where I visited a number of the arts centres: in Fregon I visited Kaltjiti Arts where they are using very new styles and techniques showcasing very old stories. In Mimili, at Mimili Maku Arts, I saw stunning work in other mediums, including photography and digital works. At Indulkana, at Iwantja Arts, there is a melding of pop culture with traditional arts and themes. I did not visit the Ernabella Arts Centre on this occasion as it was closed when I was in Ernabella, but I spent half a day with a renowned artist from Ernabella, Gordon Ingkatji, at his homeland at David's Well.

One thing that struck me, as it always strikes me when visiting the APY lands, is how proud everyone is who contributes to the arts centre with the works they do. Of the three arts centres I visited, almost immediately upon arriving the arts centre managers rolled out the bundles of the paintings nominated for the Telstra arts prizes to show me just how proud they were of the works and the artists. I made some bold predictions about how many might get nominated as finalists from each arts centre: I was wrong on a number of them but close on a few of them.

I was informed last week that 20 APY artists have been shortlisted for the 2016 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards: two from Kaltjiti, two from Ernabella, three from Mimili Maku, five from Iwantja, five from Tjungu Palya and two from Tjala Arts. I am not sure exactly how many shortlist finalists there were this year (I know that there were about 65 last year and I think that there were a similar amount in total this year), so 20 out of something like 65 finalists is a massive representation of APY artists, who are definitely punching well above their weight in terms of representation on the national scene.

The 20 nominees included: Alec Baker from Iwantja Arts; David Frank; Vincent Namatjira; Tiger Yaltangki; Kaylene Whiskey; Betty Pumani; Mike Williams; Kathleen Tjapalyi; Matjangka Norris; Witjiti George; Pepai Carrol; Rachel Lionel; Anwar Young; Yaritji Young; Barbara Moore; Teresa Baker; Clarise Tunkin; Wipana Jimmy; Beryl Jimmy; and, Imitjala Pollard.

All 20 of these artists are shortlisted for the final of this year's Telstra prize. There are six categories of work: the Telstra art award, a $50,000 prize; the Telstra general painting award, a $5,000 prize (which I think last year was won by APY artists); the Telstra work on paper award (which I think also last year was won by an APY artist); the Telstra bark painting award; and, the 3D award.

The overall winner is chosen from across those categories, and the winners will be announced in August of this year at a special ceremony in Darwin. I certainly wish all the APY nominees the very best, and I am sure we will see them represented well, as APY artists are always represented well in this prize.