media release
NEWS · EVENTS · RESEARCH · EXPERT COMMENTS · NEWS · EVENTS · RESEARCH · EXPERT COMMENTS
14 December 2004
Contemporary Aboriginal art show opens at RMIT Gallery
A major exhibition of contemporary Australian Indigenous art was opened by Senator the Hon. Rod Kemp yesterday at RMIT Gallery in Melbourne.
On show until 26 February, the 20th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) will provide a snapshot of the exciting developments that have taken place through the NATSIAA in contemporary Indigenous art over the past three years. Represented in the exhibition will be the award winners from the 18th, 19th & 20th Awards, profiling the diversity of regions through the work of prominent and emerging artists.
Forty-eight works, drawn from the collection of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, as well as private and other public collections, are featured in the exhibition. Some of the works were selected to represent the diverse works displayed in the 20th award in 2003, including the Telstra First Prize winner and four category winners. Also featured are the 18th & 19th First Prize winners and several 18th & 19th category winners from the Awards in 2001 and 2002.
The exhibition has toured Canberra and Adelaide, and after Melbourne, the show will move to Cairns in mid-2005.
NATSIAA is one of the most prestigious art awards in Australia. Established by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in 1984, the then titled The National Aboriginal Art Award has brought Indigenous art to the wider public. Telstra’s generous sponsorship since 1992 has made this event and its development possible resulting in it becoming the richest award of this type.
RMIT Gallery has a longstanding relationship with NATSIAA, presenting the annual award exhibitions in 1998 and 1999.
The 20th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award will run until 26 February.
More information is available from RMIT Gallery on (03) 9925 1717.
MELBOURNE CBD · BUNDOORA · BRUNSWICK · HAMILTON · EAST GIPPSLAND · VIETNAM