Held at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), this year’s winners reflect a deep interconnection with Country, culture, and community, while showcasing innovation across diverse mediums.
Top Honour: Gaypalani Wanambi Wins 2025 Telstra Art Award
Medium: Etched steel panels, aerosol paint
Language Group: Yolŋu Matha | Location: Yirrkala, NT
As the daughter of acclaimed artist Wukun Wanambi (1962–2022), Gaypalani continues his legacy with innovation and strength, emerging as a powerful artist in her own right.
Telstra General Painting Award: Iluwanti Ken
Iluwanti Ken’s vivid painting of mother eagles and their nurturing instincts earned her this year’s painting prize.
Drawing from her family’s Tjukurpa, the work powerfully explores the lessons of care and protection from Anangu women’s perspective.
Telstra Multimedia Award Winner: Jahkarli Felicitas Romanis
Romanis, an artist and academic, deconstructs colonial mapping through digital photography.
The work challenges the notion of terra nullius, asserting the endurance presence and knowledge of Indigenous knowledges and connection to Country.
Her powerful series exposes the distortions and biases in platforms like Google Earth, challenging notions of terra nullius and reinforcing the living sovereignty of Country.
Telstra Bark Painting Award Winner: Lucy Yarawanga
Language Group: Gurr-goni | Location: Maningrida, NT
With raw energy and cultural depth, Yarawanga’s bark painting tells a cautionary tale involving the Rainbow Serpent and protective spirit beings.
Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award Winner: Owen Yalandja
Yalandja’s towering wooden sculpture of yawkyawk (mermaid spirits) continues a family tradition of storytelling through sculpture, innovating with his own distinct style while honouring the teachings of his late father, Crusoe Kuningbal.
Telstra Work on Paper Award Winner: Naomi Hobson
Language Group: Southern Kaantju and Umpila | Location: Coen, QLD
The photograph speaks to confidence in identity and enduring ancestral presence, themes central to her acclaimed photographic practice.
Telstra Emerging Artist Award Winner: Sonia Gurrpulan Guyula
Her woven pandanus mat echoes patterns of her grandmothers while introducing bold new dye techniques.
Highly commended artists
Binygurr Wirrpanda (NT) for Gudurrku 2024 – 3D Award
All winning and finalist works will be on display at MAGNT in Darwin and available for viewing online.
