2026 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards ceremony, Darwin. Photo: Charlie Bliss.
For Melbourne-based Larrakia/Darwin artist Jenna Lee, being a finalist in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards is less about winning than belonging.
‘I’ve kind of heard mob from the city say, “Oh, that’s the prize for remote artists”,’ she says. ‘But I just don’t think that’s been true the past 10 or 15 years.’ She sees the awards as a place where those perceived divisions can be unsettled.
Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW.
Instagram: fairleygina
