Natsiaa 2026: Ryan Presley wins $100,000 award for ‘monumental’ Renaissance-style painting
Ryan Presley's winning entry at the NATSIAA awards is described as a 'dreamscape' that challenges Western art canons. The painting incorporates anachronistic elements to comment on the intersection of past, present, and future in the context of Indigenous experience.
Why it matters
Recognition of Indigenous artists in prestigious awards helps shift the narrative of Western-dominated art history and promotes diverse cultural representation.
Marri Ngarr artist Ryan Presley, standing beside his painting Our lifestyle of tranquility undisturbed, is the winner of the $100,000 Natsiaa Telstra Art award. Photograph: Carl Warner Marri Ngarr artist Ryan Presley, standing beside his painting Our lifestyle of tranquility undisturbed, is the winner of the $100,000 Natsiaa Telstra Art award. Photograph: Carl Warner Indigenous art Natsiaa 2026: Ryan Presley wins $100,000 award for ‘monumental’ Renaissance-style painting Marri Ngarr artist takes home Australia’s most prestigious First Nations art prize for Our lifestyle of tranquillity undisturbed – a ‘dreamscape’ that challenges colonial modes of representation
Prefer the Guardian on Google An Indigenous artist’s painting that “presents a recomposed view of the past” and challenges the western canon, especially Renaissance art, has won the $100,000 top prize at the 43rd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander awards (Natsiaa) .
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