ON FRIDAY August the eighth we will know which outstanding work of the year will take home the Telstra Art Award.

This year there have been 71 finalists selected for the award with our very own Josina Pumani featuring with her new work 'Black Mist' -- a powerful and resonant piece of art with etchings upon ash-black cone-like sculptures. It is a commanding piece no question. She is entered into the Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award and the Emerging Artist Award. All work is eligible for the top prize of $100,000.

Black Mist can be seen as an evolution of her Maralinga story, and the piece selected as a finalist for the Wynne Prize earlier this year. Then she made one vessel to describe the horror of the British atomic weapons testing in remote South Australia during the 1950s and 1960s, with the effects lingering for years on Anangu people.

Black Mist has inverted the colours of her Maralinga story to pull the effects to the exterior while the heart of the two pieces holds the atomic red payload.

Visit the Awards Page to read more about the benefit of these awards, the selection process, the finalists themselves and some jewels from Judges Keith Munro, Karen Mills and Kate ten Buuren.

To actually see the art the Judges will be choosing from you have to hit the Click to Vote button, which generates a URL from googledocs.

There is an incredible range of work represented here.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art is a vital part of the social and cultural life of Australia," says Museum and Art Gallery, Northern Territory Director, Adam Worrall. "This year's Telstra NATSIAA presents 71 exceptional works, selected from over 200 entries, providing a snapshot of the finest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art created in the past year. The continued support of Telstra is essential to ensuring these stories are seen, shared and celebrated.”

The exhibition of the Finalists work continues at MAGNT until Monday 26 January 2026.

See Josina Pumani - Family Story - River and Hunting Lands.