Indigenous artist Ryan Presley claims $100,000 Telstra Art Award at NATSIAA 2026

Marri Ngarr painter Ryan Presley won the $100,000 Telstra Art Award at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards for his large oil work that blends Renaissance motifs with contemporary Australian themes.

Ryan Presley, a Marri Ngarr artist with Scandinavian roots, captured the $100,000 Telstra Art Award at this year’s National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards for his 1.8 by 1.5-metre oil painting that juxtaposes a reclining Indigenous figure, a dog, a hunting rifle and a distant bushfire against Renaissance-style lighting. The work alludes to Caravaggio, Beccafumi, Goya and a quote from George Orwell’s 1984, exploring themes of history, control and the high incarceration rates of Indigenous youth in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Presley, a Griffith University graduate who has shown across major Australian galleries, described the win as a “great honour” that will help him continue creating for another two decades. Judges Yhonnie Scarce, Julie Gough and Warraba Weatherall highlighted the painting’s multi-layered iconography and exceptional technique. The NATSIAA ceremony, held at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin, also honoured other artists such as Jenna Mayilema Lee, who received the $15,000 Work on Paper Award for her map-woven pieces.