The winners have been announced for the 2024 Koori Mail Indigenous Art Award.

Twenty-five finalists were selected from more than 80 entries from across the country.

Kylie Caldwell, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Bindimu Currie, Karla Dickens, Penny Evans, Clare Jaque Vasquez, Kieran Karritpul, Virginia Keft, Melissa Ladkin, Jenna Lee, Emma McNeill, Patricia Marrfurra McTaggart AM, Gail Neuss, Puuni Nungarrayi, Jenn Rowe, Marita Sambono, Damien Shen, Anthony Walker.

Youth finalists: Ezra Baker, Tykiah Brown, Judy Ganambarr, Harley Green, Aria Kitchener, Zyon Nona, Chloe Rhodes.

On Saturday, 30 November, at the opening celebration, guest judge Rebecca Ray, Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, announced the winners of the award categories. 

Rebecca Ray said it has been a pleasure to be the guest judge for the 2024 Koori Mail Indigenous Art Award, "With some 80 entries, it has been a difficult task to shortlist finalists due to the remarkable calibre and strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual languages and culture within contemporary art. Featuring works from artists based in remote Country to urban city mob and the Zenadth Kes, the artworks presented highlight the diversity of Indigenous cultural expression, identity, and story."

Ashleigh Ralph, Gallery Director, is proud that Lismore Regional Gallery has the support of the Koori Mail to deliver this award, "it is a testament to the incredible talent and creativity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, providing a platform to showcase a selection of powerful and diverse artistic expression."

The selection of winners and highly commended artists was a difficult task for Rebecca.

The winner of the major non-acquisitive $10,000 Koori Mail Art Award is Penny Evans for 'The Elephant' 2024. Rebecca noted that the work presents ceramics as vessels of resilience, “they are more than objects; they are acts of resistance, storytelling, and reclamation. Each piece tells a story of survival and strength… By fusing traditional practices of Gomeroi mark making with contemporary politics, such as the Referendum, this body of work is both timeless and fiercely relevant.”

Highly commended was Melissa Ladkin Balun 'Milky Way' 2023. Rebecca says, “This work speaks deeply to the interconnectedness of all things and reflects a worldview where the celestial and terrestrial are inextricably linked. Her distinctive visual language resonates with the infinite vastness of the cosmos that echoes back to the deepest depths of the oceans. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, just as many Indigenous peoples across the globe, have observed the night skies for millennia. It is where ancestral beings exist, it is a map and guide to navigation, it is seasons and cultural practice.”

The winner of the $3,000 Innovation Award is Damien Shen 'Entombed' in Joy 2024. For Rebecca, the work draws inspiration from shield making, and “reflects the strength and adaptability of Indigenous peoples while simultaneously challenging narrow, colonial views of Aboriginal identity.” She says, “Through his intricate and layered works, the artist delves into the contemporary understandings of the self, weaving together his Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna and Chinese heritage to articulate the complexity of Indigenous identities. His use of shields—objects of protection and cultural significance—become a metaphor for resistance, survival, and the layers of identity that safeguard the spirit against erasure. These shields are not just cultural artifacts; they are vessels of memory, connection, and happiness.”

The winner of the $500 Friends of the Gallery Youth Award is Aria Kitchener 'Born to Revolt' 2023. Rebecca noted that digital art has become a transformative tool for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, offering a platform to assert cultural identity, share stories and challenge colonial narratives. “The youth artwork selected, highlights not only the artistic skill and merit of the medium, but captures the emotions of our young people as well as the ongoing displays of Aboriginal activism through art. It is a powerful piece, reminding us that the Indigenous identity is inherently political and that the struggle and fight for sovereignty, recognition and survival is not over.”

Highly commended was Zyon Nona, 'The Australian Dream' 2024. “In a similar vein, I wanted to also have a highly commended Youth award, and as a form of acknowledgment of the story shared within the artwork. This is the artists first artwork created, and one that is so deeply personal, brave and important. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boys and men have faced enduring racial discrimination for centuries.”

The Koori Mail Indigenous Art Award is a biannual award hosted at Lismore Regional Gallery, proudly sponsored by The Koori Mail. The shortlisted works are on exhibition at Lismore Regional Gallery until 2 February 2025.