Taree resident Andrew Snelgar has been selected as one of 75 finalists in Australia’s most prestigious indigenous art award.
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Each year, the 2016 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) celebrates exceptionally talented indigenous artists, whose artworks portray a strong sense of country, culture and identity.
Andrew was born in Canberra into the Gurru-Gillu clan, where his uncle, Paul Gordon, was a very well respected elder.
He is a Ngemba carver and started carving more than 25 years ago.
His work includes both hard and soft wood carvings into shields, boomerangs and clubs to name a few and he is also a dancer and key performer in the Gunni Thakun Cultural Group of NSW.
He has exhibited widely across the Central Coast, Port Macquarie and Newcastle region and currently teaches in schools and for community workshops.
Andrew is a finalist for this year’s Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award, worth $5000.
His work, and that of other finalists, will be exhibited at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) from Friday August 5, where six winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony in the evening.
The judging panel, which includes respected contemporary artist Vernon Ah Kee, senior curator at South Eastern Australia Aboriginal Collections, Museum Victoria Kimberley Moulton and Don Whyte from Don Whyte Framing, was impressed with the quality and diversity of this year’s entries.
“We were provided with the breadth of what’s happening across Australia and the representation of country, culture, identity and politics is strong,” Ms Moulton said.