MARS is excited to share that Jenna Lee has been announced as the winner of the Telstra NATSIAA Work on Paper Award!
The Telstra Work on Paper Award is a $15,000 category prize that is part of the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), presented by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) in Darwin. The award honours exceptional contemporary Indigenous artworks created on paper, including photography, printmaking, and drawing.
"Receiving this award is a dream come true. The Telstra NATSIAA is, in my view, Australia's most significant art award, and to be recognised alongside my peers is truly an honour. To receive this award on Larrakia Country makes the experience even more meaningful." — Jenna Lee
Lee is currently completing her 3-month residency at the Singapore Art Museum. Lee will commence a residency at the highly prestigious Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia, USA in 2027.
"I couldn't be more thrilled to see Jenna, a young First Nations woman, take home the prestigious Telstra NATSIAA Work on Paper Award. Jenna is an exceptionally dedicated artist, and I am proud to be working alongside her since she joined MARS Gallery in 2020.
Jenna's practice has earned recognition across Australia and internationally through major institutional exhibitions, prestigious residencies and significant awards. Her research-driven approach speaks across cultures and mediums, with a conceptual rigour that is both deeply personal and universally resonant. Jenna continues to shine as one of the leading First Nations voices in contemporary Australian art." — MARS Director Andy Dinan
Lee's works are currently showing at the Art Gallery of New South Wales for And I Still Rise, the Dax Centre's Recovering Art and La Trobe University in My Blood Sings Old Songs. She is a finalist in the National Works on Paper 2026 held by Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery. Lee will be exhibiting in the Melbourne Sculpture Biennale 2026: Soft Systems from 8–25 October.
