2017 National Naidoc Poster Competition

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists are invited to submit artworks for the 2017 National NAIDOC Poster Competition. The competition is open for talented artists aged 13 years and older. The winning artwork will be used to create the 2017 National NAIDOC Poster to promote NAIDOC Week and will collect a $5,000 cash prize.

HISTORY

The first NAIDOC poster was created in 1972 to promote ‘Aborigines Day’ which had become widely accepted as a day for Australians to come together in support of better rights for Indigenous people.  In 1978 the recently established National NAIDOC Committee made the decision to move from a day of demonstration to a week long celebration in July. And NAIDOC week was born.

The first official NAIDOC poster competition was launched in the mid 1990′s inviting entries from around the country and offering prize money as well as the opportunity for newly emerging artists to display their work nationally. Entrants were required to develop an artwork based around set themes such as ‘Respect’ and ‘Families are the basis of our existence’. 

Today, 100,000 posters are distributed nationally. The poster is a creative opportunity for artists to convey messages depicting the cultural and political history of Australia’s Indigenous people and is the primary tool for promoting NAIDOC Week activities.

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life.

2017 National NAIDOC Theme - Our Languages Matter

The importance, resilience and richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages will be the focus of national celebrations marking NAIDOC Week 2017.

The 2017 theme - Our Languages Matter - aims to emphasise and celebrate the unique and essential role that Indigenous languages play in cultural identity, linking people to their land and water and in the transmission of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, spirituality and rites, through story and song.

ENTRY

• Your artwork must reflect the 2017 National NAIDOC theme: Our Languages Matter
• To enter complete the online entry form HERE or download the entry form and submit your completed form to the National NAIDOC committee by email or post to:

National NAIDOC Poster Competition
Culture Branch
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
PO BOX 6500 Canberra ACT 2600

Entries close 5:00PM AEST Monday 06 March 2017