Kuya James and Tara Murphy triumph at 2023 NT Performing Arts Awards
A music producer, violinist, dancer and circus artist are among the winners of the 2023 Northern Territory Performing Arts Awards. See all the pictures.
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Kuya James, aka James Mangohig, took home the Outstanding Creative Award and Best Performance Award at the 2023 Northern Territory Performing Arts Awards on Monday night.
The awards recognised his two-decade long contribution to the arts as musician, music producer, and most recently as a producer and artist of the theatre dance performance, Hymns for the Witching Hour.
Violinist Tara Murphy followed suit, bringing home both the Outstanding Performer Award and People’s Choice Award.
Artistic Director of Darwin Festival and NTPAA judge Kate Fell was delighted with the quality of nominations across this year’s nine categories.
“We were really thrilled with the quality of the nominations for the Northern Territory Performing Arts Awards and each award was fiercely contested,” she said.
“These awards are a fantastic way to shine a light on the incredible talent and impact of artists and arts workers in the Northern Territory.
“It is a great recognition of not only who you see on stage but also the people behind the scenes who make so much happen.”
Singer and songwriter Dr Shellie Morris AO and artistic director Sean Pardy both received the Legend Award for their dedication to elevating the Northern Territory’s arts scene throughout their respective careers.
Emerging artists Spillett and Tomm Lydiard won the Young Achiever and Behind the Scenes awards respectively.
Spillett was nominated for their “charismatic and hypnotic performances” as a dancer while Lydiard was praised for shining a light on local Darwin talent and household names including Guy Sebastian and Jessica Mauboy.
Nikki Jeffries was awarded the Inspiration Award for her work as a circus and performing arts educator with Zoe Scrogings taking out the Impact Award for elevating the Corrugated Iron Youth Arts team’s profile to national recognition.
In its fourth year, the NTPAA are peer judged awards recognising the outstanding achievements of Territory storytellers and creatives in classrooms, backstage and on stage.
Over 70 nominations were received this year with 25 shortlisted as finalists.
Scroll down to see pictures of all the action.
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