Across deserts, rainforests, river systems and urban studios, the 2026 National Indigenous Fashion Awards Textile Design Award shortlist reveals the extraordinary breadth of First Nations textile practice unfolding across the continent.

Supported by RMIT, the Textile Design Award celebrates innovation, craftsmanship, storytelling and cultural expression across woven, dyed, printed and surface-ornamented textiles. This year’s shortlisted artists move fluidly between ancestral knowledge and contemporary experimentation, carrying story through fibre, print, colour and cloth.

From painstaking handwoven constructions to richly layered bush-dyed textiles and bold translations of painting into fabric, the shortlist reflects the strength, diversity and future of First Nations textile design in Australia.

Working from Naarm, Weilwan artist and designer Corin Corcoran brings an intensely tactile and deeply considered approach to textile practice.

In nomination materials, Corcoran’s work was described as “pieced, hand-woven, and dyed,” with an “incredibly intricate and beautiful” artisanal quality.

At the centre of Corcoran’s nominated work is a story of interdependence and coexistence.

“The design is one of a story of the symbiotic relationship between two opposing beings needing each other’s existence to continue and to grow,” Corcoran shared in the nomination. “The work is represented by a bird and a land mammal, sharing the story of how they have come to exist together.”

Blurring the boundaries between wearable art, sculpture and performance, the work has also been envisioned as a collaborative piece to evolve alongside dancers and choreographers, allowing movement to further embody the narrative.

Corcoran’s material approach is equally innovative, incorporating ethically sourced and found materials including fur, leather, feathers, paper mâché, tulle, wire coat hangers and reclaimed objects. Through this process, discarded and organic materials are transformed into layered textile forms carrying both tension and beauty.

Grounded in hand-crafted processes and shaped through a contemporary lens, Corcoran’s practice reflects a growing movement of First Nations artists reclaiming slow-making traditions while pushing textile design into bold new territory.

Drawing inspiration from the red river gums lining the Marrambidya on Wiradjuri Country, Lillardia Briggs-Houston’s textile practice reflects strong connections to Country, ecological knowledge and intergenerational storytelling.

Working with hand-dyed silk, surface embellishment and sculptural textile techniques, Briggs-Houston creates richly layered works that echo the textures, markings and rhythms found within river landscapes. Her practice combines contemporary textile experimentation with careful hand-crafted processes, resulting in works that feel both delicate and deeply grounded in place.

Natural dyeing, intricate surface treatments and material manipulation form an important part of her creative practice, reflecting a strong relationship between textile design and environmental knowledge.

As part of this year’s shortlist, Briggs-Houston’s work highlights the growing strength of First Nations textile practitioners who are expanding contemporary Australian design through culturally connected and materially innovative practices.

From Mossman Gorge in Far North Queensland, Kuku Yalanji artist Lorna Shuan’s textile practice carries cultural knowledge, ancestral memory and spiritual connection to Country.

Her nominated work centres around the carpet snake, an animal of both practical and spiritual significance within her cultural inheritance.

“The carpet snake used to be an important food animal for our ancestors,” Shuan shared in her nomination. “They wrapped the meat in native ginger leaves and cooked it on the hot coals of the ground oven. They also used the skin to make headbands or skillfully sewed blankets to keep the families warm and dry at night.”

Beyond its practical use, the carpet snake also carries deep spiritual meaning.

“I inherited the carpet snake Totem and related cultural knowledge from my father’s side,” she explained. “According to our Kuku Yalanji creation stories, the carpet snake was an Ancestral Being that travelled in its human form across the country creating waterways wherever it went, including on my father’s clan lands.”

Embedded within Shuan’s practice is the responsibility of cultural continuation. Raised with strong teachings around respect for Elders, caring for Country, and carrying knowledge forward for future generations, she makes her textile work an extension of these responsibilities.

“Art is my way of keeping the cultural knowledge of my ancestors alive and passing it down to my children and grandchildren,” she shared. “Sharing this body of knowledge creates strong family ties and gives me my strength.”

Through textile design, Shuan transforms cultural knowledge into contemporary expression, creating work that is at once deeply personal, intergenerational and grounded in Country.

Emerging from the vast landscapes of the Western Desert, the Artists of Tjarlirli & Kaltukatjara Art bring a powerful collective approach to textile design practice.

Known for translating bold painting traditions into textile form, the collective’s works carry the visual language of Country across fabric through dynamic colour, repeated mark-making and movement.

For Textile Facilitator and nominator Celia Cox, the significance of the collective’s textile practice extends far beyond the artworks themselves.

“Within the remote Art Centre context, experience and exposure for one artist ripples throughout the whole collective and community,” Cox shared in the nomination.

She described textile diversification as creating “new skills and opportunities to access alternate revenue streams and economic empowerment,” particularly within an intergenerational collective made up of senior cultural leaders, mothers, grandmothers and emerging artists.

“The nominated collective are an intergenerational group; many are matriarchal leaders, supporting many generations of family as well as being leaders within the Art Centre and wider community,” she explained.

For the artists involved, exploring textile practice opens pathways into new creative and economic futures while strengthening community knowledge sharing and cultural continuity.

“It not only enriches their own artistic journeys but also opens doors for new opportunities and economic empowerment within the community,” Cox said.

Their inclusion in this year’s shortlist reflects the ongoing evolution of remote community art centres as globally recognised spaces of artistic innovation, cultural maintenance and contemporary textile design.

The 2026 Textile Design Award shortlist reminds audiences that First Nations textile practice cannot be confined to a single medium, aesthetic or geography.

Some artists work with loom and fibre. Others with print, natural dyeing, sculpture or digital experimentation. Some practices emerge from remote art centres, while others are shaped within urban studios. Yet across every shortlisted practice is a shared commitment to cultural continuity, innovation and storytelling.

These artists are not simply creating textiles. They are carrying ecological knowledge, mapping memory, honouring ancestral teachings and shaping the future of contemporary First Nations design.