First Nations art collective calls for industry inquiry to protect artists

Topic:Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art The collective has art centres throughout regional South Australia and a studio gallery in Adelaide. (ABC News: Ashlin Blieschke) A First Nations art collective is calling for a federal inquiry into the Indigenous art sector to address claims of unethical conduct in the industry. The collective, which was at the centre of the 'white hands on black art' scandal in 2023, has questioned the effectiveness of a voluntary code of conduct in protecting First Nations artists. The Indigenous Art Code was reviewed last year and the findings are being considered by the federal government. Link copiedShareShare articleLeaders of a First Nations art collective from remote Australia are calling for the federal government to hold another inquiry into the Indigenous art sector to examine the conduct of private art dealers. Members of the APY Art Centre Collective said they are concerned a body tasked with setting the standards for ethical trade of First Nations art is not equipped to deal with the issues facing the industry. The collective, with art centres in Far North South Australia, was at the centre of "white hands on black art" allegations published in broadsheet The Australian in 2023. The Australian shared a video appearing to show a non-Indigenous woman painting on an Aboriginal artist's canvas at Tjala Art Centre. (ABC News) The collective was later dumped from the Indigenous Art Code, a voluntary code of conduct promoting ethical conduct in the industry. The allegations prompted several investigations into the art collective, including by a state government-appointed panel, which referred its evidence on to other regulatory bodies. The Australian consumer watchdog said the collective had not violated consumer law, and the Indigenous corporation registrar concluded its probe with no further action taken. The Indigenous Art Code (IAC) was established in 2009 on the recommendation of a federal inquiry into the First Nations art sector in Australia. The IAC sets out guidelines for ethical and transparent conduct that businesses commit to following either as a signatory or member, but is not enforced by law. Being a signatory of the IAC is also a criterion for some federal funding grant streams. APY Art Centre Collective (APY ACC) chair and Yankunytjatjara artist Sandra Pumani said the collective was taken by surprise by its removal from the Indigenous Art Code in 2023, and it hasn't been reinstated in the three years since. "We was expecting them to support us, but we were on our own," Ms Pumani said. APY ACC board chair and artist Sandra Pumani said an industry code of conduct isn't protecting Indigenous artists. (ABC News: Ashlin Blieschke) The collective's CEO Skye O'Meara said she now has concerns about "governance in the IAC", questioning whether private art dealers should be on the board. "I think that the IAC board has always struggled to manage conflicts of interest," Ms O'Meara said. "It's a very small industry ... it's enormously competitive, and the board members have always been a group of competing dealers — Indigenous and non-Indigenous." Skye O'Meara has spoken out against "bad actors and dodgy players" in the Indigenous art industry. (ABC News: Ashlin Blieschke) The Indigenous Art Code has been contacted for comment. Concerns regarding 'carpet baggers', a term used to describe "unscrupulous" dealers who deceive Aboriginal artists into dodgy or exploitative commercial arrangements, have been raised in central Australia over the past few decades — including during the 2007 federal inquiry and a 2018 inquiry into inauthentic Indigenous art. Adelaide-based Arrernte artist and APY ACC member Alfred Lowe said having a voluntary code of conduct wasn't doing enough to stop exploitation of First Nations artists. "This board [the IAC] was set up out of a senate inquiry that looked into things like carpet bagging and, essentially, indentured servitude that happens in central Australia and across the country. "And the board, the organisation has really done nothing to stop that. I don't see any tangible effects from the code to stop that. "The only serious action they've taken in the last three years was removing us," he said. Now, the collective's artists and Ms O'Meara want to see the federal government conduct an inquiry into the industry. "There's always been this part of the industry under the private dealers' model that doesn't work with any accountability or transparencies in a similar way to the Indigenous-owned art centres. "You can get on the ORIC website and look at the annual audit of Aboriginal-owned art centres on their website at any time you wish. APY Art Centre Collective chair Sandra Pumani has been painting since the 1990s in Mimili. (ABC News: Ashlin Blieschke) "But these sheds in Alice Springs, and they're popping up in Adelaide as well, they operate in the shadows. "There is no transparency about how much the a

First Nations art collective calls for industry inquiry to protect artists

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