Some highs for Aboriginal art in economic downturn

He says it's already leading communities to focus on the quality of the art and change the way they paint.

"We will spend our times on underpinning the cultural value of artworks by going out bush, doing collaborative paintings, going back to the cultural roots of this industry and really underpinning and underscoring the value of artworks."

Desart says while there are positives, Central Australian Aboriginal art centres are being hit by the global financial crisis.

The organisation says many medium-size community art centres have already seen a fall in sales.

Mr Oster says a small number of centres have had falls of up to 50 per cent in turnover.