Africa: What Do These Zillionaires Do With All That Money?

Aboriginal Art Directory | 02.08.07

Author: Charles Onyango-Obbo
News source: The Nation
Publication date: 0000-00-00 00:00:00

An article in the Nation from Kenya about wealth in the 21st century.

Quoted from the article:

Back to Earth, in recent years Aboriginal art has become highly covetable. The Independent, however, reports that commercial success has come with controversy.

Two-thirds of Aboriginal art is produced in impoverished desert communities in the Central and Western Deserts of Australia, then sent to dealers in Sydney and Melbourne, and overseas where they sell for as high as $2m (Sh134m) a piece.

The artists, many of whom have no idea of the monetary value of their work, generally live in shacks and work in shockingly poor conditions. A recent inquiry found that many artists exchange their precious paintings for wine, old cars, and the anti-impotence drug, Viagra.

URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/200708010981.html

Share this: » del.icio.us » Digg it » reddit » Google » StumbleUpon » Technorati » Facebook