2013
January, 2013
A French Finale to 2012 Aboriginal Art Auctions
Posted by Nicholas Forrest | 02.01.13
The last month of 2012 was relatively a relatively quiet period for the sale of Aboriginal art. There were, however, some sales worth mentioning, including Emily Kngwarreye’s My Mothers Country during the Summer Art Auction by Western Australia’s GFL Fine...» Read More
The Soul of Emily Kngwarreye
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 04.01.13
It often seems to be the case that great Australian achievements need the validation of overseas approval. But the fact that 'Utopia : The Genius of Emily Kame Kngwarreye' was a vast tribute in 2008 to the Aboriginal artist conceived...» Read More
thinking making
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 09.01.13
What is Art (with a capital ‘A’) all about when you’re under 10 years old? Find out at the Gympie Regional Gallery with a fun and stimulating exhibition titled thinking making which is now on show. Explore a variety of...» Read More
Maningrida Executives Sacked, Artists Not Paid
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 12.01.13
Administrators of the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation, put into special administration in October last year, have sacked two executives from the Maningrida Arts & Culture (part of the Bawinanga group) and have appointed an art dealer, Karen Brown as their art...» Read More
CONFINED 5
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 14.01.13
The annual CONFINED exhibition opened to the public on Thursday 10th January at the St Kilda Town Hall gallery, with a celebratory launch scheduled to take place on Wednesday January 30th from 6pm – 8pm. Now in its fifth year...» Read More
First Aboriginal and TSI Playwriting Festival in Sydney for 20 Years
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 18.01.13
The first Aboriginal playwriting festival in Sydney for over two decades. Yellamundie: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Playwriting Festival is a landmark writing event which will take place over two weeks from 27 January 2013. The Festival brings together...» Read More
Parisians flock to new exhibit of Australian Aboriginal art
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 22.01.13
An exhibition of the largest collection of modern Aboriginal paintings to have gone on display outside of Australia has been a major hit with art lovers in Paris. The exhibition, “The Sources of Aborigine Painting”, drew 133,716 visitors to the...» Read More
Grafton Regional Gallery Artist in Residence Program
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 24.01.13
Pursue your creative practice in the Clarence Valley and be paid to do it by applying for an Artist in Residence program at the Grafton Regional Gallery. Artists and curators from all disciplines are invited to apply for the 2013...» Read More
PAT CORRIGAN, COLLECTOR
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 30.01.13
In the torrent of art books with an Indigenous flavour that were published last year, one stands out for the sheer exuberance of its art – and the quality of its reproduction : Power + Colour/New Painting from the Corrigan...» Read More
Obituary: Farewell to Nyurapayia Nampitjinpa (Mrs Bennett)
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 30.01.13
One of the great characters of the Kintore region, Nyurapayia Nampitjinpa's (aka Mrs Bennett) paintings were executed with the same energy, cheer and enthusiasm that she exhibited in life. Painting and exhibiting since the mid-1990's, Mrs Bennett was instrumental in...» Read More
February, 2013
The Late Mrs Bennett
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 06.02.13
We reported that Mrs Bennett had passed away in January 2013 - near her ancestral rockhole at Punkilpirri, WA. That notice sparked great interest about her life and so we are delighted to bring you more on this National Treasure....» Read More
Hermannsburg watercolourist, Mervyn Rubuntja's Open Studio
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 06.02.13
Watercolour landscape artist Mervyn Rubuntja will be travelling to Sydney from Alice Springs for a weekend of events in Sydney in February, which include a painting session at a local gallery and a panel discussion at the State Library of...» Read More
COL LAVERTY 26/5/37 to 09/02/13
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 13.02.13
A huge hole has opened up in the Indigenous art collecting world with the death of Dr Colin Laverty OAM at the age of 75. The gentle giant who, in 1978, was the first in the world to publish his...» Read More
WA Announces Art Award Finalists
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 14.02.13
The Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards, the richest Indigenous arts prize in the country since they began in 2008, today announced the 16 artists who'll fight it out for a share in $65,000 worth of prizes. They include such leaders...» Read More
JEAN-BAPTISTE APUATIMI
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 20.02.13
The deaths go on! Yet another senior artist has been taken from us with the announcement today that Jean Baptiste Apuatimi has died on Bathurst Island at the age of 72. Only last week, the death was reported of Jack...» Read More
Vale - Kunmanara Tjilpi Kankapankatja
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 22.02.13
One of the APY Lands most respected cultural leaders, ethno-botanists and senior artist of Kaltjiti Arts has died, aged in his mid 80s. Kaltjiti Arts notice of his passing states that Kunmanara Tjilpi Kankapankatja was born at Walalkara, c 1930...» Read More
March, 2013
LANCE BENNETT 1938-2013
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 06.03.13
Lance Bennett was one of the more enigmatic figures in the very conflicted world of interlocutors betweens Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultures....neither an anthropologist nor a dealer, but a heroic warrior for tribal people against insensitivity and lack of understanding in...» Read More
“Founding Documents of Aboriginal Art” Go On Show
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 08.03.13
“I hate to hide things away. Western thinking is that a museum collection is for the public benefit, and it's anathema to deny them access. But there are different rules up here”. Pierre Arpin, a French Canadian by birth, is...» Read More
CREATIVE AUSTRALIA?
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 13.03.13
With wonderful synchronicity, just as I'd been writing about the damaging effects of the last cultural policy – Creative Nation - introduced by the Keating Government in October 1994, a new national cultural policy has belatedly emerged from the current...» Read More
New investment in Australian creativity
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 13.03.13
The Australia Council for the Arts has today welcomed the launch of the National Cultural Policy and response to the recommendations of the Australia Council review. The arts sector is, "growing almost double the rate of other sectors in the...» Read More
EMILY ON SALE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 18.03.13
It's a fascinating time for the reputation of the great Emily Kngwarreye. Some time in May a whole museum is opening in Melbourne dedicated to her works from the collection of Hank Ebes, a major dealer during the later years...» Read More
ABORIGINAL ART ON STAGE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 20.03.13
It's one hundred years since Stravinsky's Rite of Spring was first heard on May 29, 1913, at Théatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. Hailed by the Oxford Dictionary of Dance as “a seminal moment in Modernism,” the premiere shocked its audience,...» Read More
CHRISTIAN DISPLACES THE CARDINAL
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 22.03.13
A portrait of one of England’s most important religious figures - Cardinal Henry Newman, beatified by Pope Benedict in 2010 - has been placed in storage to make way for an Aboriginal artist's self-portraits. It's all happening in the 400...» Read More
Good Results for Laverty Collection
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 25.03.13
Some highlights from Bonhams Laverty Collection auction yesterday include 3 Emily Kngwarreye's, one which fetched $244,000 (all prices include premium): Untitled (Alagura/Alhalkere), 1989 inscribed 'Emily' and bears catalogue number B154 on the reverse, synthetic polymer paint on canvas 150 x...» Read More
CHANGE & CONTINUITY IN THE KIMBERLEY
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 27.03.13
In a marvellous piece of irony, the Kimberley Foundation, which was established by the likes of Elisabeth Murdoch and Allen and Maria Myers to assist the late Grahame Walsh continue his assiduous survey of Aboriginal rock art in The Kimberley,...» Read More
April, 2013
EUBENA 1921 to 2013
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 11.04.13
Eubena Nampitjin, the doyenne of Aboriginal artists at Balgo Hills (Wirrimanu), the former mission established by the Palatines to cut off Desert peoples heading north into the pastoral lands of The Kimberley, has died at the age of about 91....» Read More
DEBIL DEBIL CORROBOREE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 19.04.13
We live in exclusive times! Or should that be exclusionary? Two major Indigenous events announced in Sydney this week turn out to be less than they appear in that they offer, respectively, “indigenous history, feeling and disturbing visions that reach...» Read More
Emerging Aboriginal & TSI Artists Sought
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 19.04.13
Early career Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists are being encouraged to enter the John Fries Memorial Prize which carries prize money of $10,000. Entries for the prize close on 6 May, 2013 and 18 finalists will be selected for...» Read More
DESERT RIVER SEA : KIMBERLEY ART THEN & NOW
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 24.04.13
After two years of consultation, the Art Gallery of Western Australia with support from the Rio Tinto Community Investment Fund have announced the launch of a six year, $1.8million art initiative, Desert River Sea:Kimberley Art Then & Now. Desert River...» Read More
Entries flood in to 30th NATSIAA
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 25.04.13
The 30th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award is in full swing with over 240 entries received from almost every state and territory in the country, all vying for the $40,000 main prize, and a chance for...» Read More
SELL OUT SHOW IN SHANGHAI
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 30.04.13
Waringarri artists from Kununurra returned triumphant from a recent visit to Shanghai after two successful exhibitions, including the sale of all 41 artworks taken to China, and ten days of sightseeing, museum visits and shopping. The popular M50 Shanghai Arts...» Read More
May, 2013
SHAKE-UP IN THE DESERT
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 03.05.13
An important article appeared in The Australian a week or so ago. Almost inevitably, it was penned by Nicolas Rothwell, the paper's Darwin-based master of prose and Indigenous insight. Somehow, he'd got wind of a closed meeting of Desart, the...» Read More
THE EMILY MUSEUM
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 07.05.13
An event of national significance occurs on Monday (May 6th) with the opening of The Emily Museum in the inauspicious setting of a converted factory in a back street in Cheltenham, the Melbourne suburb. It's not the right place –...» Read More
SALLY GOES SOLO
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 09.05.13
“Danda ngijinda dulk, danda ngijinda malaa, danda ngad - This is my Land, this is my Sea, this is who I am”. That pretty much sums up the extraordinary mind behind the brilliant canvases that have flowed from brushes in...» Read More
Almost $100,000 Awarded Through Territory Screen Grants
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 17.05.13
Filmmakers from across the Territory are set to share more than $80,000 through the latest round of Screen Territory grants to help get their projects onto the small screen. Screen Territory director Penelope McDonald said the latest round of grants...» Read More
Artwork Auction to raise funds for Emily Museum
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 23.05.13
Hundreds of art lovers attended the official opening of the Emily Museum by the Hon Richard Alston on 6th May, each celebrating the genius of Emily Kame Kngwarreye. The Emily Museum will exhibit ever-changing displays from its collection of more...» Read More
Ganagan (Deep Water) on Display
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 23.05.13
Being Launched on 6 June by the Hon Heidi Victoria MP (Minister for the Arts, Women's Affairs and Consumer Affairs) is an exhibition called Ganagan, a Taungurung word meaning 'deep water', being organised by the Koorie Heritage Trust. On show...» Read More
The 6th Annual National Indigenous Arts Awards
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 27.05.13
The multi-talented David Gulpilil OAM has won this year's Red Ochre Award, the highest peer-assessed award for an Indigenous artist with a prize money of $50,000, presented today at the Sydney Opera House as part of the National Indigenous Arts...» Read More
Results for Sotheby's Early Papunya Art Auction
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 29.05.13
Who logged on to Sotheby's last night to watch or bid in the live auction of Anthony & Beverly Knight's collection of early Papunya art? Predictably there were a lot of great pieces. Items selling well over the estimate include...» Read More
June, 2013
Dorothy Napangardi Dead at 55
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 03.06.13
Dorothy Napangardi, who achieved a record price for the resale of her art during the resale royalty debate, died in a car accident on the weekend. She and others had been hunting for honey ants after the rains. Tragically one...» Read More
Australia Council Bill approved by the Senate
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 26.06.13
The Australia Council Bill 2013 – the new governing legislation for the Australia Council - was today approved by the Senate after passing through the House of Representatives last month. Once proclaimed, the new Act will replace the Australia Council...» Read More
Finalists announced for the $25,000 Kate Challis RAKA Award 2013
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 27.06.13
Nine artists have been selected as finalists for the prestigious Kate Challis RAKA Award, to be exhibited at the Ian Potter Museum of Art, from August 10 until November 3, 2013. The shortlisted artists are Teresa Baker (WA), Daniel Boyd...» Read More
Dr Yunupingu Dies
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 28.06.13
Aboriginal Art News wishes to pay tribute to the late Mandawuy Yunupingu, who died in Yirrkala, NE Arnhemland on June 2nd aged 56. He had been fighting end-stage renal disease and had undergone dialysis for several years. This is his...» Read More
New application process for indigenous arts funding
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 28.06.13
The Australia Council for the Arts today announced a new application model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts funding after extensive consultation with stakeholders in the sector. Australia Council Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board Chair Lee-Ann Buckskin...» Read More
July, 2013
WINDMILL BOY
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 04.07.13
This film is a delightful fable shot in some magical East Kimberley scenery by the masterly Geoff Simpson. And even though the film's conclusion has similarities to the glorious, gritty Samson & Delilah, this is a gentle film in which...» Read More
Resale Royalty Scheme Review – Only One Week to Go!
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 05.07.13
The Australian Government is conducting a review of the resale royalty scheme for visual artists. The review will look at: whether the scheme has achieved its objectives of providing artists with recognition of their on-going rights in their art and...» Read More
50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BARK PETITION
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 09.07.13
“It was a big rock that set off so many ripples,” was how Leila Gurruwiwi from Yirrkala in NE Arnhemland put it on Radio National this morning. She was talking about the great Bark Petition to the Australian Parliament in...» Read More
Vincent Serico
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 11.07.13
The current QAGoMA exhibition, 'My Country : I Still Call Australia Home' has alerted me to the work of the late Vincent Serico, whose painting, Carnarvon Collision (2006) reflects a naïve artist's take on ghastly events in the history of...» Read More
I STILL CALL AUSTRALIA HOME!
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 11.07.13
No – not a spangly sing-along with Peter Allen, or an ad for Dubai-bound Qantas. But part of the provocative title - My Country : I Still Call Australia Home - of the largest ever show of contemporary Indigenous art...» Read More
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNIE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 13.07.13
The power of TV to educate and change minds is nowhere more apparent than in the new 4-part ABC TV series beginning on Sunday night. 'First Footsteps' will, hopefully achieve what the balefully accusatory 'First Australians' series failed to do...» Read More
HEARTLAND IN SA
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 17.07.13
As South Australia lead the cultural way in the 70s when Don Dunstan emerged as the first Aussie politician to recognise the value of the arts to the soul and economy of his people, so the Art Gallery of SA...» Read More
For the Sake of a Song
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 19.07.13
As part of this book review we have been given permission to include a couple of the recordings from the accompanying CDs. We think you will really love them. var YWPParams = {playlink:true, autoplay:false, autoadvance:true, volume:0.5, isplaystate:1 }; WANGGA...» Read More
PIONEERING YUENDUMU
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 25.07.13
The foundation myth is simple: Aboriginal art as we know it today – acrylic painting on canvas - emerged from Papunya in 1971/2. But now the question is being asked - was the less well-known Yuendumu community actually the progenitor...» Read More
THE ABORIGINAL JOURNEY CONTINUES
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 26.07.13
After the marvels of the first two episodes, the ABC's 'First Footprints' makes slightly less impact in bringing Australia up to date through the last 6/7000 years. There are simply fewer firsts than there have already been noted: the First...» Read More
August, 2013
THE SONG PEOPLE OF ARNHEMLAND
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 01.08.13
Great things happen when people discard their egos and return to their roots. A mob called Barkly Regional Arts based in Tennant Creek has now completed two projects taking well-known Aboriginal pop musicians - familar through the cities via the...» Read More
THAT TIME OF THE YEAR
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 05.08.13
It's that time of the year! Just as the footy tends to deliver adrenaline-sodden drama throughout September, Indigenous art has somehow chosen August as the month when an inherently uncompetitive, culturally sensitive activity turns polemic. Darwin, Perth, Melbourne and Cairns...» Read More
NATSIAAS REFRESHED
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 09.08.13
The leaders of both of the main groupings of remote Aboriginal art centres have spoken out recently about the gulf between Indigenous and urban Australia. Philip Watkins, CEO of Desart, representing 45 Central Australian centres, rationalised that “High end galleries...» Read More
Winner announced for the $25,000 Kate Challis RAKA Award 2013
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 15.08.13
One of Australia’s most cherished Indigenous artists, Mabel Juli, has won the $25,000 Kate Challis RAKA Award 2013 for her refined, minimal painting Garnkeny Ngarranggarni (Moon Dreaming). A respected Gija elder, 80-year-old Mabel travelled from her home at Warmun in...» Read More
AND NOW FOR THE RAKAS
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 19.08.13
Sometimes the right result emerges from the strangest circumstances. Melbourne's Kate Challis RAKA Awards at the Ian Potter Museum of Melbourne University were the creation of the art historian Bernard Smith, whose career until he died in 2011 failed, as...» Read More
WA AWARDS SPRING A SURPRISE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 23.08.13
Oh Boy, they must be crowing in Queensland! In Perth, a Queenslander took out the Big One – actually, the country's biggest Indigenous art award of $50,000; and behind him were 2 fellow Sunshine Staters. In Darwin two weeks ago,...» Read More
THE COLOURS OF BENETTON GO ABORIGINAL
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 27.08.13
The Venice Biennale may have passed from the headlines, but it's still running. And, just as the Film Festival is poised to pack Venice out once again, Luciano Benetton, the billionaire clothing making, is adding more than a thousand works...» Read More
September, 2013
Gulpilil takes out the $50,000 Red Ochre Award
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 04.09.13
Presented since 1993, the Red Ochre Award acknowledges the outstanding contribution of an artist to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander world at national and international levels. It was presented as part of the 6th National Indigenous Arts Awards, held...» Read More
THE GANTNER COLLECTION
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 09.09.13
Carrillo and Ziyin Gantner are fortunate people in having a) taste and great enthusiasm to collect Indigenous art and b) enough money to do things like flying around remote Aboriginal communities in a private plane in order to see and...» Read More
35 ARTISTS VYING FOR AUSTRALIA’S RICHEST ABORIGINAL ART PRIZE
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 12.09.13
Digital photographs, handmade paper, embossed prints, wooden sculptures and illustrated animal skins are among some of the unique works to be chosen as finalists in this year’s Parliament of NSW Aboriginal Art Prize – the richest art incentive on offer...» Read More
Telstra acknowledges Land Rights across Australia
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 17.09.13
In recognition of its commitment to reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Telstra has rolled out a commissioned Indigenous artwork across its 365 national retail stores and 88 business centres. The Telstra Reconciliation Action artwork by Indigenous artist,...» Read More
WARMUN ALL OVER
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 18.09.13
Suddenly the artists of Warmun in the East Kimberley are all over the place. With wins for Mabel Juli at the RAKAs in Melbourne and Churchill Cann at the WA Indigenous Art Awards, Lena Nyadbi starring on the roof of...» Read More
Indigenous Leaders appointed to Indigenous Art Code Board
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 26.09.13
The Indigenous Art Code (IartC), the industry code set up to promote integrity, transparency and accountability in dealing with Indigenous art, has announced the appointment of several arts leaders from the Indigenous community to its Board following its annual general...» Read More
INDIGENOUS FESTIVALS GALORE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 27.09.13
For a while, it seemed that Rhoda Roberts' pioneering efforts to establish the validity of the Indigenous arts via her wonderful Dreaming Festival in 1997 in the lead up to the Olympics had fallen on closed minds. It should have...» Read More
October, 2013
CRAP CRITICISM IN LONDON
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 01.10.13
The wilful ignorance of some London critics in slaughtering the Royal Academy's 'Australia' show of more than 200 artworks linked to our landscape is a deep embarrassment for the Mother Country. I've been a professional critic for many years, working...» Read More
MYSTERY ROAD
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 05.10.13
Has the brilliant Ivan Sen watched 'No Country for Old Men' just one too many times? For this ultimate omnimath, the Indigenous writer/ director / cinematographer/ editor/ composer who totally captured the anomie of life on the endless plains west...» Read More
Transformations: early bark paintings from Arnhem Land
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 09.10.13
Early works that embody a significant transition in Indigenous art practice will be on display in Transformations: early bark paintings from Arnhem Land, at the Ian Potter Museum of Art. The paintings, many of which have never been previously exhibited,...» Read More
SMELLIN’ IT LIKE IT IS
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 10.10.13
This article was written by Adam Hill. Driving has become as consistent to me as brushing the teeth. In the past three years, touring much of the southern half of the continent performing for school students aplenty, I’ve notched up...» Read More
STRING THEORY STRUNG
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 11.10.13
It sounds as though we're off into the rarified atmospherics of quantum physics here with an exhibition called String Theory. But Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA for short) curator Glenn Barkley is just toying with his audience in a...» Read More
INDIGENOUS WIN IN THE BLAKE PRIZE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 17.10.13
The Blake Prize is a funny one. Unpredictable, you might say. Over 62 editions, it's mutated from very straight religious imagery to works that are deliberately irreligious or critical of religious authority. I'm not at all sure how the work...» Read More
KARLA DICKENS WINS 2013 NSW PARLIAMENT ABORIGINAL ART PRIZE
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 17.10.13
A tattered Australian flag, salvaged from the tip, has been named the winner of the 2013 Parliament of New South Wales Aboriginal Art Prize, taking out the coveted $40,000 prize ahead of 32 other works exhibited in this year's finalist...» Read More
Our Mob 2013: a celebration of SA Indigenous art
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 17.10.13
Our Mob 2013 is a statewide celebration of South Australian Indigenous art and artists. This annual event is now in its eighth year and offers a superb exhibition and program of events that offer engaging experiences for people of all...» Read More
Trouble afoot for Mwerre Anthurre Alice Springs Arts Centre Studio?
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 18.10.13
According to a recent post on Facebook (in full under), Mwerre Anthurre, the arts centre arm of Bindi Inc. home of award winning and well known artists Kukula McDonald, Jane Mervin, Conroy Ginger, Lance James, Billy Kenda and long time...» Read More
Abe Muriata - in WA Indigenous Art Awards
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 21.10.13
Abe Muriata is represented as one of 16 artists Australia wide in the WA Indigenous Art Awards currently on display at the WA Art Gallery in Perth. Shortlisted from 100 entrants Abe travelled to Perth for the opening of the...» Read More
Bagu on the Cardwell Foreshore
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 23.10.13
Three large bagu are now permanently installed on the Cardwell Foreshore at the southern end of town. The three imposing sculptures stand like sentinels against the backdrop of Rockingham Bay and Hinchinbrook Island and realise a long held desire by...» Read More
November, 2013
New international leadership program now open
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 04.11.13
The Australia Council for the Arts and the International Society of Performing Arts (ISPA) are offering performing arts professionals an opportunity to develop their leadership skills as part of a new mentoring program. Australia Council Chief Executive Tony Grybowski said...» Read More
RED NUMBERS 'AT THE HEART OF ART'
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 08.11.13
ORIC, the Office of the Regulator of Indigenous Corporations has recently attempted to quantify the community art centre sector of the industry; and its report – 'At the Heart of Art' does not paint a pretty picture. By comparing numbers...» Read More
Michelle Holmes Wins People’s Choice Award
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 08.11.13
Ampilatwatja artist Michelle Holmes has been voted the People’s Choice Award winner as part of this year’s 30th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award. The 45-year-old artist received 121 votes of the 1781 votes cast for her...» Read More
DESERT RIVER SEA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR INDIGENOUS ART LEADERS
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 12.11.13
From 11-15 November 2013 a group of 11 emerging Indigenous art leaders throughout the Kimberley region of Western Australia will gather in Perth for the Emerging Leaders Program, a week-long professional development program which is a core component of the...» Read More
Cultural Connection, Art and the Value of Life
Posted by Aboriginal Art Directory | 25.11.13
Through a series of strong and sometimes poignant interviews with Aboriginal elders from around Australia, Culture is Life (led by Uncle Max Dulumunmun Harrison, elder from the NSW South Coast) is bringing to light the high suicide rate among Indigenous...» Read More
PADDY'S PLANE
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 26.11.13
A fourth Qantas aircraft now has Indigenous designs on its body – this time the work of the late, great Paddy Goowoomji Bedford, leader of the Jirrawun group of Gija artists in the East Kimberley. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft is...» Read More
THE LATE N. NAPURRULA
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 28.11.13
“Papunya Tula Artists are sad to announce the passing of N Napurrula on 11th November. As many would know, Napurrula was a dialysis patient for many years at the 'Purple House', the Western Desert Dialysis unit established in Kintore so...» Read More
NAMATJIRA IN LONDON
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 28.11.13
The third generation of the Namatjira family water-colour artists from Hermannsburg - Kevin and Lenie Namatjira - yesterday had a private audience with the Queen at Buck House in London. This follows the presentation of their grandfather and an example...» Read More
December, 2013
Paddy Japaljarri Stewart - 30/06/35 to 30/11/13
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 17.12.13
Sadly, we have lost one of the real pioneers of Desert Aboriginal art, Paddy Japaljarri Stewart. Once known as Cookie Stewart, he was a chef at Papunya and was involved as a relative of Clifford Possum and Tim Leura through...» Read More
“The Bottom has been Reached”
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 19.12.13
That's the tentative conclusion of a group called Ninti One – more formally The Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation – based in Alice Springs. They're doing what they unhelpfully call a 'Value chain survey' of where money is...» Read More
SYDNEY FESTIVAL BLACKS UP
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 19.12.13
There was a time after the great Olympic Dreaming Festival of 1997 when I thought the case had been made for all Australian multi-arts festivals to incorporate a serious Indigenous element in their programming as a matter of course. Apart...» Read More
BARKS 'R US
Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 22.12.13
With Aboriginal bark paintings there's the constant dilemma – how important is the aesthetic appeal of the work, and how important the story – and the status of the man telling it? The issue arises because there have been old...» Read More
