List of Indigenous Australian art movements and cooperatives

Australian Indigenous art movements and cooperatives have been central to the emergence of Indigenous Australian art. Whereas many western artists pursue formal training and work as individuals, most contemporary Indigenous art is created in community groups and art centres.

Indigenous art centres put high value on social inclusion; they support major artists and foster emerging ones; they encourage participation and professional development of young people as artists or related workers, to provide employment and income. They focus on community rather than the art market: family connection, along with activities that celebrate Aboriginal and help to protect culture.

The cooperatives or art centres listed below reflect the diversity of art across Indigenous Australia, where art, particularly for remote communities, is a significant source of income and livelihood.

Peak groups

The following organisations represent, or include, a number of Indigenous art cooperatives:

Aboriginal Art Association of Australia

The Aboriginal Art Association of Australia (AAAA), which advocates for all industry participants, including artists, galleries, and dealers, whether independent or affiliated to an art centre, was founded in Alice Springs (Mparntwe) in November 1998 and incorporated in January 1999, with over 60 financial member organisations during its first year. The Association continues to lobby and inform governments on behalf of its members on a range of matters, including the future direction and development of the arts (particularly Indigenous); codes of conduct, and resale royalties.

Art curator and dealer Adam Knight was formerly the vice president of the AAAA. He took over as president of the organisation in 2018.

Arnhem, Northern and Kimberley Artists

The Arnhem, Northern and Kimberley Artists, Aboriginal Corporation (ANKA) is the peak body for Aboriginal artists and Aboriginal-owned community art centres across around a million square kilometres in the Top End of the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It is a not-for-profit Aboriginal Corporation.

The organisation was founded as the Association of Northern, Central and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANCAAA) in 1987, which covered art centres in Northern and Central Australia; however in 1992 a separate association for the central regions was created, known as Desart, while ANCAAA continued to support artists in Northern Australia. In 1995, renamed Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA), the requirement for all Indigenous governance was formalised at a board meeting, with a new all-Indigenous board elected from the four regions: Arnhem Land, the Kimberley, Darwin/Katherine, and the Tiwi Islands.

In 2000 the association undertook a strategic planning process and the new name (ANKA) was adopted. As of 2020 ANKA represents nearly 50 Aboriginal-owned remote community art centres, and more than 5000 artists.

The head office of ANKA is in Darwin.

Desart

Desart was founded in 1992 as a split from ANCAAA, to focus on Central Desert artists, and incorporated in 1993. In 2016, it represented over 8000 artists. In 2021, it had 37 independent Central Australian Aboriginal art centres, representing over 11,000 artists, located in the southern part of the Northern Territory, the APY Lands of South Australia, and Ngaanyatjarra country in Western Australia. Desart is governed by an all-Aboriginal committee elected by the members. As of January 2024 it has 30 member centres. In 2022, Desart took on management responsibilities, being fully Aboriginal-owned for the first time in that year.

The functions of Desart include advocacy for the art centres, and delivering "programs that build strong business practice, improve infrastructure, support governance, and promote Aboriginal art and culture".

Desart also runs "Desert Mob", an annual event occurring each September or October that includes an exhibition in Araluen Arts Centre in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), the Desert Mob Symposium, a marketplace, demonstrations, and other events such as workshops and visits to studios and art centres. The 32nd edition of Desert Mob in 2023 included artwork from 35 art centres, curated by Hetti Kemarr Perkins and Aspen Nampin Beattie. There were also short films from Tjanpi Desert Weavers, and fashion shows.

Indigenous art movements and cooperatives

There is a wide range of art centres. They are all Indigenous-owned and/or controlled and are all not-for-profit organisations or, in a few cases, companies owned by the artists (Papunya Tula; Jirrawun Arts). The oldest is Ernabella Arts, formed in 1948. The largest by sales in 2006 were Papunya Tula and Warlayirti.

References