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| Aboriginal Art Directory | |
|---|---|
| Name | Aboriginal Art Directory |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | Djon Mundine |
| Type | Online directory and cultural resource |
| Location | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Area served | Australia, international |
Aboriginal Art Directory Aboriginal Art Directory is an online and print resource established to document, promote, and connect practitioners, dealers, curators, collectors, and communities associated with Indigenous Australian visual arts. It provides listings, profiles, news, and critical commentary linking artists, art centres, galleries, festivals, and institutions across urban and remote locations. The Directory intersects with major exhibitions, collecting institutions, and policy debates involving provenance, repatriation, and market practice.
The Directory functions as a hub linking profiles of artists and art centres with major institutions such as the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Victoria, Australian Museum, and State Library of New South Wales. It documents activities tied to events including the Tarnanthi Festival, TARNANTHI (Adelaide Festival Centre), Sydney Biennale, Melbourne International Arts Festival, and regional showcases like Desert Mob. The Directory lists artist-run organisations and community art centres such as Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, Papunya Tula Artists, Bula'Bula Arts, Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency, and links to awards including the Archibald Prize, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, and Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award.
Founded in the mid-1990s, the Directory emerged amid growing international attention to movements represented by figures such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Albert Namatjira, Colonel Charles Mimi, and institutions like Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. It developed alongside commercial galleries including Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Tolarno Galleries, Anna Schwartz Gallery, and with collaboration from community organisations such as Aboriginal Art Centres of Central Australia and advocacy groups like Desart. Key moments in its history map to major exhibitions: Dreamings: The Art of Aboriginal Australia at the Asia Society and touring exhibitions organised with the National Museum of Australia and the British Museum.
The Directory profiles artists from regions represented by collectives and communities such as those in the Western Desert, Arnhem Land, Tiwi Islands, Cape York Peninsula, Kakadu, and urban centres like Broome, Alice Springs, Darwin, and Sydney. Individual practitioners featured in the sector include notable names such as Gordon Bennett (artist), Minnie Pwerle, Ngarralja Tommy May, Yvonne Koolmatrie, Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, Rover Thomas, and emerging artists connected to community centres like Papunya Tula, Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Art Centres, and Murlpirrmarra Connection. The Directory documents connections to curators and critics including Hetti Perkins, Djon Mundine, Wesley Enoch, and scholars at institutions like University of Sydney, Australian National University, and Monash University.
Entries describe a range of art forms including dot painting, bark painting, wood carving, spinifex weaving, tapa cloth practices, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, textiles, and contemporary media such as video art and installation art employed by artists linked to cultural practices from Yolngu and Arrernte traditions. The Directory contextualises techniques associated with materials sourced from places like Uluṟu, Kakadu National Park, and the Gulf of Carpentaria, and references research collaborations with laboratories and institutions including the CSIRO and conservation departments of the National Gallery of Victoria.
The Directory maps commercial and non-commercial marketplaces including regional galleries like Araluen Arts Centre, commercial dealers such as Gabriel S. Fine Art, and national fairs including Sydney Contemporary and Melbourne Art Fair. It cross-references auction houses like Sotheby's Australia and Bonhams Australia, and cultural programmes supported by bodies such as the Australia Council for the Arts, Creative Australia and state arts agencies including Create NSW and Arts Queensland. The Directory collaborates with registries, provenance projects, and other directories maintained by organisations such as Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and the National Indigenous Arts Advocacy Association.
Listings and commentary address protocols tied to custodianship, ceremony, and permission involving communities such as Pitjantjatjara, Arrernte, Yolngu, Wiradjuri, and Noongar. The Directory engages with legal and policy frameworks including the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), moral rights discussions informed by cases seen in institutions like the Federal Court of Australia, and initiatives by bodies such as Indigenous Business Australia to protect cultural heritage. It references ethical codes promoted by organisations like Desart and the Australian Indigenous Art Trade Association.
Educational and research links include partnerships with tertiary institutions such as University of Melbourne, Victorian College of the Arts, Griffith University, and national museums including the National Portrait Gallery (Australia). The Directory highlights conservation projects coordinated with the Conservation Unit at the National Gallery of Australia, digitisation efforts undertaken by the National Library of Australia, and research funded by agencies such as the Australian Research Council. It documents collaborations with community archives, repatriation work with museums including the British Museum and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge, and training programs run by organisations like Bangarra Dance Theatre and First Nations Media Australia.
Category:Australian art directories