Australian Indigenous art movements and cooperatives have been central to the emergence of

Indigenous Australian art Indigenous Australian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, including collaborations with others. It includes works in a wide range of media including painting on leaves, bark painting, wood carving, rock ...

. 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 Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the Euro ...

; 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 The art market is the marketplace of buyers and sellers trading commodities, services, and works of art. The art market follows an economic model that considers more than supply and demand; it is a market where art is bought and sold for values ...

: 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 Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

(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 A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the social norm, norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. Companies' codes of conduct A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is comm ...

, and resale

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

. 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 The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ...

of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. 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 Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...

; 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 Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

the Kimberley The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert, Great Sandy and Tanami Desert, Tanami deserts in t ...

, Darwin/

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

, and the

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island, Bathurst I ...

. In 2000 the association undertook a strategic planning process and the new name (ANKA) was adopted. 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 Annual percentage yield (APY) is a normalized representation of an interest rate, based on a compounding period of one year. APY figures allow a reasonable, single-point comparison of different offerings with varying compounding schedules. Howev ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, and

Ngaanyatjarra The Ngaanyatjarra, also known (along with the Pini) as the Nana, are an Indigenous Australian cultural group of Western Australia. They are located in the Goldfields-Esperance region, as well as Northern Territory. Language Ngaanyatjarra is ...

country in Western Australia. Desart is governed by an all-Aboriginal committee elected by the members. it has 30 member centres. In 2022, Desart took on management responsibilities, being fully Aboriginal-owned for the first time in that year. In April 2022 Philip Watkins, CEO of Desart, was appointed for a three year term to the board of the

Australia Council Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announ ...

, the chief arts funding body of the federal government. In September 2024 he was appointed co-chair, with

Rachael Maza Rachael Zoa Maza , also credited as Rachael Maza Long, is an Indigenous Australian television and film actress, and stage director. She is known for her role in the 1998 film ''Radiance'', and worked with Company B and Wesley Enoch in Sydney fo ...

, of

First Nations Arts Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announc ...

, a newly-established division of the Australia Council focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts, for a term of four years. 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 Desert Mob is Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limite ...

", 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.Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts,

'. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, June 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List of Australian Indigenous Art Movements And Cooperatives Australian Aboriginal art Cooperatives in Australia