Investment in Aboriginal art has taken a sharp dive since the global financial crisis and some east coast dealers have closed their galleries due to a downturn in trade. But this unique event that offers high quality products direct from the Aboriginal communities that produce them, has surprised many in the art world by turning an even bigger profit than last year.

With close to 6,000 visitors to the three-day event, the art fair maintained its on-site sales figure of $700,000 while increasing the flow-on sales that resulted from business generated at the fair. The overall sales from the event is estimated at $1.2 million, up from $1m in 2010.

“We have commercial buyers coming through and making big orders with individual art centres or arranging future visits to the community as a result of what they’ve seen at the Fair,” said DAAF Chair, Cathy Cummins. “One of the Top End communities said they’d have to double their annual output of one particular product after negotiating with a commercial buyer,” she said.

The Art Fair has become part of the Darwin festival season calendar with locals and visitors alike flocking to the Convention Centre to snap up bargains direct from the source. The Darwin Art Fair is the only one of its kind in Australia where Aboriginal owned community art centres come together to sell their products directly to the public. Much of the work on show is usually only available through capital city galleries or from the art centres themselves, which are mostly located in hard to reach, remote communities.

Christina Davidson from ANKAAA (the Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists) says that even the art centres that don’t make a profit on the day end up generating much more business then they would normally get. “There’s no doubt that the Art Fair is good for business,” she said. “We run a training program in conjunction with the event that provides professional development for arts workers and there are also opportunities for art centre staff to meet with high end buyers in town for the Telstra Award and with the funding agencies which is really important in developing good business practices,” said Ms Davidson.

Results from a visitor survey show the Art Fair is popular among tourists with many commenting they’d like to see the event staged in Sydney or Melbourne. More than half the visitors were from interstate and there was a strong local turn out with many Darwin residents reporting it was the first time they’d purchased any Aboriginal art.

In her speech at the official opening of the Fair, Franchesca Cubillo, Senior Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, praised the work of art centre staff who she said play a vital role in supporting this vibrant and dynamic industry.

She told the 300 strong crowd, “They are the intermediaries, they are the ones who say to the art sector, ‘Stand back a bit. Let our people do what they need to do.’ They are the ones who say ‘No, you should be paying more for that, that’s a good painting and that’s a strong dreaming.’ They are the ones who help the artists fill out those government forms. They are the ones who provide that safe place to create and do what they do best. And that is to teach their art and culture to the wider world.”

Media Enquiries:  Tony Collins 0407 729 681

All that great art has been packed away or moved on to new destinations, much of it to grace the walls of happy customers who were able to make purchases amongst the incredible array of high quality works on display at the Fair. Preliminary reports from the survey team suggest that visitors to the Art Fair were overwhelmingly happy with the venue and mightily impressed with the art on offer.

There’s no doubt that the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair offers a significant market opportunity for Aboriginal owned art centres and creates a stimulus for economic activity in the Indigenous Art sector. But perhaps just as important as this is the cultural role that the Fair plays by creating an event that shows the work of contemporary Indigenous artists representing the immense diversity of culture, tradition, location and art form that makes up Australia’s pre-eminent art movement. Nowhere else in the country can you see under one roof, such a range of high quality work from the heartland of Indigenous art – the community owned and controlled art centres.

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated or assisted in some way. Once the artwork was installed it was like a magic carpet ride, colour and movement at every turn. Our task now is to complete a full evaluation and begin the planning process for DAAF 2012. As always, we appreciate any constructive feedback that will assist us in making improvements to this event and help us to achieve our goals. Please fell free to email you ideas and comments to us through the website or post comments on our Facebook wall or twitter feed. And keep visiting the DAAF website as we’ll be uploading video, text and photos from the event and carrying on a conversation towards a bigger, brighter Art Fair next year.

Guests here on Saturday afternoon were treated to a special performance by the women from Lajamanu. Here’s a shot of their dancing!

Ben Ward is the Chairman of the Board of Waringarri Arts. In his work, he helps provide the strategic direction for the art centre. As an elder of the community, his wisdom is extremely valuable. It’s also readily apparent in this interview about the art centre’s positive effects on his community.

While not an artist herself, Sasha works at the Ghunmarn Culture Centre, the main base of Djilpin Arts’ multimedia, arts and culture tourism programs.

Karungkarni Art and Culture Centre is at the entrance to the northern Tanami Desert community of Kalkarindji/Daguragu, traditional home of the Gurindji people. The artists have wanted an arts centre in their community for some years and, in late 2010, a local CDEP team modified the old powerhouse so that the artists finally have a place to gather and paint. Successfully registering their own corporation in July, the artists continue to work on their paintings, telling their traditional Dreaming stories on canvas, in preparation for the Darwin Art Fair and for the 45th Anniversary Freedom Day celebrations in Kalkarindji.

Meet Marilyn Nakamarra.

Marilyn was born in March, 1958, but is unsure as to whether she was delivered in Alice Springs hospital, or on her community, Yuendumu. She has vivid memories of a more traditional way of life that surrounded her as a child – being covered entirely in red ochre when she was sick, seeing babies carried in wooden coolamons and greeting her mother coming home from hunting trips with seeds to grind, calling out “Ngurlu ngurlu ngurlu” (Warlpiri for “seed”).

Marilyn Nakamarra with her artwork "Teaching the Children How to Dance and Stories"

Marilyn has been living in Katherine for the past 17years. She currently works as an artworker at Mimi Arts and Crafts in Katherine and has been working there since 2005.

Previous to that Marilyn worked as a translator at the Court House and Hospital for the Diwurruwurru Aboriginal Corporation (The Katherine Language Centre).

Marilyn is an emerging artist and her work is very popular. She uses a very meticulous method of putting her dot work down and takes a very long time to finish her work. The background work is talking about her country and the specific vegetation that grows there.

Weaving Workshop at DAAF 2011

This year’s Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair features a new opportunity to interact with Aboriginal art. Here’s a preview from Friday’s weaving workshop, held on the greens of the Darwin Waterfront.

The following workshops are still available today (Saturday 13 Aug):

• 2-4pm – Waringarri Arts Boab Nut Carvers
• 2-4pm – Ngurratjtjuta Many Hands Water Colour Master Class (supported by CDU)

Sunday 14 August

• 10-12pm – Arnhem Land Combined Weavers workshop
• 10.30-12pm – Ngurratjtjuta Many Hands Water Colour Master Class (supported by CDU)
• 12-2pm – Waringarri Arts Boab Nut Carvers
• 12-2pm – Tjanpi Desert Weavers workshop
• 2-3.30pm – Ngurratjtjuta Many Hands Water Colour Master Class (supported by CDU)

Meet Thelma Dixon.

Thelma is an elder from the Borrolloola Community, and first started painting in 2001. She used to spend time with her cousin sister Clara Robert’s.

Thelma started paintings from memories of what she was doing in her young days. She used to be in charge of looking after the goats and working for the manager at Robinson River.

Today, we’re proud to share some of her story with you.

Thelma Dixon, Waralungku Artists

Highly Commended Award:
24th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award 2007