Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Economies Project

Photo courtesy of Warakurna Artists

CRC-REP + NOL…

CRC-REP has around 55 partners, including universities, corporate, community and government.

Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation, owned by Ninti One Limited.

Headquarters in Alice Springs.

Three research programs, 12 research projects.

Who we are…

Dr Lisa Stefanoff – Post Doctoral Research Fellow University of South Australia

Jessica Booth – Masters Student University of South Australia

Dr Alice Woodhead – Project Economist Southern Cross University

Susan Congreve – PhD Student Curtin University

Kim Petersen – PhD Student Curtin University

Tim Acker – Principal Research Leader Curtin University

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Context: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art

Art emerges from a distinct and diverse cultural and social universe. Based on concepts of country and an interdependency with the physical world and a mythical past.

The visual language and cultural symbols of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander society easily translated onto contemporary mediums.

Art on contemporary media dates back to first contact, but it took until the early 1970s for the phenomenon of ‘Aboriginal art’ to occur.

There are now 100+ art centres throughout remote and regional Australia.

The industry is worth hundreds of millions of $ per year. Iconic part of Australia’s cultural landscape and perhaps

Australia’s only substantial contribution to the global art sector.

Art Economy Research Questions… What is the scope and scale of the Aboriginal and Torres

Strait Islander ‘art economy’? How can fragility be reduced? What new market opportunities are there for artists

and/or their enterprises? How can current art business models be improved? What training/advocacy/recommendations can be made

through research to contribute to a more robust sector? Opportunities for research students, community

researchers and others to gain skills and experience.

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Art

Artists Agents Audiences

Family +Community

Wellbeing

Location

Age/Gender

Education

Education

Economy

Circumstance

Location

Facilities

DealersGalleries

Art Centres

Medium

Business Models

Funding

HR

Location

History

Number/Supply

National

International

Public Galleries + Museums

Prizes

Festivals

Journalists/ WritersFederal

State Private

BuyersCollector

sAudience

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How we’re doing our research…Art outside of art centres: artists and the free market in Alice Springs.Research with artists and agents, in and around Alice Springs, to understand the scale of this sector and the business models at work. Aim to create resources for artists who work in this zone to improve their professional practice/options.

Consumer dynamics: what are people buying and why?Surveys and interviews at key sites with a galleries, collector, buyers. Understanding what motivates audiences will provide crucial information for marketing and business decisions.

How ‘big’ is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art sector?Collecting financial data from as many participants as possible. Modelling and mapping the data, building a picture of art sector dynamics. Aim to create baseline for policy, service delivery and education/training.

How we’re doing our research…

Art centres as micro-enterprise: remote area entrepreneurship, successes, failures and opportunities.Comparative case study of art centres in three regions, looking at success/failure factors, threats and opportunities and what changes could be made to address these.Human resources: management qualities in art centres.Interviews + surveys with current + past art centre staff, unpacking they nature of this work – and how to better support future staff. E-commerce + merchandise: new ways for artists to access markets.Interviews + surveys with galleries/manufacturers/retailers to understand the business models at work in this sector – and how artists might better access these opportunities.

Achievements… Consultations and planning with artists, art centres,

galleries, dealers, curators and more. 150+ engagements with clients and end-users. Meeting with art centres in Cairns, Darwin, Alice

Springs, Perth and out bush. Project planning and approvals complete. Project documentation in place and Advisory Group

established. Recruitment nearing completion.

Early Research Activities and Findings… Jessica Booth – Research Students

Audience behaviour and motivations: surveys at three major art fairs: almost 900 respondents.

Collectors, curators and gallerists to be interviewed.

Scope and scale project: data collection near completion and data analysis commencing.

Art outside of the art centres: data collection near completion and data analysis commencing.

2 x PhDs: micro enterprise in three regions. Research commencing.

Audience and Consumer Motivation… 874 total respondents; 74.8% female, 6%

international, of which 55% were European, though NZ largest single group.

78% of respondents previously bought art and 56% of these had bought art in previous 12 months.

Painting (on canvas)46.5%

Bark painting4.3%

Work on paper11.1%

Wooden sculpture or carving9.7%

Pottery / ceramic4.0%

Glass piece0.2%

Fabric or clothing10.3%

Jewellery2.9%

Merchandise1.8%

Weaving 9.1%

Types of art purchased

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Audience and Consumer Motivation…

$1 - $20038.8%

$201 - $50030.5%

$501 - $200022.7%

$2001 - $10,0007.3% $10,000 or over

0.8%

Spend: Most Recent Purchase

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Audience and Consumer Motivation…

$1 - $2009.0%

$201 - $50015.4%

$501 - $200028.2%

$2001 - $10,00032.5%

$10,001 - $50,00010.9%

$50,001 - $500,0002.7%

$500,000 or over1.2%

Spend: Total Art Purchases

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Audience and Consumer Motivation…

Commercial Gal-leries12.2%

Indigenous Art Centres42.5%

Privately7.7%

Art Fairs21.3%

Auction Houses0.9%

Internet0.9%

Where did you buy your last artwork?

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Audience and Consumer Motivation… 88% claim to know where the seller sourced the work

and 71% said the source of the work was important to their decision.

While 54% of respondents had heard about the Code of Conduct, only 20.7% had asked about it when purchasing.

3.8%

16.8%

2.1%

29.0%

48.2%

Is there enough reliable information available about the way

different commercial agents source their work?

YesSomewhatNot importantNot sureNo

11.8%

25.7%

1.9%32.4%

28.3%

Is there enough information available to buyers about the way

Indigenous Art Centres source their work?

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Audience and Consumer Motivation…

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0

100

200

300

400

500

600

How important would each of these be in making your choice?

Very important

Quite important

Somewhat important

Not very important

Not important

Copyright: Jessica Booth

Who we work with…

Project Partnerships: Desart Office for the Arts AIATSIS

Project Community: 105+ Art centres 35+ Galleries and dealers 6 Peak bodies 15 Institutions 5 Government agencies

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Project Details…

Contact:Principal Research LeaderTim Acker – Curtin UniversityE: tim.acker@curtin.edu.auP: 0410 038 226

Partners of Ninti One