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Final Report

IDENTIFICATION OF ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE INDIGENOUS ARTS INDUSTRY IN NSW

9/6/2009

CREATIVE APPROACHES TO ARTS DEVELOPMENT SOUTH OF THE “ROWLEY” LINE

Identification of engagement opportunities in the Indigenous arts industry in NSW

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Acknowledgements

This report was researched and written by Ruben Allas, Research Officer at Regional Arts NSW with the assistance of Funding Manager, Annette Eassie. Regional Arts NSW acknowledges the assistance of funding and support from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations through the Emerging Indigenous Entrepreneur Initiative and thanks everyone who contributed to the content of this report, in particular:

• Regional Arts Development Officers who completed surveys and provided regional information on Indigenous creative arts sector

• Members of the Indigenous Reference Group

• Staff at Arts North West, West Darling Arts, Arts Northern Rivers and Arts Mid North Coast who hosted visits to their regions

• Indigenous artists and cultural workers interviewed in regions visited

• Peter White, Indigenous Cultural Development Officer, Arts NSW for his ongoing support

• Tess Allas, Research Officer of the College of Fine Arts, University of NSW for her excellent work for the Dictionary of Australian Artists On Line.

Due to the time and resource constraints of this project, empirical data used in this report has been predominantly compiled from information available in the public domain. As such, statistics presented must be approached with caution as they represent information available from a limited source at a particular point in time. This research is a work in progress and statistics will be revised as and when new information comes to hand.

Elizabeth Rogers

Chief Executive Officer Regional Arts NSW


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This report1 outlines research conducted by

Regional Arts NSW (RANSW) aimed at identifying

potential Indigenous business arts hubs in regional

NSW. Firstly it provides a brief discussion of the

salient points raised by several inquiries into the

arts industry - Indigenous Art: Securing the Future

(2008), Open for Business (2008) and the Myer

Report (2002)2, which are the most significant

documents into Indigenous creative arts relevant to

this report. These tomes have well documented the

status of Indigenous Arts in Australia and laid the

foundation for the current thinking and directions

prevailing in the arts industry in NSW. Secondly

this research offers a glimpse of the state of the

Indigenous creative arts sector and considers issues

on governance, best practice models and resources.

A significant component of this part is the mapping

of Indigenous arts and cultural assets and regional

distribution of funding. Thirdly, it presents

recommendations on considerations in selecting

regions for piloting notional models of business arts

hubs.

1 The working title of this report is ‘Creative Approaches to Arts Development South of the Rowley line”. In the 1970s Charles Rowley divided Australia into two regions: ‘colonial’, later called ‘remote, and ‘settled’. This notional line reflected at the time how decision-makers saw Aboriginal communities, and significantly determined much of the flow of resources from Commonwealth. The Australian Bureau of Statistics still uses this line to determine remoteness of a community to services, goods and social opportunities - the farther northward from the line the more remote one is; refer to Bill Arthur and Frances Morphy, editors (2005) Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia, page70. 2 Rupert Myer (2002), Report of the Contemporary Visual Arts and Crafts Industry. Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts: Canberra.


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Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Research Aims 9

Methodology 10-15

Aims, limitations of data, measuring potential,

geographic classification, definitions, terms and

concepts

Highlights of Findings 16-19

Potential regions, significant issues

Details of Findings 20-39

Potential regions, outcomes, creative economy,

investment in Indigenous creative arts, structure and

governance

Issues 40-45

Inequities in funding, multiplicity and duplication

Recommendations 46-49

1. Strengthening the Foundations of Indigenous Creative Arts Sector in Regional NSW

2. Building Regional Capacities to Promote the Development of Sustainable Indigenous Creative

Arts Sector

3. Printmakers and Woodcarvers in Wilcannia – The

Darling of the West

Appendices


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Identification of engagement opportunities in the Indigenous arts industry in NSW C R E A T I V E A P P R O A C H E S T O A R T S D E V E L O PM E N T S O U T H O F T H E ‘ R O W L E Y ’ L I N E

INTRODUCTION

Indigenous Art - Securing the Future: Australia’s Indigenous visual arts and craft

sector outlines the basis of a “vibrant and sustainable Indigenous art sector”.3

The Securing the Future Senate inquiry was established by the Commonwealth

Government primarily to investigate two issues: (1) promoting sustainability and

(2) addressing unethical business practices in the Indigenous arts industry.

Securing the Future details twenty nine recommendations in the following areas:

level and certainty of resources, code of conduct for the sector, realignment of

government policies and systems for providing support to the sector, and skills

development for managers and practitioners in the industry. In its Response4 to

these recommendations, the Australian Government agreed to ten, agreed

conditionally to five, agreed to consider two at some future date, noted twelve,

and rejected four.

While the ten recommendations did not involve increasing the level of

funding/resources, which were consigned to future consideration, issues around

certainty were to be addressed primarily through the introduction and

3 The inquiry was established in June 2007 by Senate Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, and reported on August 2008. 4 Commonwealth (August 2008), Australian Government Response to the Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communications, Information Technology and Arts Committee Report (Securing the Future).


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“The committee supports the roles of DEEWR

and Indigenous Business Australia programs in

assisting where appropriate the transition to

economic independence for art centres, and

recommends that these initiatives be further

promoted by DEEWR and IBA and utilised by

art centres”

Recommendation Number 5, Government

Response to Securing the Future

implementation of triennial funding through all programs of the Department of

Environment Water Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA).5 Many of the issues on

funding/resources were to be addressed through more inter-agency

cooperation, review of funding processes and guidelines, and refinement of

grants application processes. As to the larger systemic issues that include

capital and infrastructure development, the Australian Government

“acknowledged the report’s findings regarding the need for improvements in

industry structure and would consider these in a future budget context.”6

Several recommendations to which the Australian Government agreed in its

Response involved addressing the issues of skills, education and training. The

four recommendations to which the

Government did not agree were

mostly concerned with a proposed

code of conduct for the industry

and prosecution of illegal

practices. The Government

suspended action the draft code

of conduct completed. The draft

code has since been completed

and is subject to public consultation.

The RANSW research project addresses Recommendation 5 of the Australian

Government’s response to the Securing the Future Senate Inquiry and is one of

several steps implemented by the Department of Education Employment and

Workplace Relations (DEEWR). There are two major programs at DEEWR that

provide for Indigenous organisations - the Indigenous Capital Assistance Scheme

and the Indigenous Small Business Fund, both of which aim to provide capital

5 This has been implemented recently. 6 Media release (August 2008), Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts.


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funding for small Indigenous small businesses that are establishing or

expanding.

Making Solid Ground – Infrastructure and Key Organisations Review7

addressed many of the governance issues that relate to the Indigenous creative

arts sector. The following issues were identified in the consultation held in

Sydney: priority on protection and enforcement of Indigenous cultural and

intellectual property rights, increased employment and professional

development, and brokering partnerships for business development. These

were regarded as essential in the long-term economic sustainability of the

sector.

The Sydney consultation also raised issues on funding; that -

• Infrastructure funding program should focus on community engagement capacity and demonstrated good governance;

• Mentoring and support will significantly benefit organisations;

• Funding should be five-years and based on business plan and goals;

• Funded organisations should have an artistic program and should share ideas and advocate on behalf of the sector;

• Funded organisations should be able to demonstrate capacity to undertake a project with national or international impact; and

• Fewer organisations should be funded well, rather than many organisations funded poorly.8

7 This report was prepared for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board of Australia Council, November 2008. 8 Australia Council for the Arts (November 2008), Making Solid Ground – Infrastructure and Key Organisations Review, page 17.


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To strengthen support for artist-run initiatives

(ARIS), the Inquiry recommends:

9.2 The Australia Council and the State and

Territory arts funding agencies target the

support of ARIs through projects

(Recommendation 18) to encourage

professional development of ARI volunteers and

wider audiences for visual arts and craft

projects in ARIs.

Myer Report, page 206

Report of the Contemporary Visual Arts and Crafts Industry9 (heretofore Myer

Report) pre-dates much of the

proposed changes to the visual

arts sector, including Indigenous

creative arts, with eighteen broad

recommendations. Four

recommendations (6, 7, 8 and 9)

focused on strengthening arts

organisations through capital and

program grants, improving

governance, assistance in the

promotion and marketing of arts

or cultural products. The RANSW research project narrows the focus of

Recommendation 9.2 to the Indigenous creative arts sector.

9 Published by the Commonwealth (2002).


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Generally, Indigenous commercial or

competitive advantage is in culture-based

industries where the advantage is in the

uniqueness of the product, not the quality

or price. Other areas of competitive

advantage are land or location-based,

such as land and resource management

opportunities, the tourism sector, and a

range of service around the mining sector.

Open for Business, page 20

THE RESEARCH: IDENTIFICATION OF ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE INDIGENOUS ARTS INDUSTRY IN NSW

In 2008, DEEWR and RANSW held discussions on the status and direction of

Indigenous arts-related activities in NSW resulting in a contract under the

Emerging Indigenous Entrepreneur Initiative (EIEI) to undertake research to

determine regional capacities or potentials and to identify the type of resources

and support required to develop Indigenous arts communities in regional NSW

into viable and sustainable business arts hubs. The EIEI program aims to

promote small Indigenous business in Australia, including regional New South

Wales.10

RANSW views the development of Indigenous arts as a very significant

purveyor of Indigenous regional economic development. This view affirms the

role of creative arts in Indigenous life as practised by Indigenous people and

acknowledged by the Senate and

the Myer Inquiries.11

A recent report by the House of

Representatives Standing Committee

on ATSI Affairs Open for Business –

Developing Indigenous Enterprises in

Australia acknowledges the

importance of culture-based

industries in addressing Indigenous

disadvantage. 10 DEEWR has two other Indigenous-focused small business programs – Indigenous Small Business Fund and Indigenous Capital Assistance Scheme. 11 “The arts as a profession ... are much more prevalent in Indigenous communities than in other parts of Australian society. This is an aspect of Indigenous society which is not much commented on when Indigenous issues are being discussed – as in non-Indigenous communities, concerns about adequate infrastructure, healthcare and education predominate, and the arts and craft are often considered by non-Indigenous policy makers to be a luxury, or merely a pastime, not a significant employer.” Myer Report, page 52.


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This Open for Business report has fourteen recommendations aimed at

supporting the establishment and expansion of existing small Indigenous

enterprises. 12

The RANSW research contracted by DEEWR was entitled “Identification of

engagement opportunities in the Indigenous Arts Industry in NSW” but assumed

the working title of “Creative Approaches to Arts Development South of the

Rowley Line” in reference to the notional line that has significantly influenced

the flow and direction of funds for Indigenous artists and arts organisations.

The research was conducted over a twenty week period, from February to June

2009, and was aimed at providing the groundwork in establishing strategies

for a more sustainable future for Indigenous arts-related business activities and

Indigenous artists. The research included (but was not limited to) the following:

• desktop analysis of currently available information on the Indigenous

arts industry in NSW, including a map of existing Indigenous arts centres

and art businesses;

• types of traditional and contemporary indigenous artists in NSW;

• key market areas for Indigenous artists and art centres and emerging

markets in NSW;

• current reliance upon government, private sector and philanthropist

support, including agencies like the Australian Business Arts Foundation, for

indigenous artists and art centres;

• levels of profitability/self-sufficiency for Indigenous artists and arts

centres and barriers and opportunities for the continuation of art production

and sales; and

• a survey of stakeholder views, including key Indigenous arts bodies,

regional arts officers; art centres and artist collectives. 12 Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Report (October 2008), Open for Business: Developing Indigenous Enterprises in Australia, page 20.


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There is little data on the value, growth or

challenges affecting Indigenous art – Nor is there

sufficient research available on the impact and

special characteristics of the creative industry in

regional Australia

Creative Industry Insight, Department of State and

Regional Development

METHODOLOGY: LIMITATIONS OF STATISTICAL DATA, MEASURING POTENTIAL TERMINOLOGIES, AND ANALOGOUS ISSUES

Limitations of data

The RANSW report is based primarily on documents available in the public

domain. As such, it has built-in deficiencies. For example, information on arts

programs or funding and grants are often out-of-date and not at the level or

detail necessary to create an accurate picture of the Indigenous creative arts

sector. This is compounded by a related problem that not all agencies publish

data on arts funding on the internet. Information on the number and location of

Indigenous visual arts organisations, artist groups, or community organisations

that have significant funded arts programs are difficult to source. In the rare

cases that organisations provide this

information, they are often not up-

to-date.

A recent inquiry by the

Commonwealth on Indigenous small

enterprises noted the same paucity

of data or information on Indigenous

small businesses.13 Because of these

problems with exogenous data,

publicly available statistics are used sparingly and should be interpreted with

caution.

The RANSW research relies heavily on RANSW in-house data from its own

database of contacts and applicants to RANSW’s grants programs. This is

supplemented by the knowledge of the Regional Art Development Officers

from the thirteen Regional Arts Boards located across NSW (see Appendix Map 13 House of Representatives Standing Committee on ATSI Affairs (October 2008), Open for Business – Developing Indigenous Enterprises in Australia. Commonwealth: Canberra. Page16.


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Regional Arts Boards NSW) and visits to the West Darling, North West,

Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast. Other sources of information include

reports on grants from the Australia Council for the Arts, the Department of

Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts and Arts NSW.

The research has highlighted the paucity and unreliability of information

currently available on Indigenous artists and arts organisations with few records

kept and knowledge reliant on personal networks. Our research has in fact

been instrumental in the Regional Arts Development Officers updating their lists

of Indigenous artists and visual arts organisations14 but this is an ongoing and

organic process and even the statistics provided in this report will soon outdate.

We have hence chosen to use recorded and documented evidence for greater

consistency and reliability.15

Information on funded programs, particularly programs operating through

DEWHA, were sourced from their website, as per data collected on other

creative arts-related expenditures by other Commonwealth and State

governments on programs and services. The Australia Council also publishes

information on its funded programs on their website, which are used in this

report.

14 For example, in the interim report we have listed about six Indigenous artists in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven area. Now we have about six with substantial body of work, and another six that we added to our list. Another region, Northern Rivers, which initially had recorded with twelve, now have twenty Indigenous artists, refer to Special Kind of Vision catalogue. 15 For the purposes of this report, for determining the number and location of practising Indigenous artists in NSW, we have used the Dictionary of Australian Artists on Line, administered by the College of Fine Arts, University of NSW, which adheres to some guidelines in selecting Indigenous artists for their database.


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The hypothesis is that a relatively higher concentration of creative enterprises and creative workers in a geographic area yields a competitive edge by elevating the area’s quality of life and improving its ability to attract economic activity.

The Creative Economy (2007), page 6

Measuring Potentials16

How much does the Indigenous visual arts sector contribute to the NSW regional

economy? This can be answered by statistics on the dollar value of all economic

transactions on arts and cultural artwork/crafts and services. 17 Depending on

the nature of these regional economies, the list of activities could include all or

most of the items under the four major categories of cultural goods and services

defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.18

The Australian Bureau of Statistics provides some indications of the impact of

the creative arts sector on the economy at the national level, with data from

revenue derived from visual arts and crafts, and the extent of employment in

the primary creative arts sector. The latter is regionally distributed. Data also

exists on related secondary industries or sectors such as retail, accommodation,

and creative services.19 These statistics however cannot be disaggregated to

the regional level, which would be more useful in determining their impact or

significance. Myer identified that such problem is due to the prohibitive costs of

collecting this kind of information.20

Because of the lack of reliable

aggregated economic data on

regional creative arts economy, for

the purposes of this research we have

adopted a measurement method that

peruses ‘policy by intended impact’. This requires us to define the ‘anticipated

16 New England Foundation for the Arts (2007), The Creative Economy: A New Definition, page 6. 17 The difficulty in measuring economic impact or social impact of creative arts programmes is endemic in social science. There has been very little progress and agreement in what constitutes measures for the sector, refer to The Conference Board of Canada (August 2008), Valuing Culture – Measuring and Understanding Canada’s Creative Economy. 18 Refer to ABS, Australian National Accounts: Input-Output Tables (Product Details), 2001-02 (cat. No 5215.0.55.001). 19 ABS (2008) Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview. Catalogue No. 4172.0. 20 The cost of lower level data aggregate on contemporary visual arts and craft sector is very prohibitive; refer to The Myer Report, page 32.


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outcomes’ of the business arts hubs,21 being to develop the Indigenous creative

arts as an economic sector. While this approach does not address the need for

determining the contribution of the creative arts sector, and specifically the

Indigenous creative arts sector, it will help us in identifying the kind of

information that we need to collect for the future to benchmark progress.

Regional Arts Board (RAB) vs. ABS Geographic Classification

The primary data we used in our research on the Indigenous creative arts sector

is based on the thirteen regional arts programs (Regional Arts Boards)

throughout regional NSW, each of which employs a Regional Arts Development

Officer (RADO).22 The geographic area of each Regional Arts Board (RAB)

differs slightly from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) regional

classification but, for the purposes of this report, we have recognised these

differences.

Definition of Creative Arts?

While there is limited data on art forms other than visual arts in this report, our

definition of ‘creative arts’ covers all art forms, including performance art,

music, screen arts and other art forms. The term ‘creative arts’ and Indigenous

‘creative arts industry/sector’ hence refers to all art forms unless reference is

made to other documents that use the more limited term ‘visual arts’ (primarily

painting, drawing, sculpture, woodcarvers, basket weavers) or the very general

term ‘arts’. Open for Business includes the following art forms and crafts under

‘Indigenous arts’: painting, carving, sculpture, weaving, pottery, print-making,

21 Louise K. Stevens, “Impacts, Measurements, and Art Policy: Starting the Change Process”, The Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, Fall 1998, 28(3). Stevens provides a practical guide in defining what needs to be measured and how to measure them in this brief article. 22 Refer to Appendix: Map “Regional Arts Board NSW”. For ABS geographic classification, refer to Australian Standard Geographical Classification 2001, https://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au.


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fabric painting, photography, dance and theatre 23 and the RANSW definition

is also inclusive of all art forms and crafts.

Terms and concepts: Hubs, art centres, artist-run initiatives, etc.

Our research has highlighted different terminology and concepts used in

reference to Indigenous arts-related activities: hubs, art centres, artist-run

initiatives, and more.

Hubs refer to a physical or virtual focal point or ‘centre’ where similar or

analogous activities, events or interests revolve.24 They could be transient as in

the case of Adelaide Fringe Festival (South Australia), temporary as in the

Indigenous Festival (Woodford, Queensland) or permanent as in Orkney Arts

Hub (Scotland)25. As used in this report, ‘Hub’ has three distinct components –

Indigenous, business and arts, coalescing at the focal point – and are primarily

considered to be economic units.

Art centres are no longer just as defined by Arthur and Morphy.26 In Central

Australia, many of them were more than a place where Aboriginal art was

created, produced and sold. In locations where social services were non-

existent, they were also venues for socialisation, child care, community centre,

women’s refuge, etc.27 Some of them are now managed or controlled by

private interests and, as per the community-owned centres, still supply the

materials. Much of the promotion and sales however occur elsewhere in major

cities, such as Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney, where those that control them

own galleries or have contracted galleries.

23 Commonwealth (October 2008), Open for Business – Developing Indigenous Enterprises in Australia, page 22. 24 Collections Council of Australia (31 August 2006) provides a good description of what composes a regional hub, such as facilities, nature of activities, etc. 25 The hub includes Piers Arts Centre, galleries, library, shop, a visitors’ centre, etc. housed in three adjacent buildings funded by the Scottish Arts Council and several philanthropic trusts, refer to http://www.ruralgateway.org.uk/. 26 Bill Arthur and Frances Morphy (2005) Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia – Culture and Society Through Space and Time. The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd: NSW, page120. 27 Refer to submission by the National Association for the Visual Arts to the Open for Business Inquiry.


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Art centres also exist or have existed in NSW, mostly in regional or remote

regions. These models however do not or did not function as the central

Australian models, especially in regions where social services are present. In

most cases these centres function as studios or workshop spaces for artists or

those who are mentored by them. Some centres are run by local Aboriginal

organisations, local governments, church or TAFE. Few are controlled by artists

themselves, such as Boomalli in Sydney or ProppaNow in Brisbane. Boomalli

was originally set up by Aboriginal artists as a workshop and gallery, whereas

ProppaNow is primarily a studio or workshop space for members that need the

space. Most of the artist members are serviced by galleries in Brisbane,

Melbourne and Sydney.28 The Wilcannia Art Centre in the West Darling region

of NSW is run by TAFE-funded staff, while the building is provided by the local

church.

28 Refer to http://proppanow.com/.


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RESEARCH: HIGHLIGHTS OF FINDINGS

Potential regional Indigenous business arts hubs

This section provides a summary of the findings of the RANSW research. The

Creative Economy: A New Definition provides a more inclusive list of activities

from which we based our definition of creative economy for this report.29

Based on existing information on creative infrastructures, government

investments and creative activities between 2005 and 2009, the following

regions showed significant potential30:

Mid North Coast (MNC)

Northern Rivers (NR)

North West (NW)

Far West (FW), and

Illawarra-Shoalhaven (I-S) /South East (SE)

They also represent different creative arts models:

Artists-driven (NR),

Regional economic development-focus (MNC),

RADO-assisted (NW),

RADO/TAFE-assisted (W of D), and

Private enterprise-initiated (I-S)

29 For details of the creative economic activities, refer to Appendix “Creative Economy Definition by Classification System” of NEFA (2007), The Creative Economy: A New Definition is published by the New England Foundation for the Arts U. S.). 30 Appendix: Map “Regional NSW Arts and Cultural Map”.


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Significant issues:

Funding bias toward north of the Crowley line

While funding issues are not the focus of this report (Securing the Future has

adequately articulated this problem31 and the Australian Government has

agreed conditionally to most of them32), bias in funding is a definite problem as

it affects the amount and direction of Commonwealth and State funds away

from the creative arts industry south of the Crowley line.

A large portion of annual arts/culture budgets goes to remote communities

north of the Rowley line, while State arts funds are directed at more traditional

areas such as museums, regional galleries and existing infrastructures. As a

result there are less funds directed towards the support of community-initiated

creative arts projects and programs in regional and rural areas of NSW.33

Duplication of government programs

It is apparent from the scoping survey of Commonwealth and State government

programs and funding sources that the multiplicity and duplication of existing

programs is becoming an endemic problem.

31 Securing the Future, Chapter 6 “Existing government funding”, particularly page 69. 32 Refer to Australian Government response to the Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Committee Report: Indigenous Art – Securing the Future Australia’s Indigenous visual arts and craft sector. Commonwealth: Canberra, August 2008. 33 In 2006, Arts NSW through Visual Arts and Craft program funded seven visual arts projects worth $163,000. Comparatively small amount, as one Sydney-based ATSI creative arts body received more than this amount in one year.


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Indigenous people are used to doing

community development governance that they

do not know how to do corporate governance

when they get into business

Open for Business, page 31

While it is common knowledge from the major reports that there is not enough

funding from governments for the Indigenous creative sector, the proliferation of

agencies providing similar services appears to be superfluous in the face of

limited dollars. While multiplicity – defined as having several sources of

funding - is not necessarily a problem for the Indigenous creative sector,

duplication – defined as several or many agencies providing similar services or

programs - certainly is. In both cases, these problems are manifested in

community or arts groups as extra resources - staff, specialist skills, time -

required to meet their

organisational obligations, such as

multiple applications or

negotiations for funding, writing

different reports and acquittals,

familiarity with dissimilar funding

guidelines and processes,

satisfying legal and quasi-legal or administrative obligations to funding

agencies.

Poor Governance

Governance – defined as the ability to lead and provide direction – is a

problem for many Indigenous organisations. Frequently community leaders are

thrust into positions of decision-making and responsibility without recognising

that the requirements for corporate governance are different from those of

community organisations.

This problem often manifests in the inability of an organisation to attract

funding, failure to meet their corporate – including financial - obligations, and


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in general, a lack of effective and efficient management. Many of the

recommendations of Making Solid Ground have addressed this issue.34

Lack of Planning by Community organisations

The most significant facet of poor governance is the absence of, inability to or

generally poor organisational planning. Subsequently organisations are not

able to provide for the future and “are not able to create reserves for

sustained promotion or development, to build audiences or to create staffing

levels that allow senior staff the time to create cultural and financial allegiances

with non-arts organisations.” 35

Lack of Inter-agency Coordination

Inter-departmental coordination/cooperation was found lacking by the Myer

Report and Securing the Future as evidenced through more than twelve

government agencies with exposure to Indigenous creative arts operating

similar programs and services in NSW. Open for Business confirmed this finding

although the recently advertised Commonwealth program Jobs Fund and its

collaboration between DEEWR, DEWHA and the Department of Infrastructure,

Transport, Regional Development and Local Government suggests that more

inter-agency coordination and collaboration is occurring.

34 Making Solid Ground, page 17. 35 Commonwealth (2000), Report of the Contemporary Visual Arts and Crafts Inquiry, page 179


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RESEARCH: DETAILS OF FINDINGS

Regional Potentials as Business Arts Hubs

Potential can be measured outwardly by the value of current activities or

transactions in the creative economy or by available creative infrastructures

(enterprise clusters, organisation clusters, and occupation clusters) that could

produce this value. 36 The value of current transactions involve the dollar-worth

of trade/transactions in cultural products and the dollar-worth of the provision

of arts/cultural services, while creative infrastructures refer to arts/cultural

assets and investments that have or could be harnessed to produce these

products and services. The Australian Bureau of Statistics provides a definition

of cultural goods and services against which we measure current value of the

creative economy and possible value of creative products and services.37

Potential: Current Outcomes

Regional components of the current value of the creative economy, including

those produced by the Indigenous creative sector, could not be disaggregated

from available national data to paint an accurate picture and their contribution

to regional economies.38 At best, national data provides general measures of

their potential value, which by Australian national accounts, the total worth of

cultural goods and services is exceptionally large. In 2001-2002 it was worth

$48.5 billion. 39

36 Mentioned in The Conference Board of Canada (August 2008), Valuing Culture – Measuring and Understanding Canada’s Creative Economy, page 29-32. 37 ABS, Australian National Accounts: Input-Output Tables, 2001-2002, Catalogue Number 5215.0.55.001. 38 As abstraction of the total contribution of the arts/cultural sector it provides a better framework with which to capture the sector’s contribution to economy, in this regard, to regional economy. It is also a convenient framework with which to identity participants in regional economy that have substantial role in producing cultural/arts products and services, refer to New England Foundation for the Arts (2007), The Creative Economy: A New Definition. New England: US. 39 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008), Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, (Second Edition).


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Viewing the industry as a cluster, we can

clearly see how the contributions of commercial

and nonprofit arts sectors are interrelated,

with individuals involved across the board

The Creative Economy Initiative, page 12

The Household Expenditure Survey 2003-2004 by ABS found that the total

annual expenditure on visual arts and crafts alone was worth $668 million:

42.2% on paintings, sculptures and carvings; 30.3% on photography; and

27.5% on art and craft materials; 4.4% on library, museum and gallery

services, including creative arts services.40

ABS Survey of commercial art galleries in 1999-2000 put the value of art

traded in the 1999-2000 period to $116.2 million - 60.1% of artwork by non-

Indigenous artists and 20.8% of artwork by Indigenous artists. Indigenous craft

sales were worth $1.2 million. Commercial art galleries income for 2006-2007

was $131.8 million.41 A large portion of traded Indigenous art occurring mostly

in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane would have come from central and

Northern Australia.

Regional Creative Economy

There are three criteria that we

used to identify who and what we

include in our analysis of regional

creative economy:

(1) closely related product lines,

(2) shared markets, and

(3) common resource needs.42

Through these criteria we are able not only to determine those directly

contributing to the production of creative arts products and services43 but also

40 Chapter 3 “Household Expenditure”, ibid, pages 19-21. 41 Chapter 6 “Output of cultural industries”, ibid, pages 40-41. 42 The New England Council (June 2000), The Creative Economy Initiative – The Role of the Arts and Culture in New England’s Economic Competitiveness. New England: U. S., page 11.


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identify those indirectly contributing and how they interrelate or should

interrelate.

As mentioned in the earlier part of this report, the following regions have been

identified as potential Business Arts Hubs: Mid North Coast (MNC), Northern

Rivers (NR), North West (NW), Far West (FW), and Illawarra-Shoalhaven (I-S)

/South East (SE). For these regions to realise their potential they need to

develop other components of the creative economy: enterprise clusters,

organisation clusters, and occupational clusters.44

1. Enterprise clusters

Enterprise clusters include commercial galleries, artist-/community-run galleries,

individual artists and cultural/heritage tourism companies/agencies. They are

the primary producers/traders of arts/cultural goods and services. Also

included in these clusters are secondary enterprises whose primary businesses

are not the direct production/trade of creative products and services, such as

cafes and restaurants, retail shops, and similar establishments that sell or trade

creative arts and cultural goods in their shopfronts. Many of these secondary

enterprises are classified by ABS under retail trade, accommodation and food

services, and education and training.45

a. Commercial galleries

Most of the commercial galleries trading in Indigenous arts in NSW are in

Sydney.46 Several deal primarily in Indigenous art from central, northern,

Western Australia and Queensland, such as Aboriginal and Pacific Art in

43 For the purposes of this project, we have focused on arts/cultural goods and services that are primary outcomes of cultural expression. 44 These concepts are adopted from The Creative Economy: A New Definition, page 5. We have extended the use of clusters to include organisations because of their significant role in providing resources to the Indigenous creative arts sector. 45 ABS (2006), Census Dictionary, Short Definitions and Classifications, Industry of Employment (IND06P) – Characteristics. 46 Commonwealth (2006), Indigenous Visual Arts and Craft – Resource Directory, pages 54-58.


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Waterloo (Sydney). Large local governments in the thirteen Regional Arts

Boards across NSW have regional galleries. There are few run by Indigenous

companies or Indigenous artists that also provide other related services such as

heritage protection and cultural tourism, e.g. Harry Mitchell Art and Craft

Gallery in Wentworth.47

(b) Community art galleries

Many community art galleries work with artist groups or individual artists by

providing them with access to curatorial assistance, exhibition space and sales.

Largely, established Indigenous artists are serviced by big commercial art

galleries in Sydney. Boomalli Aboriginal Artist Cooperative in Sydney is the

biggest community art gallery that provides support to Indigenous artists in

NSW. Regional-based Indigenous artists sometimes work with secondary

enterprises, e.g. cafes, retail shops, or organisation clusters, e.g. Keeping Places

(museum/gallery/heritage centre) and community centres to exhibit and sell

their work.

(c) Indigenous artist groups, individual artists and arts-based workers

Some artists and arts-based workers in regional NSW, several recently -

outside of or with minimal support from the local, State or Commonwealth

governments - have initiated grassroots-based arts/cultural movement (e.g.

Boolarng Nangamai in Gerringong – Illawarra/Shoalhaven). A few with

regional economic development focus (e.g. Euraba Paper Company in

Boogabilla – North West) are attracting support and investments from the

private and public sectors (refer to Appendix: Map “Cultural Map of Regional

NSW”).

47 Ibid, page 57.


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The following regions are hosts to most of them: (see Appendix for detailed list)

Artists48 Arts Groups

Northern Rivers 22 12

Mid North Coast 21 10

North West 54 30

Orana 5 14

Central West 30 1

Illawarra-Shoalhaven 16 1

These movements have worked independently from but in parallel with

government-funded creative arts organisations and private sector in promoting

arts and cultural products and services.

2. Organisation clusters

Over the years, regions have received support for culture and arts in the forms

of capital grants and program funding. With these resources local governments

have accumulated cultural/arts assets, (for example, Campbelltown Arts Centre

in Western Sydney), initiated programs that have acquired national and

international reputation and consequently garnered healthy public patronage

and regular funding support. Several of the bigger councils/shires maintain

their own museum/gallery. Excluding national galleries and museums, there are

more than 33 regional art galleries and 10 regional museums maintained by

local governments in NSW and funding assistance through NSW Government.

48 The Dictionary of Australian Artists on line, http://www.daao.cofa.nsw.edu.au/, lists about 61 ATSI artists in NSW, but to date this research has documented more than 150, refer to Appendix: Map “Regional NSW Arts and Cultural Map”. Southeast East region through their website listed twelve artists, two of whom have exhibited and whose body of works are written about.


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Five regions identified in a survey conducted by RANSW in March 2008 were

host to high numbers of creative arts groups and arts/cultural infrastructures

(non Indigenous and Indigenous).49

Creative arts groups Facilities



Central West 587 40

South East 289 18

Eastern Riverina 250 50

There are also statewide and regional non-for profit organisations that are

part of the regional creative arts sector. They provide support, advocacy and

sometimes small grants to community arts/artists groups. These organisations

either work in parallel or in partnerships with governments, arts organisations,

and arts/cultural movements and artists.

Regional Arts NSW is the most significant of these organisations. It performs

several functions for the creative arts sector in regional NSW – advocacy,

coordination/networking and management of funding programs. As an

advocate, it represents regional arts organisations in discussions with

governments (Local, State and Commonwealth) to influence arts and cultural

policy and funding. It undertakes research to provide empirical evidence of

needs and issues of the creative sector requiring government response.

In its coordination/networking function, RANSW convenes conferences and

forums for Regional Arts Boards from the thirteen regions (members of these

Boards include local government representatives) to discuss issues and make

49 Refer to RANSW 2004 submission to the Minister for the Arts NSW, and to Appendix: Table “Omnibus List of Arts and Cultural Resources”.


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decisions on matters impacting on the sector. RANSW also convenes regular

meetings of the Regional Arts Development Officers to highlight and address

sector issues and facilitate professional development by organising regular

workshops and conferences with various arts bodies.

RANSW also supports and sources arts organisations, artist groups and

individual artists, including Indigenous, through the management and

administration of three funding programs: the Country Arts Support Program

(CASP), Regional Arts Fund (RAF), and Quick Response grants.

3. Occupation clusters

In addition to the number of Indigenous creative arts groups and artists, there

are also Indigenous people already employed in the arts and recreation sector,

with the following regions50 having provided the most employment:

Indigenous non-Indigenous

Hunter 58 2,741

Illawarra 51 2,246

Richmond-Tweed 44 1,211

Mid North Coast 42 1,304

Northern 34 565

Total for NSW 628 39,577

These RANSW measures (enterprise clusters, organisation clusters and

occupational clusters) satisfy many of the required drivers of the creative

economy 51 such as: consumption dynamics, innovation, technology, talent,

50 These are ABS regional geographic classification. Richmond-Tweed would be the Northern Rivers, and Northern would be North West, Illawarra would be Illawarra-Shoalhaven, and Hunter would be Upper Hunter. Refer Appendix: Table “Indigenous Status and Industry of Employment”. 51 The Conference Board of Canada (August 2008), Valuing Culture – Measuring and Understanding Canada’s Creative Economy, Chapter 4 “Drivers of the Creative Economy”, pages 33-45.


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diversity, social capital and collaboration, and capital investment. The first

three of these drivers prescribe the skills, knowledge and tools the Indigenous

creative sector could develop or acquire to be competitive in terms of using new

technologies, in commoditising their product value-added features, and in

becoming familiar with consumer-centric dynamics52, which treats the consumers

as co-drivers of the creative economy.53

Regions with potentials from March 2008 Survey

In March 2008 RANSW conducted a survey with RADOs as the basis to

informing the research of this report. In terms of ‘commercial capacity’, ‘artistic

development/standards’ and strategic geographic location, the following areas

were deemed potential regional arts hubs54:

Condobolin,

Walgett,

Armidale,

Eden, and

Wilcannia.

In addition, an artist group in Gerringong in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven region

has undertaken artist workshop programs, increased the level of marketing

Indigenous visual art works, including participation in the NSW Indigenous Arts

Award, and has been actively seeking for government funding and support in

the past two years. 55 Several of their artists have participated in the last two

52 This concept views the consumer to have an active role ‘ubiquitous participants’ in the creative economy, e.g. in defining the methods by which arts/cultural products are promoted and sold. 53 Ibid, page 36. 54 RANSW (March 2008), Draft proposal to DEEWR. 55 Boolarng Nangamai Arts Gallery and Studio in Gerringong in the South Coast has been very active in convening artists and arts groups in the Illawarra/Shoalhaven several seminars and workshops and has been very active in promoting works by South Coast-based artists. Also, it has been actively applying for funding with non-government sources, including philanthropic trusts, as well applying for grants with Australia Council.


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NSW Indigenous Art Prize awards.56 Some of their works have been collected

by private collectors and art institutions.

A mentoring program for young Indigenous artists with TAFE has been revived

in Wilcannia (West Darling), supported by one of the leading Indigenous artists

in NSW 57 and involving about twenty aspiring young Indigenous artists. There

is also a planned Paakantji Arts and Cultural Centre in Wilcannia and the

Central Darling Shire has just completed a study “Remote Control Communities –

Action Agenda to Improve the Delivery of Human Services in the Central

Darling Shire”, which will address current social and community issues.

An artist group in Eden has undertaken significant activities in promoting

Indigenous culture and arts in the South East region. A website lists eight

Indigenous artists living and practicing around Eden. Two have been featured

in arts catalogues and journals and have substantive bodies of work.58

56 Refer to Parliament of NSW Indigenous Art Prize Catalogues 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. 57 TAFE is working with William Badger Bates to work with young Kooris in developing their skills in the arts. West of the Darling Arts implemented an artist-in-residence program, funded by Regional Arts NSW RAF. 58 Kari Yalla Aboriginal Artists Co-op has listed eight artists, refer to http://www.thebegavalley.org.au/.


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Potential Identified from RADO profiles and RANSW database

Measures of general potential in terms of the numbers of creative arts groups

and existing public arts/cultural facilities59 indicate that the following regions

were hosts to most of them60:

Creative arts groups Facilities



Central West 587 40

South East 289 18

Eastern Riverina 250 50

Measures used to assess potentials for the Indigenous creative arts sector were

documented strategies for the promotion of Indigenous creative arts and crafts,

revival of arts programs that emphasised levels of artistic skills and the

employment of Indigenous people in key arts position. Based on these

measures, the following regions present as potential arts hubs61: Northern

Rivers62, Mid North Coast and North West.

59 Include galleries, libraries, and museums; refer to Appendix: Table “Omnibus List of Arts and Cultural Resources”. 60 Refer to RANSW 2004 submission to the Minister for the Arts NSW. 61 These information were culled from RANSW database of community groups that have been funded through CASP, QUICK and RAFS programs from 2005-2008. 62 Northern Rivers region provides an example of a long-term plan for the development of Indigenous creative arts sector in Indigenous Arts Business Centre – Business Plan 2009/10- 20011/12. The document addresses several significant issues for the long-term development of Indigenous creative arts sector in the region through a business plan that presents a vision for the community, artistic program that addresses skills necessary to achieve their aims, a marketing plan that identifies what they need to do to achieve economic results, and a governance structure that oversees the implementation of the Business Centre.


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Based on the number of Indigenous artists, the regions indicated in the table

below are homes to some of the well-known Indigenous artists63, many of whom

have been finalists in the NSW Indigenous Arts Awards.

Artists Arts Groups



North West 54 30

Central West 30 14

Illawarra-Shoalhaven 16 1

West of the Darling 25 1

In addition to the number of Indigenous creative arts groups and artists, there

are also Indigenous people already employed in the arts and recreation sector,

with the following regions64 having provided the most employment:

Indigenous non-Indigenous

Hunter 58 2,741

Illawarra 51 2,246

Richmond-Tweed 44 1,211

Mid North Coast 42 1,304

Northern 34 565

Total for NSW 628 39,577

63 The initial data on Indigenous artists was based on data compiled from the Dictionary of Australian Artists on line database at the College of Fine Arts, University of NSW, refer to http://www.daao.org.au. The database uses the following criteria for inclusion: has a body of artistic work, considers themselves as artist, considered by others as artist, and Australian citizenship status. The current information on the number of Indigenous artists has been accumulated through field work between April and May 2009 for this project. 64 These are ABS regional geographic classification.


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Regional Investment in Indigenous creative arts sector

Open for Business identifies three areas of advantage for Indigenous

enterprises: Indigenous arts, Indigenous tourism, and natural resource

management and primary industries.65 Indigenous or culture-based industries

are deemed an advantage for one primary reason – the uniqueness of the

culture it represents. Measuring its potential however presents a challenge.

Several Commonwealth departments and NSW government departments

provide various capital/infrastructure grants, program grants, and professional

support programs to Indigenous groups, including Indigenous creative arts

groups, and individual artists in regional NSW. In 2006-2007 the

Commonwealth government provided $47.2 million to art galleries and $209.5

million to museums. State and Territory governments allocated $498.2 million

to art galleries and museums.66 Local governments support to art galleries and

museums was also substantial.

The Australia Council is the primary Commonwealth source of funding for the

arts. In the 2006-2007 grants program, under its Indigenous arts program, it

funded one project in Mid North Coast, four in Sydney (three Indigenous arts

organisations and a major arts institution) and six Indigenous artists for a total

of $344,828.67

Arts NSW is the primary State government’s source of arts funding. Arts

funding is administered through the Department of the Arts, Sport and

Recreation. In the 2009 grants program, it funded several programs to more

65 Karl F. Seidman, “The Arts and Economic Development: Achieving Results and Measuring Impacts”, Northeastern Journal of Economic Development, Autumn 2002, articulates interesting arguments supportive of the resourcing creative arts in economic development for the general community. 66 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008), Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2008 (Second Edition). 67 Refer http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/grants/ “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts.


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than five Indigenous organisations worth $397,783.68 The North West region

received fourteen percent (14%) of allocation, and the largest proportion of

grants went to Sydney-based organisations.69

Grants for infrastructure and programs come mainly from the Department of

Environment, Heritage, Water and Arts (Commonwealth), which provides the

Indigenous-specific grants: National Arts and Craft Industry Support (NACIS),

Indigenous Broadcasting (IB), and Maintenance of Indigenous Language and

Records (MILR). In 2008-2009, NSW received $660,450 for seven NACIS

projects, $924,209 for six IB projects, and $1,552,500 for 15 projects. These

amounts constituted 8.12% of total NACIS grants, 6.83% of total IB grants, and

18.40% of MILR grants respectively.70

In 2007-2008 Commonwealth support for four Indigenous visual arts projects in

NSW was seven percent (7%) of the total national visual arts funds under

NACIS. Much of the funding went to MILR with a total allocation of $1,552,500

benefitting seven Regional Arts Board regions as well as the Illawarra-

Shoalhaven and Griffith-Leeton regions. The regional DEHWA grants

distribution in NSW is detailed in the Omnibus Table (see Appendix).

Other agencies such as the Department of Families, Housing, Community

Services and Indigenous Affairs (FAHCSIA - Commonwealth), Department of

State and Regional Development (DSRD - NSW), Department of Education (DET

- NSW), Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR -

Commonwealth) and Indigenous Business Australia (IBA – National) maintain

regional offices that provide Indigenous-specific programs and services:

68 The total amount Arts NSW granted to Aboriginal programs that include those undertaken by non-Indigenous organisations, e.g. Newcastle City Council, Music NSW, etc. is worth $605,889.00. 69 Http://www.arts.nsw.gov.au/Funding Opportunities/2009ArtsFundingProgram/. 70 Refer to Appendix: Table “Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Funding 2008-2009”.


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• FAHCSIA (Indigenous Land Corporation, Indigenous Coordination Centres) – Sydney, Bourke, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Queanbeyan, Tamworth, and Wagga Wagga;

• DSRD (Indigenous Business Advisory Service) – Sydney, Ballina and Goulburn;

• DIISR (Business Ready Program for Indigenous Tourism) – Sydney (Kirrawee, Tuggerah, Sydney, Campbelltown, and Penrith), Orange, Albury, and Lismore;

• DET (Aboriginal Enterprise Development Officer Program) – Far North Coast, Hunter and Central Coast, Mid North Coast, North East, Western NSW (Murdi Paaki), Wollongong/Illawarra/South East NSW, Central West, and Riverina/Murray (Binaal Billa); and,

• Indigenous Business Australia – Sydney, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Wagga Wagga, and Tamworth.

The regional offices of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) have varying

degrees of involvement and provide support for Indigenous arts groups and

artists through their staff, facilities and programs. TAFE in Wilcannia (West

Darling region) is currently working with a group of young Indigenous people

on an arts program with William ‘Badger’ Bates as mentor.71 There are several

other TAFEs that have provided support to Indigenous artists over the years.

Local governments, which receive funding from Commonwealth and State

governments, also support Indigenous creative arts groups through access to

public cultural and arts facilities, small grants, and employment of Indigenous-

specified positions in various positions. This support is provided through

regional museums, performance spaces, galleries and council office spaces. Out

of the $16 million the State government allocated to arts in 2009, $2.7 million

was directly granted to 32 local councils for 59 projects. Half of this amount

71 William Badger Bates is a well-known Indigenous artist – print-maker and sculptor - from the Paakantji people in the region. He has widely exhibited and has participated internationally in Slovenia, Buenos Aires, Vienna, Copenhagen and Beijing; refer to Campbelltown Arts Centre (2008) Ngadhu, Ngulili, Ngeaninyagu: A Personal History of Aboriginal Art in the Premier State, page 41.


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was for capital upgrades, programs and events for galleries, theatres and

museums.

Structure, Registration status, and Governance

Based on the following considerations – information from RADOs through the

March 2008 survey, research and mapping of regional creative arts assets,

developments in the Indigenous creative arts sector recorded in the past 24

months, and government investments (funded programs) between 2007-2009,

(including funding from RANSW since 2005) - the following regions showed

significant potential72:

Mid North Coast

Northern Rivers

North West

Far West, and

Illawarra-Shoalhaven/South East.

Three of these regions, Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast and Illawarra-

Shoalhaven, have documented long-term strategies, with articulated visions and

defined objectives, and the presence of significant Indigenous control over

creative arts organisations in line with the recommendations of Making Solid

Ground and articulated visions of Open for Business Reports. The models of the

two other regions identified will be the focus of more detailed future research.

These five regions represent different practice models and all focus on the

development of Indigenous creative arts and craft or regional economic

development as their primary purpose. While in some cases, they could

incorporate some of the features normally performed by community

organisations (community health, refuge, sobering up centres, childcare, aged

72 Appendix: Map “Regional NSW Arts and Cultural Map”.


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care, social venues, craft centre, and other non visual arts-related functions,

including employment) in their latter incarnations, like those in the central and

northern Australian art centres73, the degree to which this occurs appears to be

minimal.

From documents available from three of the five identified regions (Northern

Rivers, Mid North Coast and West of the Darling), the significant focus is the

development of skills, networking, exhibition, and enterprise development of the

Indigenous creative arts as “enablers of Indigenous control of their product”.

From the thirteen existing Regional Arts Board regions, the five regions

represent distinct “art centre” models:

Artists-driven (NR),

Regional economic development-focus (MNC),

RADO-assisted (NW),

RADO/TAFE-assisted (W of D), and

Private enterprise-initiated (I-S).

Artist-driven

Projects currently occurring through Arts Northern Rivers and its Indigenous

Artists Advisory Group are reminiscent of the one of the creative arts

‘movements’ that occurred in Mid North Coast with the Kempsey Koori Artists

Group and the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists in the 1970s. They are artist-driven

initiatives, whose primary aim is to promote Indigenous arts. The Kempsey

Group that represented several artistic styles, such as those by Milton Budge,

Robert Campbell Jr. have become unique to the period, while Boomalli became

an art gallery providing exhibition space for emerging as well as established

artists, including Fiona Foley and Bronwyn Bancroft.

73 Open for Business, page 22-23. The Myer Report listed twenty one art centres in NSW, refer to page 198.


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Arts Northern Rivers has developed a three-year plan “Indigenous Arts Business

Centre – Business Plan 2009/10 – 2011/12” that aims to develop and

promote Indigenous creative arts in the region, including creating economic

opportunities to Indigenous people. These opportunities include commercial

enterprises, access to employment, and provision of training and professional

development to those currently employed.

Regional economic development focus

Mid North Coast has initiated a regional economic development program

“Foundations of our Future – Strategic Business Plan 2010-2012” that aims to

create economic opportunities to Indigenous people in the region. The plan has

several phases. The first phase forms the foundation of this economic

development through establishing alliances or partnerships with major

stakeholders, such as local land councils, government agencies, and community

groups. The second phase focuses on developing the creative arts sector with a

significant component being a design path, in partnership with private

commercial enterprises, which will increase access to employment for Aboriginal

people and provide income to artists.

Mid North Coast’s Strategic Plan will have a long-term impact on promoting

economic development in the region, particularly the role that Indigenous

creative arts sector plays in this development, such as the planned Indigenous

Design Unit.

The potential of the Design Unit to grow and prosper depends largely on a

developed Indigenous creative arts sector that will provide art work for

designs. A newly-established partnership with Arts Northern Rivers, where there

is a much more developed creative arts sector, will be invaluable in the

implementation of the development plan and increase its capacity to achieve its

development aims. In addition, the planned unit is not precluded from obtaining


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Indigenous art designs from other NSW regions. There is a perception that with

continuing resources as identified in the Strategic Plan, markets for the

Indigenous creative arts sector could be realised in two to three years.

Interviews with regionally-based artists conducted by RANSW for this research

provide some insights into issues that are inhibiting collective community

participation in developing the region’s Indigenous creative arts sector. Division

along language and family lines is inhibiting collective community involvement in

the process of development. It is possible this issue is the reason for the

absence of a strong Indigenous creative arts group, such as the Kempsey Koori

Artists that existed in the late1980s.74

RADO-assisted

North West is one of the larger regions (consisting of twelve local government

areas) with a relatively high number of Indigenous artists. The Indigenous

creative arts sector south of the region however is not active, except for

approximately six artists, and has a problematic relationship with TAFE. Much

of the energy perceived to have promoted Indigenous creative arts sector in the

region was attributed to one artist that has since moved to another region. A

group of Indigenous artists is still coming to grips with the death of one of its

more prolific members.

The prognosis however is positive. Euraba Paper Company, in the northern part

of the North West region, is thriving and the Armidale Aboriginal Keeping

Place is selling art and making profitable use of the centre. In addition, based

on interviews conducted with three artists and the Arts North West RADO, there

is enough goodwill from local governments and State agencies, dedication (one

artist has taken over the function of TAFE in providing arts classes and

74 Members of this group included Milton Budge, Robert Campbell Jr., David Fernando, Mary Duroux, Raymond Paul Button, and Sharon Elaine Smith.


Page 38

workshops) and good intention from several artists to revive the sector in the

region, which was previously vibrant, especially in painting and the making of

short films. Wood carving and dance also have potential to be developed

further in the region.

TAFE-assisted

TAFE has always supported Indigenous communities, particularly providing

trainers, teachers, instructors and space for Community Development

Employment Programme (CDEP) training for young Kooris. Training programs

include pre-employment activities (such as writing resumes), computer skills,

interview skills and even presentation/grooming. The most significant of these

programs however was providing access to space/studio for young Kooris to

undertake arts-related activities, working with both groups and individuals.

Wilcannia TAFE provides arts and craft training to Indigenous people. An

instructor conducts arts courses, provides advice, and assists Indigenous students

create and produce art work. Over the past 12 months, more than 12 have

undertaken courses, with half attending being regular attendees. Students have

amassed a collection of excellent pieces of artworks, lino cuts, and several have

recently exhibited at the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery. They shuttle

between TAFE classrooms and the Art Centre, where they do most of their

printing work, as well as large canvass painting and sculpture.

There are nevertheless some inter-community issues that need to be addressed,

in addition to several basic and critical social services, such as housing and

unemployment of more than fifty percent of the local population.

The local government council in Wilcannia is more than willing to take on some

of the needed services provided that local Aboriginal organisations are willing

to play their roles. There are also local non-Indigenous artists who are

providing support through conducting art classes at TAFE. The Uniting Church


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has generously provided the use of one of their properties as the location of the

local Indigenous Art Centre.

In addition, the Regional Arts Board, West Darling Arts, managed and

administered the three year Wilcannia Artist-in-Residence Program from 2006

to 2008 - an exercise in cooperative community building and sustainability.

Support of similar projects is essential to continuing the development of

emerging and established artists in the region.

Private enterprise-initiated

One of the newer models of creative arts development are those initiated by

private capital. Boolarng Nangamai (BN) in Gerringong in the Illawarra-

Shoalhaven region represents a different model of Indigenous creative arts

sector development. This is rare in Indigenous creative arts, as most of the

current models of arts centres in NSW are predominantly funded by

government grants.

BN has progressed from a single income stream of art sales to a second income

stream of sharing its stable of artistic skills through workshops. It also has

invested in web-based commerce to support its sales of art work. Currently, it is

deriving more income from the second income stream (workshops and training)

than from the sale of art.


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ISSUES HIGHLIGHTED:

There is a preponderance of support for the arts in our society and its role in

economic development. These articulations of compliment have become more

prevalent in this age of information technology, when innovation and creativity

have become the buzz words for the promotion or encouragement of

investment. Yet, there has been very slow and relatively modicum amount of

government investment in the sector that is “increasingly frustrated by doing

more with less” compared to its acknowledged potential. Many, including

policy-makers, view arts against the Myer report’s cautious admonition75:

“Culture will be seriously misunderstood if analysed only as economic value”.

During hard times, it is one of the first to be defunded.

Inequity in Commonwealth funding: Much goes to north of the Rowley line

The distribution of Commonwealth funds for the arts still favors those

organisations north of the ‘Rowley’ line, evidenced in the 2008-2009 allocation

under NACIS.76 Much of the funding, measured against the number of ‘art

centre’ per State and Territory, is geared toward arts centres in the remote

areas of Central and Northern Australia. 77 While it is understandable that

attention is focused on the centre of Australia because much of the unethical

practices in Indigenous arts sector occurred in the region, the subsequent funding

allocation reflects the persistence of the ‘Rowley’ line bias. This is hardly

surprising. Both the Myer Report 2000 and the Securing the Future devoted

much of their attention on issues north of the Rowley line.

While this report does not dispute the need for more resources in these regions,

articulated in and addressed by the recommendations of Securing the Future

75 Myer Report, page 3. 76 Refer to Appendix: Table “Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Funding 2008-2009”. 77 Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Minister for Environment, Heritage, and the Arts Media release (March 10) “Australian Government approves $8 million to upgrade NT art centres”, reflects the significant allocation of Indigenous arts funding to remote art centres.


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and the Myer Report, the persistence of allocation along this Line over decades

has disadvantaged Indigenous creative arts sectors south of the Line, including

many in urban and regional areas in NSW, which have the highest Indigenous

population and probably the most number of practising artists. Improvements in

funding to the Indigenous creative arts sector in both the above-mentioned

reports focused primarily on the northern side of the Crowley line. The

apparent overlook of Indigenous creative arts sectors below the Line has a

significant impact on many community-initiated projects that often depend on

government grants.78

Presently, many in this sector survive because of local government support

through small grants and access to the public cultural and arts facilities,

including one-off public liability insurance, and unpaid volunteer work from

community members. This source of resources however is not adequate to

maintain long-term sustainability of Indigenous creative arts groups in the

regions.

Inequity in State funding: Much goes to traditional areas

Much of the State funds for the arts have been allocated to ‘conventional’ areas

such as heritage, museums, and galleries with a large portion of these funds

going to local governments. In addition to these funding programs, local

governments also benefit through large capital grants for regional arts centres,

which often offer project-specific support to creative arts groups and individual

artists, through one-off public liability coverage, access to facilities, provision

for office space and use of equipment, and other short-term support.

In terms of capital and program grants, the support and funds required to make

creative arts groups and individual artists more sustainable and viable has

been static over time and resulted in these grants making little difference in

78 Refer to Appendix: Table “Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Funding 2008-2009”.


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creating a vibrant Indigenous creative arts sector in urban or regional NSW.79

The level of funding over the years has decreased the number of grants

available, limited the number of applications from each organisation, and

consequently put many Indigenous creative arts groups in extended hiatus.

Some simply disappear.

Duplication: Many agencies doing the same thing80

A survey of available funding to Indigenous arts groups and artists shows

multiple sources. There are seventeen agencies that provide funding and

support to the Indigenous arts industry in the following areas: employment,

program or project funding, capital or infrastructure, and professional

advise/mentoring. Three agencies exclusively for Indigenous programs provide

legal, volunteers, and capital/networking/professional advice for small

business.

Seven out of the 17 provide funding for capital, program and employment

primarily to arts and cultural projects. One of these 7 is exclusively for small

Indigenous enterprise. Many of the remaining agencies provide for all sorts of

purposes to small businesses.

There are forty programs administered by these agencies. Twenty-four are

directed primarily toward Indigenous communities. Fifteen have arts funding to

Indigenous artists and groups.

79 The Myer Report had said this of the entire visual arts sector, page 296. 80 A recent report by the Central Darling Shire indicates that duplication also prevails to other government-funded service areas such as human services; refer to Remote Control Communities – Action agendas to improve the delivery of human services in the Central Darling Shire: Final Report. Central Darling Shire, March 2009.


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Multiplicity does not equate with familiarity

Multiplicity requires small organisations or communities with no resources to be

familiar with various funding processes and guidelines, to employ specific staff

with specialised knowledge of submission writing and research and, most of all,

time and energy to meet the requirements of funding programs. In many cases,

those fortunate enough to be funded under different programs or funded by

different agencies, require senior staff (Executive Officers or Directors) to

allocate much of their time to writing submissions or reports and less time for

governance, lobbying, and networking.

Multiplicity does not equate with choices

Because of the lack of resources (staff, time and skills), small Indigenous

communities often cannot make multiple submissions for funding to cover every

conceivable or possible options and / or sources. The result is fewer submissions

and less chances of obtaining resources.

It is hence not surprising that only three Indigenous arts groups were approved

funding in the 2009 Arts NSW Cultural Grants Program: the Armidale and

Region Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place, the Gadigal Information

Service Aboriginal Corporation, and the National Aboriginal Islander Skills

Development Association. There is anecdotal evidence that the failure of many

smaller and some of the bigger Indigenous organisations to secure funding was

due, amongst other reasons, to the poor quality of submissions, e.g. poor

statistics, poorly argued projects, and in general poorly prepared or

researched submissions.


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Summary: Multiplicity and duplication

In a world of limited resources, multiple funding programs and services are an

inefficient use of funds and human resources. Greater collaboration between

agencies and the streamlining of programs and services would result in more

optimal use of resources and increase funds available to direct towards the

Indigenous creative arts sector.

The following are examples of multiplicity/duplication:

DEEWR (Commonwealth government) programs:

• Indigenous Small Business Fund – provides grants for developing new and expansion of existing business;

• Indigenous Capital Assistance Scheme – broker access to commercial sources of capital; and

• Emerging Indigenous Enterprise Initiative – provides grants to support economic development strategies.

DSRD (NSW State) programs:

• Aboriginal Mentor Program – offers individualised business mentoring;

• Aboriginal Business Growth Program – offers consultant to assist business plan and implement growth strategies;

• Aboriginal Business Link Program – broker access to business trade exhibitions and shows;

• Budyari Ngalaya: Business Partnership – broker partnerships with private sector; and

• Indigenous Business Advisory Service – provides advice to start-up and existing businesses.

DET (NSW State) programs:

• Aboriginal Enterprise Development Officer Program – broker assistance and support for new and existing businesses.


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DIISR programs:

• Business Ready Program for Indigenous Tourism – provides access to

mentors.

Structure, Registration status, and Governance

Indigenous organisations find it difficult to move from a governance model more

suited to community development to one that is required in the corporate

world.81 Many are still governed on a community-management model, which

does not require strategic or marketing plans. For those who have already

imbibed the corporate governance model, there is very little support from

various agencies in creating awareness and developing skills for corporate

governance. There is anecdotal evidence that this issue impacts on the

sustainability of small and larger community organisations.

Many Indigenous creative arts groups are not registered under any of the

current legislative framework such as Association Incorporations Act, mainly

because of the lack of knowledge/skills on corporate governance. This, in turn,

impedes their capacity to enter into profitable partnerships or activities, e.g.

public liability.

81 Mentioned in one of submissions to Open for Business inquiry, page 31.


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RECOMMENDATIONS: IDENTIFICATION OF ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE INDIGENOUS ARTS INDUSTRY IN NSW

Securing the future of the Indigenous creative arts sector in regional NSW requires

a strong foundation built on significant investments in infrastructure, technical and

artistic skills and appropriate corporate governance. To make this happen,

people at the coalface of the sector are needed to determine the nature of

infrastructure required, identify whether there is enough and appropriate level of

technical and artistic skills, and find out whether those we entrust to provide

directions in various communities have the appropriate governance skills.

RANSW is the peak body of the creative arts sector in NSW. It works with

Regional Arts Boards (RABs) and Regional Arts Development Officers (RADOs) to

deliver regional arts programs across NSW. The core business of the RABs is

funded by Arts NSW as well as contributions from regional local governments, with

additional funding accessed from other funding programs such as the Australia

Council and various Commonwealth and State Departments.

The current research conducted by RANSW has determined that the regions are in

various stages of development in terms of Indigenous creative arts.82 It has

identified that the thirteen regions fall into three categories, based on the number

of significant creative arts activities in the past twelve months:

Active (Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast, and Illawarra-Shoalhaven)

Moderately active (South East, Central West, Far West, West of the Darling, North West)

Minimally active or in hiatus (Eastern Riverina, Orana, Southern Tablelands, Albury-Wodonga, South West, and Upper Hunter)

82 Refer to Appendix: Map “Regional NSW Arts and Cultural Map”.


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RANSW is playing a significant role in promoting Indigenous creative arts in NSW

both through its peak body role and this current research from which its strategic

directions will emerge. It strongly supports the employment of the Indigenous Arts

Development Officer and the three-year Indigenous arts development plan in

Northern Rivers and the employment of the Regional Arts and Cultural

Development Officer and five-year regional economic plan in Mid North Coast.

Much of RANSW’s work across the state in the Indigenous creative arts sector

involves advocating for sustainability and viability through programs and projects

that provide the building blocks and foundation on which Indigenous creative arts

sector can stand on their own.

R E C OMM E N D A T I O N S :

On the basis of our research, RANSW has developed three sets of

recommendations. An overview is presented below and details of each set is

attached as separate ‘stand alone’ documents.

1. Strengthening the Foundation of Indigenous Creative Arts Sector in Regional

NSW.

These recommendations provide the necessary building blocks to develop and

promote the Indigenous creative arts sector in regional NSW and includes

infrastructure, changes in the allocation of grants, and several that focus on art

policies in NSW. Many of the recommendations are derived from those of the

significant inquiries undertaken between 2002 and 2008: Securing the Future,

Myer Report, Open for Business and Key Organisations towards building the

foundation of the Indigenous Creative Arts Sectors.

The recommendations impact on all regions of NSW regardless of the level of the

development of Indigenous creative arts sector.


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2. Building Regional Capacities to Promote the Development of Sustainable

Indigenous Creative Arts Sector in Regional NSW.

The second set of recommendations involves investments in human resources to

empower regions in developing and promoting the sector, such as facilitating

support, brokering assistance, and direct service delivery to Indigenous arts

groups. These recommendations involve working with Regional Arts Boards,

community art groups and Indigenous artists.

3. Printmakers and Wood Carvers in Wilcannia – The Darling of the West of

Regional NSW (Pilot project)

This set of recommendations focuses on Wilcannia which is one of the more

disadvantaged Indigenous communities in NSW, not only because of its remoteness

and isolation, but also because it has the highest rate of unemployment in NSW

(between 60-70% unemployment rate with the unemployed mostly Indigenous). It

also has one of the highest per capita of artists and wood carvers. The work of

these artists and wood carvers work is inspired by their local history and culture.

Specific recommendations aim to build the foundation of the sector in this small

remote town, several aim to empower the sector, and several that only impact on

the sector in this town.

Recommendations for North West, Northern Rivers, Illawarra-Shoalhaven, and Mid

North Coast are still to be developed but will involve addressing regional issues

that are unique to the Indigenous creative arts sectors in those regions. Some of

the more critical involve the need for expertise in marketing and promotion of

Indigenous arts, and the need for exhibition/workshop spaces that can also be

cultural and education venues for the public and consumers of art. These

recommendations will be formulated from consultation and negotiation with the

relevant regional Indigenous arts sectors.

Documents

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