hot arts
A Central Australian Cultural Audit HOT Arts Team Researcher: Nicole Sarfati Research Supervisor : Lucy Kenneth contents Cultural Liason: Sue O’Connor Editor: Nicki Levy Design: Nicole Sarfati / Nigel Campbell - NT Print Management Cover Design: Lucy Kenneth
Thanks to all Central Australian individuals and organisations that contributed their time, words and images. We hope the publication has helped to give proper voice to the special arts community living in this amazing central desert.
Images front: Milky Way, Dan Murphy. Circosis, Cats Meow Cabaret 2007. Two Ways; a garmant for breathing, Elliot Rich. Photo A Kershaw. Beanie Festival 2008. Photo Merran Hughes Under Today, Goyder lane, Shifting Ground 2007. Performance Maker; Dani Powell. Dancers Francis Martin, Miriam Bond. Photo Amanda King. Harry Tjutjuna Wati Wanka/Spiderman, Acrylic on Linen, 2007 © Ernabella Arts. Photo: Todd Beaconsall Image back: Max Kenny, Family Mix, Bush Bands Bash 2007. contents
introduction 2 signposts 2 hot stuff 5 the bones 8 good story: Ngapartji Ngapartji 16 who r u & what do u do? 20 good story: CAAMA 25 getting it out there 27 good story: Alice Springs Beanie Festival 30 off the bitumen 33 good story: Julalikari Arts 40
Colonial Intuition, Andrew Moynihan, 2008 introduction It’s one thing to have a sense that Alice has an amazing arts community, to have a feeling for the uniqueness of the place and of the distinct issues that we all grapple with and are inspired by. All of us who live and work here have a sense of these issues, ideas and projects. It’s another thing to have a level of analysis to put what we all already know on paper and to document this vibrant and diverse arts community.
This audit is an important document for the Alice Springs arts community. It provides a point of reflection on where we are, who we are and the many different ways we do things and think about what we do. It also provides us with evidence and information which we can use both amongst ourselves and with government, funders, Territory and national arts networks and say Check Us Out!
RedHOT Arts has taken on an important project and a laborious, albeit exciting task, in interviewing groups across the community to put this exciting document together.
Congratulations to RedHot Arts and to the wonderful work which inspires this book. Alex Kelly signpost Chairperson RedHOT Arts Board “It’s a place where you can actually get a job as an arts manager, there are no other regional centres in Australia that have this amount of work. It’s really incredible for a population this size (27,000) how many arts based jobs we do have... that’s exciting because it is attracting artists.” Lucy Kenneth,
Unique, vibrant, nationally successful and often wacky the isolated Central Australian Arts Sector is diverse as it is energetic. For nearly twelve months RedHOT Arts has looked into the heart of its local arts scene and asked the big and small questions of forty-seven arts organisations located in and surrounding Alice Springs. Over a cup of tea and over the phone we have collected over 70 hours of conversations about the structures, governance, programs, marketing, challenges and best practice of these organisations. All not for profit arts organisations throughout the Central Australian region were invited to participate in the Central Australian Cultural Audit. This included Aboriginal controlled art centres, key arts organisations and community arts groups. This Audit has not set out to interview or scope the needs of individual artists, this task would be considerable and warrants its own dedicated research project, one we hope to undertake in the future.
A forest, ceramic. Artist/photographer Pip McManus signpost The Audit includes fast facts, industry statistics, as well as heartfelt passion from on the ground art aficionados and desert die-hards. The intention was to compile useful information for the stakeholders in the regional arts community and to inform RedHOT Arts service provision into the future. Significant stakeholders in the Central Australian arts community include arts organisations, their staff, program beneficiaries, governing bodies, artists and funding bodies. This Audit builds on industry data collected by RedHOT Arts in 2002.
We have tried to give space to the many voices of those respondents we interviewed. The generosity of time and contribution was considerable and as a result we have only been able to include a small slice of what was collected; matching quotes and ideas to key sections of the publication. In a number of cases respondents have asked that their names be withheld but for the statements to remain.
The Audit has been undertaken to: • Map a profile of the Central Australian arts sector, their activities, structure, roles and relationship to and in their communities. • Ascertain current and future needs of Central Australian arts organisations and artists to inform RedHOT Arts in their role and service as an arts advocacy and support organisation. • Provide arts organisations with a “picture” of the Central Australian arts sector as a tool in their own strategic development and future place, promotion and lobbying.
Central Australia is a creative cluster, with both concentration and diversity. The Indigenous arts sector has attracted creative people from all over which has fuelled the growth of the wider arts sector. Inter-cultural influence is often a given for arts organisations in Central Australia but there are tremendous challenges in how we engage Indigenous people in the sector and the reality versus the expectation of funding bodies. The Central Australian arts sector is feisty and fiercely independent yet at the same time it is also very emergent and still vulnerable from the imbalance of over activity versus under-resourcing. The Audit has revealed a diverse and rapidly growing sector that punches above its weight in terms of artistic output. We don’t have the luxury of a large pool of professionals and business folk to draw board members from. Everybody is over committed and over volunteering for yet another meeting, they just want to be creative.
Artback NT touring exhibition, Recoil, at Araluen Arts Centre 2008 Photo Anthony Gribble signpost A number of key recommendations have been compiled from the respondents’ many voices. These are directed towards all sector stakeholders and represent avenues for the future development of the regional sector.
o To support increased resourcing of the Central Australian arts sector. A common issue is the top end heavy annual arts funding allocation. o To encourage improved inclusion and engagement of satellite offices in head office activities including, budget clarity, board relationships and stronger communication avenues such as face to face meetings and information sharing. o Ongoing funding for staffing is a priority. There is a strong trend for organisations to be understaffed with part-time staff undertaking full-time roles and full-timers covering a number of roles. There is ongoing tension between time spent creating art and time spent seeking funding. o To scope a research project that investigates the imbalance between Indigenous program activity and Indigenous staffing in Alice Springs based arts organisations. o To continue and expand resourcing of shared infrastructure such as the RedHOT Arts Space is a critical support mechanism, particularly for satellite office and part-time staffed organisations, and should enhance remote art centre infrastructure including office space and men’s painting areas. o To build greater understanding of the diversity of roles of remote art centres and the considerable environmental stress on arts managers. These organisations are community hubs, not just economic saviours. o To support organisations to consider a holistic operational framework that gives equal validity to social / community, cultural and environmental outcomes alongside economic outcomes. o To engage in building two way conversations that explore the synergies between governance and cultural practices as a way of operating. That funding bodies and organisational structures understand and value the variety of ways that the sector involves Indigenous people in their programs and management, particularly with consideration of two way processes that value relationships as well as paper processes. o To foster Peer based board models, where organisations support their paid staff to sit on the boards of other organisations, to encourage arts administrators to work together and develop complements of interest, rather than competing all the time. It is good for partnership building and also gives staff empathy in board management. o The formation of a peak regional arts body is the appropriate vehicle for the formation of stronger cohesiveness across the sector with shared programming and partnerships. o Such a body could facilitate dedicated regional arts development positions that link organisations to each other and to remote communities in particular. o To invest in art form development through and beyond the visual arts. o To support long term on-site training in the areas of web development, governance, languages, and cross cultural skills. o To build sector wide capacity to engage appropriately with the education sector in regards to audience and project development. o To encourage organisations to integrate audience development strategies at the beginning and not the end of the planning process. Lucy Kenneth, Director, RedHOT Arts 2008 There is a perception that what happens in CentralHOT Desert is singularly special. Central DesertStuff is the heart of Australia’s Indigenous arts industry and home to some extraordinary events, organisations and artists.
”This is the hub for Indigenous Arts so of course the arts scene here is going to be big but I think the non Indigenous visual artists have a really strong grounding in this town as well.” Franca Barraclough, Alice Desert Festival Programmer & Cat’s Meow Cabaret Producer
“I think the arts in Central Australia is very vibrant and that’s not only the visual arts, I am talking about musicians, drama, dance. I can’t think of any place that has such a high standard of art in a region which people can tap into.” Country in a can, Alison Dugald Beattie, Hittmann 2006 Central Australian Art Society
“I find that Alice Springs is such an inspiring arts community across all the different art forms.” Alex Kelly, Creative Producer, Ngapartji Ngapartji
“Per Capita, so many people in Alice Springs expect they can be artists, many more than in any other place.” Liesl Rockchild, Tangentyere Artists
Arts organisations in the Centre feel they work a little differently to those in urban areas, adapting to regional environmental factors. They have evolved into organisations that work through isolation and across cultures, languages and states.
“There is a rawness here in the Central Desert. In the cities aspiring theatre practitioners undergo a lot of formal training which produces technically trained people but is sometimes at the cost of individuality and raw spirit. Red Dust Theatre is committed to facilitating the highest calibre of hands on technical training, but at the same time preserving that raw energy which draws so many people here and mesmerises them.” Dani Loy, Artistic Director, Red Dust Theatre
“I think that across the board, in all of our practices, and this is not just in the arts, we need to acknowledge the Indigenous foundation that we work upon, and when we do that, we are then moving towards an identity.” Arts worker HOT Stuff “ They are traditional kids, and culturally, Drum Atweme has been woven by them and the grandmothers because the grandmothers are the ones who oversee, generally, what the kids are doing.” Peter Lowson, Drum Atweme
“We punch above our weight. We do more than an equivalent organisation, I would think, in another place, for some reason. That goes for all the arts here, we just seem to do that bit more.” Dugald Beattie, Central Australian Art Society
“I think the creators (writers/artists/collaborators) are appreciative of the inclusiveness of our approach. Decisions are not made unilaterally or imposed. They are made through consultation and negotiation about every outcome in terms of the publication, so that our creators feel a part of the process as the document moves forward. Mainstream publishing can be a bit like ‘Thank you for your manuscript, we would like to publish it, close the door’ . That can be disempowering for the person that isn’t prepared to push the boundaries a bit.” Arts worker
Belle Davidson directing Wirpurly inma, Wirpurly Walk, Ngaanyatjarraku, WA 2008. Photo Renita Glencross HOT Stuff From an isolated, dusty and thinly populated region, this vibrant arts community contributes significantly to the nation’s identity and cultural life. “There is a myriad of Aboriginal radio stations across the country, they are all over the place and the main source of material that they use emanates from CAAMA. CAAMA is the biggest Indigenous producer of music. Source material that they use for broadcasting is directly linked to our effort. We have a direct impact on producing a Central Desert profile and an Indigenous identity generally.” Bill Davis, Music Manager, CAAMA
“In the early days of the Alice Springs Art Foundation Prize, Indigenous Art was not recognised as such, they just hung it all; Indigenous and non Indigenous. The Alice Springs Art Foundation has these early Indigenous works in their acquisition collection. No one knew who Clifford Possum was when he won the ASAF Prize. The ASAF Prize was an important step in some of these artists’ careers and the recognition of Aboriginal artists.” Ruth Elvin, Alice Springs Art Foundation
Hip Hop Up Top, Singer songwriter The End of an Era, Nuno felted scarf. Artist Music NT poster Tashka Urban and Zing Andrew Moynihan, 2005 photographer, Philomena Hali the bones the young, the old and the beautiful The average age of arts organisations in Central Australia is 15.5 years but in reality it is made up of a mix of both emerging and long established organisations.
• 32% have been operating 5 years and under • 32% of organisations have been operating for 20 years and over • In the last five years the number of arts organisations in Central Australia has grown by nearly 50%
The Central Australian arts sector has undergone considerable growth over the past decade. This is evidenced by the emergence of new arts organisations and new arts management positions. This growth is largely due to increased resourcing of the regional sector; primarily from the Northern Territory Government through Arts NT. Project funding over successive years has led to annual funding and, eventually, key organisation status. Once established, the Australia Council has provided additional resourcing to these organisations through annual and project funding. In some cases, local government, philanthropic and business sponsorship has followed.
This additional support however remains intermittent and a glass ceiling for this small sector. This is the reality of a low population base and significant geographic isolation.
Maisie King, Iwantja Arts. Photo Helen Johnson 10 the bones Berrimah and other lines in the sand The ‘Berrimah Line’ has grown into a common and recognised phrase for those living in the south of the Territory. It alludes to the perception that power bases including state and federal governments have looked after Darwin residents at the expense of those living in other Territory regions south of Berrimah - an outer Darwin suburb. Central Australia has had a territory government regional arts office since 1995 acting as a “direct line” for the arts through Arts NT. Past incumbents of the only NT regional office have all had to tread a thin line between community facilitator, advocate and government representative. The office has been a significant catalyst for arts sector development and has served to give a voice to regional issues. However clarity of policy and increasing expectations has often left the community unsure of what the exact role of the office is within the arts community. There is a general acknowledgement for the need of a strategic and hands on regional arts body to represent and advocate for the sector and its specific needs and virtues. Operating beyond the Berrimah Line, the arts in Central Australia have suceeded through audacity, excellence and determination. Organisations have realised their creative vision by seeking and winning additional project funding to top up modest operational budgets. All this, however, comes at a cost with coordinators working under extreme pressure to bring money in to sustain this arts mirage. “There is a different cultural construct in all regions across the breadth of Northern Territory, just as there is across the country. Take Darwin and Alice Springs as examples; the culture in Darwin and the culture in Alice Springs are quite different, meaning a strategy for achieving something in Darwin may not be appropriate in Alice Springs, just as it may not be appropriate for Tennant Creek, Katherine or Santa Teresa. As individual communities, we all think differently.” Tim Rollason, Director, Araluen Arts Centre “I don’t think the major funding bodies fund things strategically enough. Until there are project officers on the ground running programs, people end up having to be in the office so much because they have to write so many submissions to get their projects up. It’s a counter productive process. You need project money on top of your wages. The way it is set up now, you are flat out running your project and just maintaining the standard sources of your funds, you have to become a workaholic to achieve any more than those things. And there are programs around town that do that. People deserve to have lives as well.” Arts worker
“Alice Springs has never been ‘given’ anything. She has fought for every single little step she has achieved, again a pioneer. It’s never been a given that Alice would ‘get’ and I believe she has always been considered a poor relation in regards to the Arts (non indigenous) that’s had to prove its worth, and it’s done that in a big way. Because she has had to fight so hard at each step ,she’s actually incredibly organized and good at it. So it wouldn’t surprise me if in the future, Alice is known as the Centre for Regional Arts, Alice Springs will go from strength to strength. Alice has learnt to be very very good at what she does and that is bringing a whole community on board and making things happen.” Arts worker 11 the bones “From the beginning we used low production values, like car light and firelight, which came out of necessity as we had no money. But we found people liked that aesthetic and it came to characterise our work. People loved the use of site and the fact that performance was happening outside in unusual spaces. They saw the site in a new way.” Dani Powell, red shoes
Under Today, Goyder Lane, red shoes, Shifting Ground 2007. Performance-maker Dani Powell, Dancers Francis Martin, Miriam Bond. Photo Amanda King. Ground control to Major Tom Satellite offices have been a recent development, and are regional offshoots of Darwin based service organisations. Five of forty-seven arts organisations in Central Australia are recorded as satellite offices. Satellite offices have generally emerged from organisations that have a territory wide brief and have employed regional workers in Central Australia to engage, represent and interface with the community. Satellite offices have been successful in supporting a wider range of artforms in a more hands on developmental way and more able to link in with statewide/national profiling opportunities. In terms of their day to day functioning satellite offices rely on Darwin for greater administrational support and focus on running regional programs. Across the board, satellite office staff felt there was a general lack of communication between offices and limited awareness of day to day work being carried out in regional offices.
Satellite staff valued opportunities for face to face correspondence and regular visits between offices. Darwin motherships need to develop an enhanced understanding of managerial issues faced in the operation of satellite offices and consciously work to more fully support regional staff and projects.
“I think the Darwin office just forgets that you are there. They just forget to tell you stuff, they get busy in their day to day work and don’t tell you really important stuff. We tried to set up communication meeting times, but they often fell by the wayside, they just didn’t happen.” Arts worker
12 O Captain! My Captain! Governing in the desert the bones • 91% of arts organisations operated from a board or committee structure and on average have 9 committee members and meet 8.5 times a year. • 73% of organisations had specific guidelines for the make-up of their governing bodies. Most art centres and Indigenous organisations specified the governing committee needed to include Indigenous members, other guidelines for the make-up of boards included direction for the representation of women, skin groups and that various regions were included. • 19% of organisations had specialized professionals such as lawyers and accountants on their governing committees. • 70% of organisations had artists sitting on their boards. This figure is inflated, however, due to art centre governing bodies whose members are mostly artists. • 24% of organisations had arts workers sitting on their boards.
There was a level of dissatisfaction over the amount of time spent managing boards versus their input, particularly for small arts organisations that characterise the region. Indigenous governance in art centres was described as visionary and consultative and offered informally through day to day conference as well as in meetings.
“Our meetings are not formalised but every week we have a talk about our art centre and I ask people how to do something or what I should do.” Arlpwe Art & Culture Centre “That table out there we call the kitchen table, and that’s where all the decisions are made.” Arts worker
A Moment, Francis Martin & J9 Stanton, Cat’s Meow Cabaret, 2007. 13 the bones people belonging to Apmere (home) 2 way governance
Most arts organisations surveyed are aware of the cultural diversity in their communities. Arts organisations in Central Australia are beginning to have confidence in validating, articulating and structuring ways of working with respect to different cultures and values that exist in their work life. This includes an understanding of the core cultural frameworks that govern Aboriginal people’s lives. Given the diversity that does exist between different language groups, the principles of ‘same but different’ apply across cultural spheres.
“Country holds Skin. Apmereke Artweye hold their Father’s Father’s Skin, and Kwertengwerle, they have to look after their Mother’s Father’s Father’s Country.
And then there are ways you don’t put yourself in a situation where you become a rubber stamp, because you can’t do it. Family know the rules.
There are just rules you learn, you know them without having them explained to you. You are taught these proper ways of behaving when you are a child, and you never question them. That’s the way it is. These rules have been laid down forever. We all know where we come from, and we all know our proper behaviour boundaries, and we don’t speak for others or for other people’s Country. We have that relationship with each other. “
Doris Stuart Apmere-ke-Artweye Mparntwe (Alice Springs) custodian
Apparition, Olive Pink’s Campground, 1st Tea Time Tardis Landing, Franca Barraclough. Stories in the Tea Cup Project 2008. Photo Lucy Kenneth 14 the bones Facilities and Resources / tin sheds, canvas and camp dogs • 72% of organisations stated their administrative facilities were appropriate for their needs. • 64% of organisations stated their facilities were appropriate for their program. • 66% of organisations stated their offices were equipped appropriately. • The most called for resource was increased staffing followed by vehicles,software & a community PA.
One of the most common unmet site needs was stated as men’s painting spaces. Many art centre dedicated workspaces are used predominantly by women, a proportion of art centres evolving from Women’s Centres. Men are either painting from their homes or in inappropriate, small spaces. There is a real necessity for infrastructure to address and acknowledge the need for separate men’s and women’s paintings areas for Indigenous artists. Other needs included appropriate rehearsal space, storage space and size of administration areas.
Peggy Brown detail, Hoppys Town Camp. Tangentyere Artists. Photo Liesl Rockchild “We need a physical venue where music can be performed. There is nowhere at the moment that bands can find their expression. Music is also about performing as well as recording. There are all sorts of issues related to performing in hotels. Where do performers coming from out of town, perform? It would be good to have a large, fenced, open air venue ……..then we could actually get somewhere.” Bill Davis, Staff Music Manager, CAAMA An average Central Australian arts organisation employs: •2 full time, 1 part time and 2 project based staff •7 volunteers, mostly on a project/event basis Art Centres employ on average •2 full time staff and 1 part time staff with up to 4 CDEP Apparition, Olive Pink’s Campground, (Community Development Employment Program) employees per organisation. 1st Tea Time Tardis Landing, Of the 47 arts organisations surveyed,103 Indigenous CDEP workers were employed. During this research the Franca Barraclough. Stories in the Tea Cup Project 2008. CDEP program was terminated due to the Emergency Intervention into Aboriginal communities, a number of Photo Lucy Kenneth these positions in remote art centres have now been reinstated. Only 19% of paid positions outside the CDEP program were held by Indigenous people, and over half of these are housed within the one organisation. 15 the bones staff cont. These figures illustrate the dichotomy between the large percentage (72%) of Indigenous content in organisational programming and the ability to harness Indigenous perspectives and guidance through staff and, particularly in non Art centres, through board members.
The employment of Indigenous staff was the main human resource aim for the majority of organisations. Barriers to achieving increased Indigenous staffing included literacy issues as well as long term engagement in workplace structures. Some organisations have developed successful workplace structures and missions for engaging Indigenous participants and employees. These included working and validating different life and cultural modus operandi. However, there was also a level of frustration with the prescribed structures of funding bodies that allowed for little flexibility in this area.
• The average staff turnover was 3.4 years, the general trend for long term commitment ie. 5 years plus or short term 18 months. Long term employment was felt to be hindered by inconsistent or project based funding. In remote art centres lack of housing infrastructure / the ability to house extra staff was a major cause of organisational inability to employ staff, even if funding for staff was available. • 65% of organisations reported difficulties in recruiting staff which is seen as a common issue across Central Australian industries. • 51% of organisations had staff members who were practicing artists.
When looking to recruit staff, qualities most important to arts organisations were good administration skills followed by artform skills and an aptitude for cross cultural understanding. Local knowledge and network building were accepted as part of on the job training. Other skills described as important in the recruitment of staff focused on personal qualities and strengths such as interpersonal communication, humour, patience and commitment.
“The challenge is to get more Indigenous people as process heads (arts administrators) but there are huge barriers in the way funding applications are structured. These structures are only one way, whitefella way. There needs to be more flexibility with respect and acknowledgement of traditional lore and skills.” Lucy Kenneth
“We really should be building Indigenous people into my job but because of time and the amount of work to do, it takes a back seat and it makes me feel guilty every day.” Helen Johnson, Iwantja Arts
Charlie Lowson, InCite Youth Public Arts Project 2007. Photo Virginia Heydon, 16 InCIte Youth Arts. the bones why we working in red dust
“It’s a real feel good job. Most of the time we are all just having fun. I love my job, that’s why I am still here.” Helen Johnson, Iwantja Arts and Crafts
“I find that the people I am working with and living with are incredibly warm, friendly, generous and really interesting. I like community involvement, a small outback town demands that you become involved in it.” Manager, Julalikari Arts
“You have to be a certain type of person to live here. To work in this isolated desert town, you really have to have a certain type of quality about you and what I have noticed is that people that do come here, there is something that is quite unique about them. Some people just can’t survive here.” Franca Barraclough, Cat’s Meow Cabaret
“I came here to go to Uluru for a holiday but I got involved in the arts community here straight away. Three years later I am still busy in the arts community and I haven’t made it to Uluru.” Andrew Moynihan
bright grass trees, Mightbe somewhere Alison Dowell (from the Threshold series), Pamela Lofts 2007 (diptych) C-type photographs on aluminium 17 good story Ngapartji Ngapartji I give you something, you give me something Alex Kelly, Creative Producer
cupati, booty music and community engagement Ngapartji Ngapartji has emerged from eight years of research and development between Scott Rankin, Trevor Jamieson and the Jamieson family. Ngapartji Ngapartji applies the Big hART model of art based community development in a new context. It brings together Pitjantjatjara and non-Pitjantjatjara people, honouring everyone’s contribution, to create a process of Ngapartji Ngapartji: exchange and cross-cultural collaboration.
In the creation of the project Big hART has worked to date with over 250 individuals, 30 organisations, developed a world first online Pitjantjatjara language and culture site which has over 350 subscribers as well as presenting 8 seasons of theatre works to over 20,000 people at major festivals around Australia. Big hART arts mentors and producers work alongside members of the Pitjantjatjara community in Alice Springs and Docker River (NT) and the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjara Lands (SA), and young people and their families from Abbott’s, Karnte, Little Sisters and Larapinta Valley town camps in Alice Springs. Local youth and social services, media, arts and business organisations also support this community process.
Weekly workshops with young people create material for the online world of Ngapartji Ngapartji’s online language and culture site, Ninti, where audiences are invited to engage with Pitjantjatjara language and culture. The workshops also feed ideas into the theatre production Ngapartji Ngapartji. Material varies in form and content in response to participation, which is in turn influenced by matters such as cultural and family obligations, sickness, sorry business (grieving after the passing of family or friends), and high levels of transience between town and bush communities.
Ngapartji Ngapartji, Teaching Kata Alipiri Muti Tjina, Sydney Festival 2008. 18 Photo Hiedrun Lohr good story Ngapartji Ngapartji
community process - working both ways Ngapartji Ngapartji is a project of depth and integrity grounded in a solid community process and strongly ‘owned’ by its participants. For a project working with marginalised communities who are surviving, projects need to be responsive. As such the Ngapartji Ngapartji team do not report to the Big hART board for every decision that is made on the ground – to go bush for a series of workshops or to commit to a touring season.
Decisions are made in weekly meetings and workers are empowered to make decisions and choose directions for the project in keeping with the ethos of community development and the greater project aims. Workers are not seen as distinct from participants, in that everyone is benefiting from the process of exchange, skills building and development.
The project is structured in such a way as to serve the development of the artists working on it as much as participants in the process – a filmmaker might be offered a role to direct a documentary and simultaneously mentor a young participant, this serves the artist’s career, the participant and the project.
Ngapartji Ngapartji, Teaching Kata Alipiri Muti Tjina, Sadie Richards & Belinda Abbott, Sydney Festival 2008. Ngapartji Ngapartji Sydney Photo Hiedrun Lohr Festival 2008. 19 good story Ngapartji Ngapartji the open crowd approach One of the major challenges within the project is working with transient participants who are located over a large geographic area. Ngapartji Ngapartji approach this through an ‘open crowd’ model where people are able to participate as little or often as they are able and desire to; where the door is always open. Ngapartji Ngapartji travel a lot, send copies of DVDs and language content developed to communities where there are strong networks. Ngapartji Ngapartji partners with other organisations who work in the same communities to share information and resources to reach everyone in their networks.
Each week the Ngapartji Ngapartji demountable office is awash with tea drinking, reggae and booty tunes, groups of teenagers (often accompanied by babies or children in their care) and elders, checking out the new videos created for the website, planning the next bush trip, getting help with Centrelink business or leafing through festival programs. As well as through participation in more formal workshops and activities, a strong sense of ownership of this project by young people and community members has been built through the cheerful dynamic of the office space, especially the regular sharing of mai (food) and cupati (cups of tea). A strong relationship has developed between the residents of town camps where a number of young people live, so that the project has engendered a sense of community broader than workshop participation.
In recognition of the value of this informal support and participation in sustaining the spirit of the project, Big hART organises community activities and events such as barbeques or film nights in town camps and at the Ngapartji Ngapartji office. Young people who may have once participated in the stage or website production but are no longer able to, are kept informed of activities and visited. This has kept the project open to young people to return and participate again when their life circumstances allow it.
It is through this ‘open crowd’ approach, the ownership that the community has of the project and the depth of inter-company trust that has grown, that participants choose to travel and share their stories. This allows festival audiences in Sydney and Melbourne to be exposed to the stories and skills of this community, such as Elton Wirri, grandson of Albert Namatjira, who moved audiences to tears with the exquisite landscape he sketched in chalk during the Sydney season.
Making a short film, Pukatja 2008. Ngapartji Ngapartji, 20 Ngapartji Ngapartji Shooting a film clip Pipylatjatjara 2008 good story Ngapartji Ngapartji sites of expertise By creating various sites of expertise – a young person might be an expert in booty music and Pitjantjatjara, a producer might be an expert in gaining media attention, a learning worker might have great ideas about digital literacies, an artist might be a master at collage, an elder might be an expert in traditional inma and stories… All of these skills and the diversity different people bring to the project are valued and fed in to the project in different ways. Everyone involved is able to recognise their contribution in the project, through a photo or film on the website, a song on a reggae or gospel CD we have recorded, a profile on the office wall, a picture in the Centralian Advocate or in the fortnightly news on the site.
The model is based on reciprocity and exchange – so a young person becomes an expert in their language and culture and this expertise is valued and desired by inner city experts – the types of people that usually make decisions about the young people in the desert. The project is bi-lingual and is run in Pitjantjatjara and English. This levels out relationships, power and expertise amongst everyone on the project.
The project model could be implemented in any community in the NT, or indeed Australia. The intergenerational approach partnering with artists and literacy workers is currently being evaluated through independent studies by Murdoch University and Australian National University’s Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy research unit. These studies, as well as the thorough and ongoing documentation of the process make it a model that is easy to describe, understand and refer to in establishing a similar process in another language group or community.
Ngapartji Ngapartji Choir, Sydney Festival 2008
Pukatja recording studio, October 2007 21 Who r u & what do u do? Who r u & what do u do? Behind the dots In the Central Desert the visual arts and crafts were surveyed as the most supported artforms. • 38% of organisations surveyed are Aboriginal Art Centres dedicated to supporting Indigenous arts and crafts. A total of 76% of organisations stated they supported visual arts in their function. • Dance, music and literature were reported as supported by organisations but often as a secondary artform, ie. art centres supporting traditional song and dance as a part of special cultural activities and events. The performing arts arena is seen as an area with potential to develop and flourish.
“I think that Alice Springs is quite foolish, in its lack of accepting and engaging Indigenous people in the performing arts. There are a lot of visual arts being supported. Alice Springs has got the opportunity to be the cultural hub of Australia.” Peter Yates, Jangapa Dancers
the soft centre - our role in the community Arts organisations identified well-being as the most important in their roles, and economic prosperity as the least. While organisations felt they cover many roles in their function, deeper social and community outcomes are fundamental components of their operation. These identified roles reflect a tension between real community need and economic business paradigms.
”The art centre is vital to the community in terms of cultural activity, it’s a place where people come and talk, it’s a meeting place. It’s a mechanism for cultural interaction that produces work that is of value outside the community. It’s not just the artwork itself but the ability of people to get together with all those other intangible outcomes.” Harold Furber
“CAAMA is a particularly active social and community agent and has a certain role in its charter to arrest the process of cultural disintegration and language disintegration by using the broadcasting arts and sciences, it has got a very strong social role.” Bill Davis, Music Manager, CAAMA producing distinctive australian product advocacy & support skills transfer well being & community harmony community access cross cultural collaboration economic prosperity 22 Who r u & what do u do? Who r u & what do u do?
“There is always a happy vibe in the place. The older people come in and sit down, they do not always paint, it is a good place to be.”
“We are recognised for the level of involvement we have with the communities we are associated with, and for the way we have helped support these communities. We assist with a lot of health, social and cultural programs, such as constructing and maintaining the swimming pool, supporting sports carnivals and providing equipment, and supporting the dialysis unit, ceremonies, youth activities and a number of projects undertaken by the women’s centre.” Marg Bowman, Papunya Tula
“We have a functioning business and provide meaningful activity that is giving artists a professional profile. Their works are in galleries, we are ethical and artists say that since they have been painting, their substance abuse has decreased.” Leisl Rockchild, Tangentyere Artists
Excellence vs Community engagement 76% organisations felt community engagement was more important than excellence in their organisational goals. Most organisations found it hard to place one over another and felt that both qualities were integral and valued in their purpose.
“If the community process wasn’t really good but the work was good, or if the community process was good but produced bad work then that would diminish what we do. In a long term project there are times when one swings one way or the other and it’s something all of us working on the project feel acutely, when the integrity has been lost, if any of those things diminish. They never become comfortable and sit beside each other comfortably. That tension is part of what allows something to be really special.” Alex Kelly, Creative Producer, Ngapartji Ngapartji
A Moment, Mei Lai Swan, Cat’s Meow Cabaret 2007
Jangapa Dancers, Dancers of the Land Dance for the Future, Araluen Arts Centre Photo Steve Strike Copyright© Jangapa Dancers Who r u & what do u do? Who r u & what do u do? How we spend our time Organisations spent the largest percentage of their time, 22%, working with artists and 5%, the lowest percentage of their time, on training. Remote art centres requested ongoing training opportunities both for staff and artists and felt that most training offered came in short one-off programs leaving little opportunity for solid and amalgamated learning. Art centres stated administrative training for Indigenous workers as the most needed. Computer software training, particularly in areas of administration and web design, were requested. Organisations working heavily across cultures requested language training for staff. Professional development was often seen as a luxury amidst a busy work schedule with only 54% of organisations having a budget line for professional development and only 31% of organisations acknowledging this as a core rather than contingent undertaking. funding & reporting promotions & marketing working with artists event management planning administration training networking & meeting “I have a real passion about us providing a skills development platform here rather than people having to go away to undertake training. If we don’t provide these opportunities we will not have a sustainable performing arts industry in the centre, which would be such a shame given that we have some of the richest food for feeding artistic expression in the world. That combination of rich material, raw energy and provision of ongoing, outcome based skills development opportunities, will give the Central Australian performing arts industry real potential to become a signature of the Northern Territory and national identities and a hub for intercultural exchange.” Dani Loy, Red Dust Theatre
Tjupi Band from Papunya, 24 Bush Bands Bash 2007 Who r u & what do u do? Who r u & what do u do? Connecting and engaging participants Central Australian arts organisations’ primary target groups for audiences and participants were youth and Indigenous peoples. Organisational success and robustness were often measured in continued custom from participants and the ability to engage fully with the community and its members.
“The ability to engage a minority, marginalized group of young people is something that people who work on the project are really proud about, even though it’s really hard.” Alex Kelly, Ngapartji Njapartji
“We have artists that have been involved in the art centre for 60 years. They started working there when they were young girls. One of the senior artists said about batik, ‘It became us.’ The art centre is them. “ Ernabella Arts
“I think a sign of a fact that the artists think that the work we do for them is good and of value is the loyalty shown by artists. People continue to make beautiful baskets and sculptures, ever more inventively, and people have worked with us for years and years. I think the fact that people keep walking through the door, that they ask for workshops and come to them, those are signs that we are regarded as a valuable service.” Karin Riederer, Manager, Tjanpi Desert Weavers, NPYWC
“What grew inside of me as I did the last few productions has made me better Conductor Morris Stuart, at serving theatre. If I wanted to leave town, change career or join another Asante Sana Choir Alice Desert Festival 2007 theatre group I would have a skill I could take with me. Totem Theatre is an Photo Leo Ortega ideal space for me to hone some skills or even develop some ideas about what I want in the industry, and I see that happening with some of our younger members. “ John Bridgefoot, President, Totem Theatre
“The community has to be engaged with what’s going on. There is no point going out there and doing your own thing without growing the Baskets, Steve Anderson, Up the Garden community with you.” Di Isgar, Path, Olive Pink Botanic Garden, 2008 Papulankutja Artists 25 WhoDeveloping r Central u & Australia: what cohesion do and criticsu do? Throughout the cultural audit interviews there was a call for a more harmonious and cohesive arts sector. Although often intertwined, the arts sector still has scope to work better together to lobby, showcase, resource and act as a united front in promoting and articulating the Central Desert arts and its needs especially without a regional body.
“One of the most pertinent issues for arts in Central Australia is to work in harmony with the different groups that are here; and I am not only talking about Indigenous groups, but also those working in both arts and non arts contexts… An essential component to a well functioning society is the ability to voice, listen and discuss different opinions. Having a platform to dialogue and an avenue that allows for collaborative action that is inclusive of these differences is, I believe, crucial for understanding and appreciation. ...Arts praxis can be used as a broad reaching tool that provides multiple opportunities for members of a community to step forward and participate.” Jasmine Lance, Community Cultural Development Officer, Alice Springs Town Council “There are a lot of good ideas about community based arts that the Indigenous sector could benefit from. There are also a lot of good business skills in the Indigenous commercial sector which the community arts sector could work with as well. Indigenous arts is very successful, they have got a good business and they are working towards sales but there are a lot of benefits to come from community arts and like community cultural development practices.” Rachael French The interviews highlighted a perceived need for critical dialogue within Central Australian arts practice. Being a small and remote town makes it difficult to start such debate. Alice Springs audiences are grateful for almost any art extravaganza held within the community and glad for even unpolished experiments that can grace the local arts horizon. The culture of acceptance and participation leaves little space for a critical arena and opportunities to extend professionally.
Critical dialogue on Aboriginal art is also minimal both within Central Australia and in the national arena. Seen as bad form and an attack on Indigenous culture itself, many are unwilling to give voice to concerns about quality and direction of our biggest arts industry.
“Everyone here thinks they are fantastic, but we in Alice are not necessarily exposed to a high level of professionalism. Some of the stuff produced here is not of the highest quality of expertise. We have little critical dialogue and in a small community it’s hard for some to accept judicious analysis. Some will always remain big fish in a little pond, others will need to get out. A level of professionalism is important and this level must rise if the quality of performance and artistic endeavour is to improve.” Eugene Ragghianti
“In Central Desert there is no peer group. There is no accessible peer group of professional practitioners within the various portfolios to provide critical analysis, feedback, peer group support or opportunities to work with genres that the Press might not be engaging with for a period of time.” Arts worker 26 Who r u & what do u do? good story Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association Bill Davis, Music Manager, CAAMA Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association Radio was the first Aboriginal broadcast group in Australia to secure a community broadcasting license with the purpose of providing Aboriginal people in Central Australia with radio programs produced by Aboriginal people, in Aboriginal languages and English.
Between 1980 and 1984 CAAMA existing broadcast facilities (8HA, 8CCC & ABC) were variously used to transmit Aboriginal programming daily. Then in 1984 the broadcast licence was fully granted to CAAMA. An infant version of CAAMA as we know it today began their broadcasting activities. They are now also web-streamed to a world- wide audience via www.caama.com.au/radio.
Pioneering the recording, promotion, and distribution of Aboriginal music from Central Australia and beyond. In 1980, CAAMA Music staff travelled with the mobile recording studio to bush communities hundreds of kilometres from Alice Springs to record bands, songs, ceremonies and gospel choirs.
These early recordings were released on CAAMA’s original label Imparja Records. This was the first Aboriginal recording label in the country. CAAMA met the music needs of people living in remote communities and outstations by distributing cassettes of music through the post and on bush car trips. The CAAMA Music label was established in 1988 with its own professional recording studio at Little Sisters town camp. Aboriginal musicians came from all over Australia to record their songs.
In 1995, the new CAAMA Music Yamma Studios opened in CAAMA’s Todd Street building in Alice Springs. CAAMA Music has recorded at least 800 albums in more than 15 Aboriginal languages.
Disco in the dust at Ampilatwatja – CAAMA Music. Photo: Patrick McCloskey Areyonga Desert Reggae. Photo: John Skuja 27
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Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association CAAMA Productions is the largest Indigenous film and television production house in Australia, producing internationally celebrated programs about Indigenous lives, histories, politics and cultures. In 1983, CAAMA Television began making videos in Aboriginal languages and English to provide educational information to remote communities. CAAMA Television’s first series production Urrpeye (Messenger) was televised in 1986 on ABC TV. This was the first ever Indigenous television series broadcast nationally and devoted entirely to Indigenous issues. To preserve Indigenous languages and cultures, CAAMA Television created a documentary series called Nganampa Anwernekenhe (meaning ‘ours’ in the Pitjantjatjara and Arrernte languages). Since 1988, over 150 episodes of this series have given voice to Indigenous cultural memories and histories through the stories, art, music, and dances of the original inhabitants of this land.
Lander River Band from Willowra Photo:John McKay 28 good story
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association Promoting the work of Aboriginal artists, distributing CAAMA Music recordings and CAAMA Productions videos and generating economic and cultural benefits for Aboriginal communities.
In 1984, CAAMA opened a retail outlet on Gap Road. CAAMA Shops was established at the same time that the Western Desert acrylic paintings were coming to the attention of National and International art markets.
Our shops haves played a central role in the development of Australian Aboriginal art, craft and music industries. In the late 1980’s, CAAMA Shops management worked closely with the Utopia women’s batik group and introduced to the art world the now world-famous painting by the late Kngwarreye. By 1992, there were two CAAMA shops and a wholesale warehouse. In 1995, CAAMA Shops operations were consolidated into the new building on Todd Street.
Ampilatwatja girls Music for Life program – CAAMA Music Photo: Patrick McCloskey Aputula kids Dance for Life program – CAAMA Music Photo: Mariaa Randall Areyonga musicians training Photo: Sheldon Peters
29 getting it out there marketing structures • 50% of organisations had a marketing strategy. Marketing strategies were mostly informal and based on past practice and successful outcomes but were a considered and practical process that organisations consciously undertook. • 11% of organisations had dedicated, paid marketing staff. • 61% of organisations had marketing budgets that were primarily program or event based rather than an overall marketing budget. supersize me • 92% of organisations aimed to increase their audience/participant numbers. • 64% of organisations said they wanted to diversify their audience / participants. • 4% of organisations aimed to retain participant numbers. • Organisations stated that their aim was to grow and diversify audiences. Although many organisations felt their service provision was stretched and they were understaffed, no organisation aimed to reduce audience/participant numbers. getting it out of here • 68% of organisations promoted themselves and their activities interstate and 86% stated it was a goal to do so. The marketplace outside of Alice Springs and national profiling was very important for Aboriginal art centres and non Indigenous arts organisations alike. Market volume, market kudos and profiling for East Coast funding bodies were driving forces. Organisations stated that promoting and profiling interstate was extremely important to artists that they worked with and for. taking it to the masses -promotional tools • Central Australian arts organisations found the most effective strategies for promoting themselves and their events were ultilising print media, word of mouth and their established reputations. Older art centres and organisations felt they had established a reputation over their time in operation with organisations within the Territory and out nationally. • Remote art centres that had no “shop front” relied heavily on a web presence. • 95% of organisations participated in joint promotional activities. Desart, Araluen Arts Centre and the Alice Desert Festival were the most cited promotional partners.
“A lot of international groups that come to visit are impressed with our professionalism and our preparedness to talk to groups and present them with information leading up to their visit. The environment that we offer here for our artists and visitors is fun and relaxed.” Ngurratjuta Ilja Ntjarra Art Centre “We get a lot more interest in our activities from national media rather than local media.” Art worker 30 getting it out there www • 77% of Central Australian organisations have their own website. • The website is used predominantly to provide contact details, tell organisational stories and promote upcoming events. • 44% of organisations with websites have a sales function as part of their site. Remote art centres were more likely to see the sales function as an important part of their website. • Across the board there were issues with maintaining the currency of sales sites, and sites in general. • Many organisations had paid a technician to create their website but were most likely to maintain their own site. It was strongly felt that organisations lacked resources, time or skills to keep the website sufficiently up to date and functioning at an optimum level. Websites were updated, on average, once a month. • 46% of organisations thought their website was moderately successful in promoting their activities and 31% thought their site was very successful. audience development Throughout the Cultural Audit the question was often raised whether it was the same group of art aficionados creating and participating in the arts groundswell, and whether there was scope to more fully engage other segments of the community. In terms of growing young audiences, Alice Springs presents a family friendly and inclusive environment where it is commonplace to see gallery openings full of kids (and dogs). Youth contribute on equal footing in flagship events such as the Beanie Festival and Wearable Arts.
Audience development tools such as education kits were not utilised by organisations, possibly due to lack of resourcing rather than want.
“At some of the arts venues in this town, the same group reliably walk in, its lovely arts community, but there are large parts of the community that don’t access this. I would love to take that arts scene and dump it at the speedway. Taking the arts to the people.” Peter Lowson, Drum Atweme
”People have appreciated having contemporary performance in a regional area. Red Shoes has explored different disciplines and how they come together in a way that perhaps hasn’t been done here before.” Dani Powell, red shoes
Dianne Robinson, Iwantja Art worker Arts. Photo Helen Johnson 31 good story
Alice Springs Beanie Festival Merran Hughes
The Alice Springs Beanie Festival is a community based, non-profit textiles event that attracts thousands of visitors and contributors from all around Australia each year. Nothing can prepare you if you have never been. A beanie festival is unique. The heart of the festival is Beanie Central where thousands of beanies are hunted down and handled by the public. The great fun is trying on a thousand glorious beanies in quick succession. The exhibition, shown in the Araluen Galleries, display the amazing competition beanies. In 2008, 450 beanies were entered and judged with some difficulty, on design and concept. An incredible array of techniques, and ideas were woven into these beautiful works. In addition, the festival organises textile workshops, entertainment and textile demonstrations. One highlight is the Desert Spinners of Ernabella who show their Pitjantjatjara spinning.
The festival began with the aim of promoting Indigenous women’s textiles. The first Beanie Festival was a one day exhibition in 1997 and has evolved into a four day extravaganza. Beanie pioneers Adi Dunlop, Jo Nixon and Merran Hughes saw the beanie as an item that could be crocheted easily by women on communities. They can be made by the camp fire. They can be developed into simple or extravagant designs. Indigenous artists translate bush and tjukurrpa motifs onto their work, to great acclaim. Beanies are easy to carry, not necessarily expensive, fun and therefore marketable to the various beanie markets- from the fine art collector to the grey nomads in need of warmth in the desert cool.
Ernabella artists, Alice Springs Beanie Festival 2008. Photo Merran Hughes 32 good story
Alice Springs Beanie Festival
The beanies are perfect desert winter couture when temperatures drop to freezing in the Central Australian Desert. Indigenous women find beanie making a joyful way to keep their families warm as well as make some money. From the beginning, workshops have been held prior to the festival in remote communities across Central Desert. Workshops have supported knowledge already held by women in communities like Ernabella Arts in the Central Desert. There is a 40,000 year old history of making textiles. There is material evidence that head dress and other adornments have been made from spun fur, feathers and other fibres. Post-colonisation, Ernabella became a sheep station. Senior artists remember spinning, crocheting, knitting and weaving with home grown fleece. Ernabella Arts Centre has been producing textiles as part of the Mission since 1948.
Women from these remote bush communities demonstrate their fibre skills and hold workshops at the Beanie Festival each year. These cultural and artistic partnerships not only create and promote amazing work but making the festival a place of sharing and common footing. As well as bridging cultures the Beanie Festival gets women’s art out of the house and into the public arena. The humble beanie has become elevated to a fine art attracting galleries and collectors as well as a mass and frenzied extended audience lining up in front of cash registers with piles of feathered and fluffy beanies. Penny O’Neil, Alice Springs Beanie Festival 2008 Photo Fiona Croft
Alice Springs Beanie Festival 2008 Photo Fiona Croft
Beanie Festival concert 2008 Photo Merran Hughes
33 good story Alice Springs Beanie Festival
The festival’s website has played an integral role in attracting national and international attention. Information about the coming year is available easily on the net. There is also information about the aims and programs in communities and local schools. The festival has also received attention as the result of quirky media editorial including a large amount of local and national television coverage on the festival. It is interesting that countries like Japan and England covered the festival long before most of Australia took note. The festival has developed other publications such as books, posters and print advertising to attract interest and disperse information about the festival. Partnerships have been developed with textile groups and textile publications all of whom support the festival.
There have been a number of spin off exhibitions over the years- Indigenous beanies were shown at Walkabout Galleries and Bondi Pavillion Gallery in Sydney, the National Art Gallery and the National Museum in the ACT. Colours of the Country, a travelling show of the Festival collection has been touring Australia’s regional galleries since 2006, with a 3 year itinerary planned. This exhibition, organised by Artback, has been a great success with many visitors citing this show as an impetus to visit the centre.
Word of mouth is one of the festival’s most powerful marketing ploys. People love the festival and they tell their friends. The artists of Australia, mostly women, love to support the festival, not only because it’s a great opportunity to showcase this new regional artform but also because there is a chance to support and celebrate the work of our Indigenous sisters. There are many who wish for meaningful reconciliation and the beanie provides one fun and quirky commonality.
Mudlark Wild women series Feral Fire Artist: Ali Symounds Artist:Tjunjaya Tapaya Artist: Penny O’Neil
34 off the bitumen Desert Flagships – oasis in the desert
The Central Australian arts sector has evolved to support the energetic Indigenous arts activity that occupies the region. As the nation looks to Aboriginal art as investment, enjoyment, an identity and a point of contact for cross cultural understanding, Aboriginal Art Centres in Central Australia have become the success stories of the desert, bringing in an estimated 12 million dollars per year, emanating from 42 art centres that support around 3000 artists (John Oster, Aboriginal Community Art as Sustainable Business, Desart, 2006). These art centres also play deep and significant social roles within their own communities.
• Central Australian arts organisations surveyed had a total average of 71% of Indigenous content in their programs. • 51% of organisations stated their primary function provided for Indigenous participants exclusively – this is made up predominantly of Aboriginal Art Centres supporting visual art and craft. • 96% of all organisations stated their activities included Indigenous beneficiaries and participants. • 98% of organisations stated that the Indigenous beneficiaries they supported engaged with the arts as producers, participants and artists. • 58% of organisations reported that their programs attracted Indigenous audiences – there was, however, a general feeling that numbers of Indigenous audiences attending events were minimal. • 70% of organisations identified supporting Indigenous beneficiaries from remote communities. • 39% of organisations support Indigenous beneficiaries from Alice Springs town camps. • 48% of organisations support “other” urban Indigenous beneficiaries. This figure pertained primarily to audiences rather than producers/artists.
Joe Jangala Bird makes a No 7. Arlpwe Art & Culture Centre. Photo Vic Martin 35 off the bitumen Black, White & Grey Only 39% of Alice Springs based, non art centre organisations had any Indigenous representation on their boards while Indigenous content made up an average of 53% of their programs. There is acknowledgement that Alice Springs based organisations engage a large proportion of Indigenous content but connect with limited Indigenous guidance through either Indigenous staff (19% of paid staff) or Indigenous board members. Many organisations surveyed sought to increase Indigenous staff and representation on their boards but had found this difficult to achieve. Many non art centres said they conferred with Indigenous participants for organisational direction but felt a formal board structure was not always appropriate for Indigenous members.
“The board, in terms of running the art centre has been basically non descript, maybe it’s me, I don’t know, I have found this the hardest thing. In Blackstone, I think people are busy living their lives and don’t really give a shit about the whitefella stuff. People are not interested in art centre management, the art centre is important to them in other ways.” Di Isgar, Papulankjuta Artists
Namatjira Town Camp, Tangentyere Artists. 36 Photo Mike Gillam off the bitumen Dusty Roads - Servicing Remote Areas • 57% of Alice Springs based organisations saw servicing remote areas as a goal for their organisations. • 54% Alice Springs based organisations actively service remote communities and 62% of these organisations felt they were successful doing so. A lack of resources was perceived as the primary difficulty in servicing remote areas. Resources were defined as funds, staff and time. Issues such as cultural barriers, remote interest in program, communication issues or people networks were not seen as problematic in the ability to fully service remote areas.
Although remote art centres seemed somewhat unaware of arts activity and services available from Alice Springs, 72% of remote art centres responded that they accessed some Alice Springs based arts service organisations. The primary organisation accessed was Desart followed by other Alice Springs based organisations such as CAAMA, Tjanpi Desert Weavers, Artback and Araluen. Central Australian art centres not based in the Territory accessed other state support bodies such as Ku Arts in South Australia. It should also be acknowledged that Alice Springs based organisations may service remote communities through other networks such as community councils and youth programs.
While Alice Springs based arts organisations were very interested to service the bush, there was much discussion on the need for a position with a networking function travelling between Alice Springs based arts service organisations and remote communities. There was a level of interest from art centres in collaborating or gaining support from Alice based organisations, these remote community centres were time poor and were focused on coping with busy workplaces and a sales orientated schedule. It would be up to Alice Springs service organisations to present remote art centres with projects that were relevant and offered no burden on already busy workloads if they wanted to engage with these centres.
© Lisa Stefanoff Alec Barker, Iwantja Arts. IAD Press Photo Helen Johnson 37 off the bitumen Corrugations Remote Aboriginal art centres operate under extremely harsh environmental conditions. This is significant for art centre artists but also for art centre staff who are often isolated from peer and familial support systems. • Community infrastructures offering basic services may not exist or operate at a high level of dysfunction. • Workplace or residential infrastructure may be inappropriate for their needs. • Due to isolation, personal and professional relationships with other community staff members may be pressured or conflicting creating a difficult social set of conditions. • Mismanagement of art centre affairs by larger council administration can significantly affect the running of centres. Roles From the already overwhelming tasks demanded of remote art centres in their day to day core business as art producers, gallery operators, small business enterprise and cultural hubs; remote art centres also took on many and varied roles in the communities they worked in.
Through necessity, art centres often found themselves as an important interface to the larger “white” world and took on the role of reading/interpreting/understanding correspondence, assisting artists with complexities of Centrelink, manage training and skills development programs and deal with health and wellbeing of elderly artists.
“We have a culture day every fortnight, the kids come across from the school and the women get painted up and dance in the yard. When that first started the women were crying, they were really excited that the kids were coming across. The art centre is the last link to culture.” Arts worker
”If the art centre didn’t exist it would leave a crater in the community in every way; socially, economically, employment, creativity, health and in wellbeing.” Kaltjiti Arts and Crafts
“We are the only providers of training and skills development in the community” Helen Johnson, Iwantja Arts
“Without Julalikari Arts there would be very little marketing of artwork, there wouldn’t be an arts regional development plan, there would be people with less money, there would be a gap training people in certain areas, their would be health issues, there would be a gap in resources where we help people access government services and there would be a lot of people with nothing much to do.” 38 Manager, Julalikari Arts off the bitumen Art Centres, Authenticity and Carpet Bags Art Centres consider themselves as playing an important role in ensuring the future and value of Aboriginal art through notions of authenticity and best practice. Transparent in how art works are produced, art centre charters aim to ensure the conditions the artists work under are ethical and the works produced are authentic. Art Centres repeatedly expressed concern at the threat to the Aboriginal art industry and interests of artists by the questionable practices of some ‘free marketers’ or ‘carpet baggers’. While acknowledging a free market, Art Centres aim to provide culturally appropriate, sustainable enterprises that support artist development professionally, work on site where intergenerational cultural learning can be maintained and contribute holistically to the community they operate from.
“One of the big issues is dealing with those free marketers. There is a fine line between exploitation and a free market. With the intervention, people’s money is being quarantined, people are more likely to go to carpet baggers to get quick cash.” Harold Furber
“If we were not here, the 350 artists on our books would only be painting for carpet baggers. What that means is that the artists are not supported in their long term development as an artist and not supported through other social services we can provide.” Liesl Rockchild, Tangentyere Artists
“Artists who paint only through art centres will do better on the whole, because, hopefully, the art coordinators will look after their career and represent them appropriately and not flood the market with a lot of paintings.” Matt Goff, Mwerre Anthurre Artists
Kyle Lyons & Steve Woods, Kalaya Dance, Ngaanayatjarraku, WA, Wirpurly Walk Photo Renita Glencross 39 off the bitumen money money money Moneys earned directly by artists in Aboriginal art centres last year was in excess of $390k per art centre (courtesy of Brian Tucker, figure based on 25 art centres). This money enters communities that are fiscally poor and, recently, under the effects of money quarantining through the Federal Government’s Intervention. Money earned by the artists can be important bread and butter survival money but also can be large sums for well known artists and difficult to manage amid a larger social backdrop. Art Centres have taken different strategies and understandings in acknowledging these issues and how they relate to their function as an art centre.
“We buy all the artworks upfront, and for the women who are selling their work to us, that money is food money, or blanket money or medicine money. It is important money for looking after family. It’s often survival money. Generally, it’s also small enough that they’re not so likely to get humbugged for it.” Karin Riederer, Manager, Tjanpi Desert Weavers, NPYWC
”I think the money earned from painting makes a difference in people lives, but not always in productive ways. An issue of concern is the payment for paintings for artists in town camps who are drinkers. Putting money into those situations doesn’t always solve problems. There are so many reasons why artists are in a poverty cycle. When some of the artists become successful, it is not necessarily a good thing for them, there may be family harrassing them quite badly for money. Having money doesn’t necessarily improve a person’s quality of life.” Leisl Rockchild, Tangentyere Artists
“Social dysfunction can be chronic when money comes in. Art centres need to be responsible and give artists governance training and money management tools and resources so they can cope with their income effectively” Edwina Circuitt, Warakurna Artists
“I know you have to have your high flyers (painters) to keep things going but I get a bit concerned with big money floating around and individuals getting that big money. It can be detrimental; people can indulge in self destructive behaviour. To me that is a problem. The art centre here is a community asset and a unifying mechanism. I like a unified style of doing things, the idea of everyone working together. If the dollars can be spread evenly around the community it creates less pressure on some individuals. It’s more sustainable and benefits the community more.” Harold Furber
40 off the bitumen futures Local arts organisations and commentators surmised no certain direction for the Indigenous art market. Characterised often as chaotic, very few had a clear vision of its future. There was a level of concern with many older and successful painters passing away but also faith in a new urban and savvy generation of painters, designers and practitioners with vision and energy.
“Really the direction the community has taken out here is becoming an Art and Culture Centre, and that’s their currency. Much income comes from the knowledge of the culture. When the people start losing that (culture) there is a broad problem socially and economically. I am concerned how long the market will continue to absorb Aboriginal Art but my concern may be a reflection of what I don’t know about the market rather than the reality of it.” Arlpwe Art & Culture
“Currently Aboriginal Art is a juggernaught. It’s like, let’s build an art centre and it will solve all out problems. There is an expectation that because it is Aboriginal Art, that it will sell, that’s not necessarily the case. All Aboriginal Art will not sell….. I worry that at some point it is going to cease being a major source of income in communities.” Arts worker
“It’s a very powerful thing. To see a dance that has been going for thousands and thousands of years……the same song, the same ritual that has been handed down. We are getting toward the end of that handing down period.” Peter Yates, Jangapa Dancers
Tjanpi Dances, Dance Site, Alice Springs 2007. Photo Jo Foster 41 good story Julalikari Arts Manager, Julalikari Arts
Julalikari Arts, an Indigenous women’s art and craft centre in Tennant Creek, it is known locally as ‘The Pink Palace’. The name originates from its pink painted Besser block construction. The ‘Palace’ was built by Mary Ward, the elderly owner of Banka Banka Station in the 1950’s. At the time Aboriginal workers from the station had to leave Tennant Creek’s town limits at sunset. In her wisdom Mary bought land and built the premises on the outskirts of town so that the families had somewhere to stay on town visits. She was deeply admired by Aboriginal people for her respect and deeds. She subsequently bequeathed the ‘Palace’ to them. At the time the ‘Pink Palace’ was given as a derogatory name, however just as Australian soldiers in WWII embraced Rommel’s label for them as the ‘Rats of Tobruk’, the women who now work at the ‘Pink Palace’ have overcome scorn and prejudice to create a centre of immense importance and contribution to the community and wider society.
In 1994 a group of Aboriginal women procured funding to develop a feasibility study which resulted in the establishment of the Julalikari Council CDEP Women’s Art and Craft Centre. Over the past fourteen years the centre has had a strong emphasis on training, employment, governance, children’s welfare, life skills, art skills, administrative skills and business practice. In 2004 Julalikari Arts was singled out as a ‘Good Practice’ example of training for diverse client needs (Australian National Training Authority).
When I was first ‘chosen’ by the centre’s women to manage Julalikari Arts, the President of the Aboriginal Corporation who employed me made it quite clear that I was to continue to provide a safe and nurturing workplace that upheld cultural values. I was not to impinge at all upon the ownership and unique social atmosphere that the women had created there. Any successes from marketing, business strategies, networking etc. were good, a bonus even, but not the core reason for my appointment.
Since the Federal Intervention in the NT, the importance of such attitudes has been largely dismissed as not fitting the required strict business model that is demanded for continuing funding. By ignoring the full scope of what art centres might also have to offer (health, self pride, children’s welfare, social harmony, education and cultural maintenance) this view is failing to embrace the rich totality of what Indigenous people and their art centres have to offer. Interestingly, in this region, the Barkly, as we observe growing interest and engagement by a more informed public with Aboriginal people, it is their very cultural strength and difference that fuels that engagement, that fascinates and enlightens.
42 good story Julalikari Arts
It’s important to acknowledge that each of the Aboriginal Art Centres have evolved differently. Each region, and the art centres within that region, has responded to the particular needs and expectations of the aboriginal artists and communities. Guided by regional social and cultural identities, language, history, customs and, of course, the complex artistic styles and subject matter, art centres have upheld local traditions and, by so doing, have developed into regionally-specific, unique crucibles of Aboriginal art and culture. The legacy created by this is one of cultural diversity and artistic richness for which the instigators of art centre development, Aboriginal people, deserve total credit.
Julalikari Arts has developed its own unique style within the family of art centres in the central desert. There are two major streams of activity that reflect the two parallel universes that Aboriginal people live with constantly: Cultural maintenance and mainstream expectation.
This is a place where Aboriginal culture is strong and practised to the full. Ceremony and cultural protocols remain unswervingly the primary concern. The artworks are directly generated by this concern. ‘Dreaming’ stories, ‘bushtucker’ depiction, hunting stories, life-in-country pictures are all about a way of life and very little to do with art-market forces. As a country town-based centre - the artists all live in Tennant Creek, the Barkly Region’s administration centre – we enjoy a huge spread of influences of Aboriginal culture from all points of the compass and, currently, six different language groups. That the centre functions harmoniously and efficiently and produces works that are as strong and diverse as the women themselves is proof of the strength of each language group, each clan. Although there is minor leaching of styles, there is surprisingly little considering the close working proximity of the artists and each retains a strong individual direction.
Administraion planning session, Julalikari Arts 43 good story Julalikari Arts
Emphasis on training has resulted in several salaried positions being created, and a thriving childcare centre catering to, currently, twenty-five Aboriginal children and their families. The childcare centre is managed and staffed by Aboriginal women and all staff are undertaking accredited Early Childhood Learning training. Training and involvement throughout the Art Centre/Childcare Centre precinct is testimony to the artist’s ability to maintain both their cultural and mainstream commitments.
As manager of this precinct I’m constantly in awe of this ability by the women to straddle two diverse cultures, to live in what seems to be two realities, two parallel universes. In doing so, the daily experience is rich and varied and endlessly unpredictable.
In any one week we will hear that an old woman has gone off to dance in ceremony a thousand kilometres away, we’ll go out bush and collect seeds, beans and bush tucker and cook kangaroo tails, we’ll talk for hours about family and skin, sort out some protocols and advise some families, give cultural instruction to the hapless manager, visit important sites, affirm Aboriginal law and language. A total cultural plane. And paint and paint and print and sculpt and create wondrous pieces.
And then somewhere in all that, there’s time to attend computer training, go to Alice Springs and Batchelor, leaving at 3am on a bus to attend training, engage with private and public galleries via email and phone and stand before large group of city folk in Melbourne or Sydney at an exhibition opening and talk about their life. Or meet some tourists at the gate and guide them through the centre, upload images to a website, order supplies and resources, clean, bustle and then hit the darkroom with some images and then print five hundred calico bags for a ‘whitefella’ conference.
Susan Nelson, Peggy Jones, making crowbars, 44 Julalikari Arts Julalikari Arts
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Yesterday was ‘hunting’ and caring for country, tomorrow is meetings about the way Aboriginal law and mainstream law enforcement might best engage, and the day after it’s off to Adelaide or Darwin to cement some long-range exhibition agendas. Meanwhile rich works flow from the brush and admin is swamped in submissions for core and project funding. One supervisor will have finished a workplace management workshop, another an arts marketing course, and then, because they are sisters, will head off ‘out bush’ to ‘paint up’ and dance at a newborn’s smoking ceremony all night. Then they’ll front for work the next day and take dictation to be added to quarterly report addressing KPI’s for some government funding, make sure a daughter gets her child to hospital and then help some old ladies fill out endless forms for Centrelink about money-management or try another approach to get them a Birth Certificate so that they can get a Pension of some sort and not be so hungry. Later that day… an exquisite canvas about ‘working together’ or Ngapa (water) dreaming.
Next week it’s stretching canvas, mixing paint and then an appointment with a Job Network place to go through the procedure of getting a ‘real’ job. And you better not miss that or you’ll be in breach and just might end up losing your CDEP payment of $240/week. Not good for the eight people living in the house. But there is that lovely terracotta plate with the family bush history to finish….. Two worlds. Infinite patience. Unbelievable tolerance.
But gee they do it tough. And laugh. Gee they laugh a lot. So strong, so bloody clever!
Linda Brody + Flora Holt , at exhibition opening, Julalikari Arts 45 Julalikari Arts China de la Vega, Artist in Resident 2006
Early this morning as we huddled around thegood water boiler, a bunch of cold women clutchingstory strong teas in dish sized cups, I asked Nikkie Morrison, a long-time big part of Julalikari Arts and Crafts, in the robust outback town of Tennant Creek, ‘What is it about the ‘Pink Palace’ that makes this place so good? Important to you? Pretty magic to be amongst?’ A long pause ensued, typical of early morning conversation here, before the enthused chatter began. ‘It’s hard to explain,’ she said, ‘I don’t know where to begin,’ and in trying to accurately paint what this place is about, neither do I.
Having spent some time around the studio, it has become apparent to me that Julalikari Arts and Crafts, a hub of female familiarity and activity, is so much more than a place for painting pictures, arts training and skills development. These are the things which happen here, in ebbs and flows of buoyant productivity; however the glue which holds the space together is made of some other thing; some thing not so definable.
On days when things are too sorry, or too hot, or too full-up on other important business for painting to happen, brushes may stay in boxes, but the value of the activity which takes place between women at Julalikari Arts and Crafts is by no means diminished. As Nikkie sees it, along with the other female artists who warm their hands by the flour drum burning slowly out on the verandah, Pink Palace is a place where women from around the region are able to come together. While artists paint they are constantly talking, sharing their experiences of family, relishing in the rare moment away from the humbug of grandchildren or husbands, and honing their respective crafts and acrylic styles in the support of each other’s company and conversation.
Julalikari Arts and Crafts is also noteworthy for its placement in the greater Barkly Region; an area in which there are few established art centres or consistently functioning women’s centres. Like a lighthouse, the women artists who paint here provide an exciting example to the many out-bush painters who do not yet have the support which the program here provides, but who hope to be a part of a similarly creative and inclusive environment in the future.
Adding to Julalikari Arts and Crafts’ uniqueness, is the way in which a variety of cultural backgrounds and language groups (Waramungu, Warlmanpa, Kaytetye, Alyawarr, Walpiri and Wambaya) come together here to work for several hours each day, regardless of family connections or any disputes which may be going on beyond the tall gates. In this way, and due to the fact that most painters at Pink Palace originally come from ‘other country’ (and are therefore not painting on traditional land), a certain flexibility of style and imagery, both in a traditional and contemporary sense, is enabled here.
On looking at the works which emerge out of Julalikari Arts and Crafts, it can be seen that each artist is operating very much as an individual, with their own distinctive creative bent. For example, Flora Holt and Peggy Jones find their obsession in abstracting animated bush animals and birds; Susan Nelson records bible stories in a minimalist style, and dot-dots bush tucker species at different times of year; Lindy Brodie traces the development of the region through her arresting childhood landscapes in luminous oranges and greens; and Annie Grant depicts delicate dreaming tracks and sacred sites with a remarkable patience of hand. The common thread however, which binds the artist’s as a community and as a collective, is always the love of bright and boisterous color, and a willingness to freely express.
‘At Pink Palace we have a private space for ourselves, which we know will be here every morning waiting for us, no matter what’s going on in our home lives,’ Rhonda Plummer adds as she leaves the fire to sit with her paints, ‘and without it, we might just be lost’. 46 good story Cultural Audit Survey Participants Alice Desert Festival Ngapartji Ngapartji Alice Springs Art Foundation Ngurratjuta lltja Ntjarra Art Centre Alice Springs Choral Society NT Writers’ Centre, Alice Springs Alice Springs Quilting Club Papulankutja Artists Alice Springs Theatre Group Papunya Tula Artists Alice Springs Town Council Red Dust Theatre Araluen Arts Centre Red Hot Arts Arlpwe Art & Cultural Centre red shoes Artback NT Arts Touring and Development, Tangentyere Artists Alice Springs Arts NT, Alice Springs Office Alice Springs Beanie Festival Australian Cinematographers Society, NT Chapter Titjikala Arts Centre Barkly Regional Arts Tjala Arts Cat’s Meow Cabaret Tjanpi Desert Weavers, NPYWC Central Australia Aboriginal Media Association Walkatjara Art Uluru Central Australian Art Society Warakurna Artists Central Craft, Alice Springs Warlukurlangu Artists Desart Watch This Space Artist Run Initiative Drum Atweme,Tangentyere Council Ernabella Arts Inc. IAD Press Ikuntji Artists Imanpa Arts Incite Youth Arts Iwantja Arts & Crafts Jangapa Dancers Julalikari Arts Kaltjiti Arts & Crafts Keringke Arts Music NT, Alice Springs Mwerre Anthurre Arts
Tanya Langdon/Goldie & Ray Wright/Brownie, Fiona Croft NT Barracking tour 2007, Photographer 0412976338 Red Dust Theatre [email protected] Photo Dave Nixon