War declared on fake Indigenous art

A new campaign aims to derail the flourishing market in fake Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks.
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Western desert mob artists support the Fake Art Harms Culture, launched at Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair; Photo Gabrielle Sullivan, supplied

One of the most surprising booths at the tenth anniversary of the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair this past weekend displayed fake art collected from tourist shops. The works were presented alongside those purchased from Aboriginal art centres to illustrate the dangers of buying Indigenous art without transparent information around its origin.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina