Working on Country – what does it mean?

The isolation of working in remote Australia is no drawback for a network of Indigenous art centres, which act as feeders to our top galleries and festivals.
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Artists Willie Martin and Mike Williams at Mimili Muku Arts Centre with Williams’ work for Tarnanthi and spears from Kulata Tjuta Project; Photo ArtsHub with courtesy and permission of the artists

As Australians, we loosely talk about an understanding of Country – the traditional lands which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have called home for thousands of years. And yet, few of us have been to the remote lands of Outback Australia, finding it cheaper and more salubrious to head off to Bali or New Zealand instead. 

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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