When news broke that several artists at an APY Lands art centre had accused their art centre’s non-Indigenous staff of painting parts of their sacred stories and altering their works, the response from the sector was horror and dismay. But a recent Aboriginal art fair has allayed some of the fears about ongoing ramifications of the scandal.
As ArtsHub reported in the weeks after The Australian newspaper’s allegations, artists and art centre staff expressed concern that the allegations would affect a wider network of art centres that has, for many years, prided itself on best practice studio standards and appropriate artist support. It’s also an industry that thought it had stamped out dishonest, underhanded dealings many years ago.
