Joel Gibson; 29/7/08
A year after a Senate report revealed widespread exploitation of indigenous artists by unscrupulous art dealers, elderly Aborigines are missing medical treatment in Alice Springs because they are being locked up in lucrative painting camps, a health worker has said.The claims come as auction houses are selling indigenous art for record prices and sections of the burgeoning $500 million Aboriginal art industry are crying out for increased government scrutiny and regulation. Relations between some private dealers and community or government-funded art centres have grown so bitter that six art centres boycotted this year’s prestigious Telstra Art Award because of the involvement of a controversial private dealer.
See: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/artists-locked-in-battery-farms-worker-says/2008/07/28/1217097148542.html
Gallery accused of selling indigenous fakes; Kelly Burke; 29/7/08; http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/gallery-accused-of-selling-indigenous-fakes/2008/07/28/1217097148548.html
Tags: Aboriginal, Arts, Australia, Trade