Nicolas Rothwell; 19/12/09
Geography seems, at first, to disclose everything in a town as simple and symbol-laden as Alice Springs, capital, for the past four decades, of the desert painting movement and its near-constant cultural intrigues. But the contours of the central Australian art world map are changing fast in the wake of sweeping new governmental programs and interventions. Extraordinary initiatives to exploit Aboriginal art as a force for economic progress are under way; the campaign to clean out the shadier reaches of the painting trade in Alice Springs is at its crescendo. Paradoxically, though, the town’s art scene is becoming more, not less, anarchic as these blueprints and control mechanisms bite.The central, all-dominating artery is still the Todd Mall, a pedestrian promenade lined by contending commercial galleries, cafes and little lawns and shade spots where artists from surrounding communities hold out their quickie canvases to passing tourists and plead for sales. It is here that the established institutions of the centre stand, chief among them the celebrated Papunya Tula artists, long the bellwether of the desert painting market. And it was here, late last month, that the traditional closing event of the indigenous art season unfolded: Papunya Tula’s home exhibition of recent works by artists from the remote Pintupi communities of Kintore and Kiwirrkura, backed up, for the first time, by a striking display of limited edition etchings. The collectors and enthusiasts gathered for the opening heard rich, heartfelt speeches.
See: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/the-shifting-centre/story-e6frg6zo-1225811623649
Tags: Aboriginal, Art, Australia, Trade