In 2017-18, over 90 organisations will be funded through the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support (IVAIS) program. This includes funding committed in previous years through multi-year grant agreements. IVAIS provides operational funding to Indigenous-owned arts centres, arts fairs, hubs and service organisations that are at the heart of Australia’s internationally renowned Indigenous visual arts movement.
Together these organisations ensure the ethical development, production and marketing of Indigenous visual art and support professional opportunities for more than 8,000 Indigenous artists and around 350 Indigenous arts workers, mostly in remote communities.
The 2017-18 funding includes support for two new organisations in Western Australia:
- Nagula Jarndu (Saltwater Woman) Designs in Broome, whose artists produce distinctive, hand-crafted textiles using motifs and colours inspired by the surrounding region.
- The Bunbury Regional Art Galleries, which will work with regional partners to provide arts development and marketing opportunities for Noongar artists in south-west Western Australia.
Through the IVAIS program, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists are able to enhance their skills, create new work, connect with the art market, and ensure their culture and stories are available to future generations.
Image: Gloria Pannka painting Tjuritja (West MacDonnell Ranges) at the Iltja Ntjarra art centre, Alice Springs, Northern Territory. Photo by: Marisa Maher
Find out more:
https://www.arts.gov.au/departmental-news/203-million-support-indigenous-visual-arts