Aboriginal-owned collective changing lives in South Australia’s remote far north west

An arts collective in the APY Lands is helping to change lives for Indigenous peoples in the local area.

Great things can be achieved when communities come together. Wounds can heal. Pride can be restored. Lives can change.

For remote Aboriginal communities in South Australia’s far north west, a union of First Nations artists is doing just that. Formed in 2018, the APY Lands Art Centre Collective is an Aboriginal-owned, not-for-profit association of 11 art centres that currently support around 500 artists in the local area.

And their value cannot be ignored. “Those art centres are extremely powerful places in remote Aboriginal communities because they are the only thing that is community owned rather than a government or NGO program; and they are a very rare source of employment and independent income,” APY Art Centre Collective operations manager Joanna Byrne says.

The vision for the APY Lands Art Centre Collective by the Elders who established it – many of whom are respected artists themselves – was to create more opportunities for young ones starting out.

APY women artists painting the 2018 Women's Regional Collaborative. Picture: APY Art Centre Collective

“There’s no shortage of demand for high-profile, established artists and First Contact artists,” Byrne says. “The Elders wanted to show young people that committing to a career in the arts is a very real and meaningful way to make a living and have that independent income that gives you control over your life.”

The collective operates three galleries that help to showcase the works of young, early career and emerging Indigenous talent – in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Formerly located at Light Sq, the latter is currently being relocated to Thebarton, with plans to open in early 2023. In the meantime, the range of artworks and products can be viewed and purchased online.

“Our mainstay is paintings but we also have ceramists, we do work on paper, we support Tjanpi desert weavers and there is a number of people here who weave bowls and animals or make punu (boomerangs), kulata (spears), printed tote bags, notebooks and other gift ideas,” Byrne says.

With 80 per cent of revenue returned to APY Land communities, the artworks not only represent a meaningful gift at Christmas – or any time of year – but they also have the power to change lives for the better.

Paul Andy and family at APY Adelaide Studio. Picture: APY Art Centre Collective

“We did $3.8 million of artwork sales in the last financial year and $3 million went back to communities, so we’re operating at about an 83 per cent return,” Byrne says. “The money that comes through the centre is predominantly spent on very basic things – food, shelter, fuel to get from community to community – life’s basic necessities. When people have that independent income and an impact on the amount they receive – the more you work, the more money you can make – that creates a situation where you start to be able to execute more control over your life in what is a fairly chaotic environment where people are moving from crisis to crisis.

“We know from previous research that people on the APY Lands can experience up to two or three Mai Wiya days a week, which are days with no food. That’s the sort of environment these art centres are working in. When people are able to afford to put food on the table, there are so many positive social and wellbeing impacts.”

There’s also a resurgence of pride. “Artists are very proud of the social currency that comes with being an artist – it’s a highly valued positon to have in community,” Byrne says. “There is also that cross-cultural exchange. This is their way to engage in a work practice that has some currency within the mainstream. Putting culture out there is something Aboriginal peoples are proud to do through their art centres and the success of their businesses.”

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