APY art scandal not resolved

Indigenous artists deserve their objections to “white hands on black art” to be addressed properly. A National Gallery of Australia review clearing 28 paintings bound for its APY Art Centre Collective exhibition, Ngura Pulka (Epic Country), unfortunately, will not allay their widespread concerns. The scandal, exposed by Greg Bearup in April, has been confirmed by witnesses, including artists, and supported with video evidence.

The scope of the NGA’s report, released on Wednesday, was limited: “We do not intend by this report to resolve criticisms of the operation of APYACC. Our focus is on the provenance of the 28 paintings in the exhibition.” Without exception, it said, “the artists to whom we spoke unequivocally told us that the works under review in each case were made by them and expressly denied that there had been any improper interference in the making of their work”. Based on the credibility of the evidence, it said, the paintings met the provenance standards of the National Gallery.

That conclusion was treated with scepticism by a senior Indigenous artist who had painted in APYACC’s Adelaide studio but did not have works bound for Ngura Pulka. “How can they say that? I’ve seen it (white people painting on Indigenous canvases) with my own eyes … of course the artists are going to say no one painted on their paintings, they want their money,” the artist told The Australian.

Nor has the report impressed other senior members of the Indigenous arts community. Brenda L. Croft, head of Indigenous art history and curatorship at the Australian National University, said: “This is an internal review, of course they are going to find what they want to find … they have had their own investigate their own.”

It beggars belief that Paul Andy, a crucial whistleblower who publicly has made serious claims of interference in both his own works and those of some artists who had paintings destined for the NGA exhibition, was not interviewed as part of the review.

The report is likely to facilitate the staging of the exhibition, which originally was scheduled for June but was postponed pending the review. However the broader issues remain unresolved. Indeed it is significant that the industry’s ethical watchdog, the Indigenous Art Code, has expelled the APYACC.

A separate tri-government probe launched by federal Arts Minister Tony Burke in conjunction with the South Australia and Northern Territory governments must find answers.