Aboriginal artist bodies call for Skye O’Meara to step down amid government probe into APY scandal

Peak bodies representing thousands of Aboriginal artists have called on arts administrator Skye O’Meara to step down.

APY Arts Centre Collective general manager Skye O’Meara outside the gallery in Adelaide recently. Picture: Brett Hartwig

The four peak bodies representing thousands of Aboriginal artists, and every Indigenous art centre in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia, have called upon the embattled arts administrator Skye O’Meara to step down.

One of those peak bodies, Arnhem, Northern and Kimberley Artists (ANKA), said it was critical that Ms O’Meara, and the senior management of the APY Arts Centre Collective (APYACC), step aside while investigations are held into her organisation, “to ensure an impartial process, especially given the allegations of the use of coercive control” over artists and others who have spoken out.

“We are still worried about our voices are being talked over,” said a letter signed by the ANKA chair Djambawa Marawili and deputy chair Dora Griffiths.

“Not heard and not invited to the table when important decisions are being made about the contemporary Indigenous art industry we built up with our own hands from nothing.”

ANKA chair Djambawa Marawili.

And so while Ms O’Meara ­appears to retain the backing of the white administrators running our major institutions – none have called on her to step down – she has lost all support at the grassroots level with Indigenous arts centres and artists.

Ms O’Meara has steadfastly refused to step down in the face of allegations of unethical practices, including that white studio staff painted on Indigenous canvases in the APY Arts Centre Collective’s studios she manages.

The claims, unearthed in a months-long investigation by The Australian, have led to a probe by the National Gallery of Australia into the provenance of 28 paintings due to hang in its showcase winter exhibition, Ngura Pulka.

The NGA was delivered a report by its team of investigators last week but it has not yet made the findings public.

It is believed the NGA board met on Friday to discuss the report. The exhibition opening has been delayed.

A second investigation, headed by the South Australian government, and backed by the Northern Territory and federal governments, is soon to announce its terms of reference for a wide-ranging investigation into the practices, and the culture, at the APYACC.

It comes as the Aboriginal Arts Centre Hub of WA (AACHWA) and ANKA joined Desart, representing the central deserts artists, and Ku Arts, South Australia’s peak body, in calling for Ms O’Meara and the senior management to step down while that investigation is conducted.

Chad Creighton, the Indigenous CEO of AACHWA, said it was “normal practice” for management to stand down while such serious investigations were held and there was a “need for neutrality”.

The board of the Darwin-based ANKA have met twice to discuss the issue and it sent a strongly-worded letter to federal ministers Tony Burke and Linda Burney, as well as various state ministers, calling for broad terms of reference for the South Australian-led investigation into the APYACC.

It said that the investigation must have independent translators and have measures to ensure Anangu and non-Indigenous feel secure to speak out without fear of negative consequences.

“The investigation needs to focus on examining accusations and concerns about the APY Arts Centre Collective and not be diluted or diverted into investigating broader issues,” the letter said.

It also said: “(We) are concerned about accusations of people using their power to force others, like forging documents, bullying, manipulating money, bribing others and non-Indigenous people painting Aboriginal art.”

Skye O'Meara.

The four peak bodies were also at odds with some of our major institutions when it came to the issue of white studio staff painting on Indigenous canvases, with all of them adamant that this is a totally unacceptable practice.

“It must be recognised that nobody but us can speak for that culture, can share and care for those stories,” ANKA said. “This is not just time spent making pretty pictures. It is serious, important business, looking after and caring for our Indigenous knowledge.”

This is a direct contradiction of the view expressed by the director of the AGSA, Rhana Devenport.

In an email she sent to staff, obtained by The Australian, she said it was: “Common practice for internationally renowned artists, including Aboriginal artists, to have studio assistants that support and enable them to create original works of art”.

The South Australian-led investigation is set to announce its terms of reference into the APY ACC this week. The board of the APYACC has said Ms O’Meara retains its support.