Indigenous professor says review leaves ‘egg on the face’ of APYACC supporters

Prominent Indigenous professor Brenda Croft has welcomed two new investigations into South Australia’s APY Arts Centre Collective.

Indigenous artist, curator and writer Professor Brenda Croft. Picture: Martin Ollman

Prominent Indigenous professor Brenda Croft has welcomed two new investigations into South Australia’s APY Arts Centre Collective, and said many art world figures “have egg on their face” as they tried to “hush up” allegations swirling around the controversial organisation.

“It’s long overdue, I welcome it,’’ said Professor Croft, head of ­Indigenous art history at the Australian National University, after South Australian investigators ­decided to refer the APYACC to the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.

With the announcement of the new probes, “there’s a lot of people with egg on their face’’, Professor Croft said.

“People were wanting this to be hushed up and just to go away ­because it did have an impact on the value of those works held in public and private collections … I know that many people in the ­sector who have been concerned about this for a long time also welcome it (the new investigations).’’

The SA investigation was sparked by The Australian’s probe into allegations of white interference in Indigenous art at ­APYACC.

Professor Croft said: “There’s nothing to do with racism in this. I’m a First Nations person. I’ve worked in this sector for a very long time. This is about bad management.’’

She said the collective’s general manager, Skye O’Meara, should step aside while the new investigations are conducted.

“They should have stepped aside for the review that was being done by the National Gallery of Australia, and also the one that was being done by the government of South Australia.

“(In) any other organisation that person would have had to step aside.’’

Ms O’Meara, who denies any wrongdoing, refused to step aside during those two inquiries, despite many calls for her to do.

Professor Croft said the NGA had “a huge case to answer”, given that its inquiry – which she again condemned as a “complete whitewash” – cleared the APYACC.

She said Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists and art sector workers who spoke up about the allegations had “a huge amount of pressure placed on them”, while the concerns of Aboriginal art ­experts were ignored. “We were just dismissed out of hand, as if we had no knowledge, no expertise,’’ said the woman who will soon take up a Harvard University post.

She revealed that when the board of directors at the Indigenous Art Code, which monitors ethics within that industry, expelled the APYACC, they were “were ­really lambasted. They were incredibly brave, the board of directors there, and they just copped it.

“I hope that this shows that they were doing the right thing.’’

She said that for artists caught up in the controversy, “it’s been a traumatic situation’’ and that Indigenous art centres needed to be better supported.

Djon Mundine welcomed the new reviews. Picture: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

Djon Mundine, an independent Aboriginal art curator, artist and writer who lives in the NSW Southern Highlands, also welcomed the new reviews and called for them to have “a good level of transparency”.

He said: “There’s a double examination of this, and I’m so happy it’s finally happened.’’

He said the APYACC “has just been continuing on, as though nothing ever happened’’.

He created the permanent ­exhibition Aboriginal Memorial for the NGA and said “major ­national institutions” and the Australia Council had been “totally ­silent” about “the very important issue of ethics and protocol” in the creation of Indigenous art.

“All of these people who are being paid an enormous amount of money just seem to be passing paperwork around rather than looking at issues and protocols and ethics,’’ he said.

The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory would not comment on the new investigations, while the NGA did not ­respond to The Weekend Australian’s calls.

The Art Gallery of South Australia said through a spokes­woman it would “await further findings of the referrals to other agencies” before commenting.