Indigenous Australian art: commercial code of conduct

• Indigenous Art Code Limited 2010

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26 July 2010The purpose of this code is to regulate the conduct of art dealers in the Indigenous art industry to ensure fair and ethical trade with artists; transparency in the process of promotion and sale of artwork; and a fair and equitable dispute resolution system.

The development of a commercial code of conduct was central to the recommendations of the 2007 Senate Inquiry report: Indigenous art - securing the future .

The Code was developed by the Australia Council, who worked closely with an Industry Alliance Group made up of artists, Indigenous art centres, commercial art galleries, public art galleries, auction houses and visual arts peak bodies; including the Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA), Umi Arts, Ananguku Arts, Desart, Australian Commercial Galleries Association (ACGA), National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) and the Australian Indigenous Art Trade Association (AIATA).

After a period of public consultation on the draft Code, the Industry Alliance Group endorsed a final Code in August 2009.The Australian Government and state and territory governments endorsed the Code at the Cultural Ministers Council meeting in October 2009. A public company - Indigenous Art Code Limited - has been established to administer the Code. The company will be lead by a Board of Directors, drawn from the Indigenous visual arts industry and the wider community.