Boycott of Art Award draws wide spread criticism

With the Telstra Indigenous Art awards rapidly approaching, a furore has erupted over the boycott by a number of art centres. I personally don't agree that this is the best way to with issues that they may have.

Telstra have been a fantastic supporter of Indigenous art and the award has become the most prestigious in the country.

Concerns about the transparency of the guidelines for competitors seems a stretch from my point of view as it has always been tough for artists, galleries and art centres to have their works selected for the awards. If they accepted works on a whim then maybe there would be a legitimate issue but if you ask many people, it is very difficult to get selected. For this reason it surpises me that a question mark about quidelines has arisen.

I feel that the issues run much deeper than guidelines regarding entry to a competition and have much more to do with certain people's thoughts on how art centres should or shouldn't be managed.

That is a whole separate story and the Telstra awards do not deserve to be potentially tarnished due to disagreements over issues the organisers and Telstra have no control over.

There are much better ways to argue a cause than to drag the whole industry down by trying to make a point through the very public, well known and supported Telstra awards.

The bottom line is that the artworks in this years Telstra awards will deserve to be there, no doubt about it, and the only realistic question regarding the entries will be that many others did not make it that probably deserved too, if numbers permitted.

Some will say that it is unfortunate than many fine artworks miss out but it certainly shows the art world that the guidelines for entry are not compromised.

Boycotting of indigenous art award attacked

Ashleigh Wilson, Corrie Perkin

A RESPECTED Northern Territory gallery owner has slammed a decision by remote art centres to withdraw their work from the nation's most prestigious Aboriginal art award.

Organisers of the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards went to ground yesterday after The Australian revealed works from six Aboriginal art centres had been withdrawn.

The works, all short-listed for the final round, were pulled following rumoured ethical concerns from the centres about other entrants in the competition.

It is believed the origins of the dispute go back two years, when a prominent private dealer took over the operations of a western desert art centre in competition with other community-owned art centres.

Darwin gallery owner Karen Brown yesterday called on the art centres to explain their reasons for withdrawing their works from an event aimed at celebrating leading Aboriginal art. "Withdrawing their artists is insulting all the other artists (in the awards) as well," Ms Brown said.

"Let's get together in the industry and discuss it. This is a time of celebration of great artists and great work."

John Oster, executive officer of Desart, the umbrella group for Aboriginal art centres in central Australia, told the ABC most people in the industry were fair, reputable and legitimate. "However, there are perennial stories that keep surfacing, they almost surface by the month about unethical and nefarious goings-on," he said. "And that doesn't do the industry any good."

Dianna Isgar, co-ordinator of the remote Papulankutja Artists, said she did not enter any of her centre's artists because of concerns about the transparency of the guidelines for competitors.

As the controversy threatens to overshadow next month's awards, Telstra's sponsorship manager, Greg Swain, yesterday reaffirmed the company's commitment to the event.

National Association for the Visual Arts executive director Tamara Winikoff said the dispute highlighted the need for an industry-wide code of conduct.

Artist Roseanne Kemarre Ellis, who sells paintings through the Amoonguna Arts Centre on the outskirts of Alice Springs, is one of the many indigenous artists who entered the awards but missed out on selection. "Everybody should put in their painting for the Telstra award," she said.