Minister calls for end to arts grants

Dan Moss

03Oct08

ART galleries in remote Aboriginal communities should not be relying on government ``handouts'', a Territory minister said this week.

Minister for Central Australia Alison Anderson expressed concern that the current art centre model did not encourage resilience and self-reliance in communities.

She said: ``We need to have access to the best education system in Australia so we can run our own art businesses and control it, and not rely on handouts from government.

``If we don't control the terms on which our culture goes out, then that culture is no longer ours.''

Ms Anderson, who painted at Papunya Tula before being elected, was speaking at an arts symposium held in Alice Springs campus on Wednesday.

Federal Arts Minister Peter Garrett also announced that a code of conduct on indigenous arts practices would be finished by the end of the year.

But he made no commitment to a statutory code, saying it would initially be voluntary.

He said: ``Let's see what the stakeholder responses are and work from there.''

He said the Australia Council was asked by arts ministers to finish the code of conduct by the end of the year.

Both Mr Garrett and NT Arts Minister Marion Scrymgour supported the current art centre model and Ms Anderson's view.

Ms Scrymgour said: ``Art centres play a valuable role in terms of economic development.

``We need to look at how to get economic benefits from the art they are producing.''

Mr Garrett said art centres were ``a place of creativity they are places of other community activity and they are generating economic results for the community.

``It may be that there's the opportunity for us to consider additional ways of working with, and providing support for, visual artists around Australia.''