Desart is the Association of Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Centres.

Desart is the Association of Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Centres.

Australian Aboriginal art is now recognised in both Australia and internationally as one of the world’s most exciting art movements.

Desart member Art Centres are owned and managed by Aboriginal people in their own communities.

Desart is the Association of Central Australian Aboriginal
Art and Craft Centres.

Desart’s commitment

• Respect for traditional culture and Aboriginal aspirations
• Employment for Aboriginal people
• Support for sound governance, professional standards and ethical industry practices
• Marketing and advocacy for Aboriginal owned Art Centres

Desart represents Art Centres which support these objectives:

• Authenticity of artworks
• 100% returns to Aboriginal people and their organisations
• Promotion of professional art practice and ethical dealings with artists

Desart’s Mission

Aboriginal artists are committed to sharing their culture with the world. Our mission is to support Central Australian Aboriginal artists and Art Centres working together in a vigorous, ethical Aboriginal arts industry.

Desart’s Goals

Help and support for Art Centres
To empower Art Centres through the provision of resources and support to artists and staff

More jobs for Aboriginal people
To increase the employment of Aboriginal artists and arts workers in the industry

Selling more Art
To develop new markets and showcase Central Australian Aboriginal art

Showing people how to be fair when they buy art and when they sell art
To contribute to an informed Aboriginal Art Industry based on ethical practices

Speaking up strong for Art Centres
To represent the voice of Aboriginal Art Centres and advocate effectively

Desart’s values

Desart is about everybody. We want everyone to know what is happening. We welcome many cultures, languages and stories. Everyone can have their say and everyone is treated with respect.

Desart’s members

Members of Desart are independent Aboriginal-owned, separately incorporated Art Centres or other Art Centres, which are activities of larger Aboriginal-owned organisations. Some member Art Centres, previously activities of community councils are now operating under the management of NT Shires.

About the organisation

Desart was incorporated in 1993 as a non-profit Aboriginal Association under the Northern Territory Associations Incorporation Act. The governing Executive Committee of Desart comprises ten Indigenous members; two each from five designated regions.

Desart provides services to its members to resource, promote, educate and protect the work of Indigenous artists and Art Centres. Desart’s office is in Alice Springs, and its staff travel regularly to the different Art Centres.

Programs and services

Desart’s current programs include:

• Aboriginal Artworkers program
• Governance workshops in the PY and Ng Lands (ending June 09)
• IT technical support (ending June 09)
• Professional development workshops
• Art Centre recruitment (ending June 09)
• Docker River feasibility study (ending June 09)
• NT Art Centre infrastructure program (beginning June 09)
• Art Centre marketing campaign

In addition Desart provides a range of other services:

• Artists’ camps and regional meetings
• On & off site support for individual Art Centres
• Support with new Art Centre start ups
• Market development (Desert Mob & international market development initiatives)
• Advocacy (e.g. The code of conduct, policy development, additional funding sources

Welcome to Central Australian Aboriginal Art

The creators of this vibrant art and craft live right across the vast, arid, sparsely populated centre of the continent, which spans Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Aboriginal art can range from a small hand-made basket or wood carving to a valuable painting by an artist with an international reputation.

Either way Aboriginal traditional law or culture is the foundation for all the art.

Why Aboriginal Art Centres are so important

All the Art Centres that belong to our organisation Desart are Aboriginal-owned and controlled.

The Art Centres are professionally managed to ensure ethical support for the production marketing and distribution of authentic Aboriginal art.

100% of the returns go directly to Aboriginal families or organisations.

These Art Centres are a vital part of remote community life in Central Australia. They provide much needed income and employment opportunities as well as being a focus for family connection, social and cultural activities and the means to celebrate Aboriginal identity.

Purchasing art sourced from a Desart member Art Centre provides a guarantee that your artwork is authentic.

About our art

"The art means to carry on our stories, to know it belongs to my family and it belongs to my father and grandfather, so that everyone can know about us, so we can carry on, so our kids can carry on forever, even when we’re gone. So non-Indigenous people can know about us in the future, how we fought to keep our culture strong for the sake of our children’s future.

The art is about who you belong to, about what country you belong to, it’s about the only way you can know and others will know too. Our art has got to be protected because it belongs to individual people and their families. It is their belonging, it belongs to their group so it must be treated right way. The art movement should be really strong the way it’s going now and we should be keeping it stronger. We got a lot of strong people in our communities. Those artists are strong about their art."

Valerie Napaljarri Martin
Chairperson of Desart 2001 -2004