Aboriginal Motif’s Blog

Functions and Philosophies

Respect

Indigenous people have the right to manage and own their traditions comprising of art and cultural expressions. They are to be respected.

Protocols and customs vary across indigenous communities. Respecting the cultural heritage of Indigenous Australians includes:

Acknowledgement of country

The original inhabitants of Australia are the Torres Strait Island and Aboriginal people. They have a strong connection to the land and totality of life and spirits of certain areas them and their ancestors have inhabit ted.

When an event is held in the community being an exhibition, installation or an event of significance it is an act of consideration to invite a representative of the traditional landowners and give a welcome to the country speech.

Communication, consultation and consent

When working with indigenous art communication and consultation are vital. Consent is required when reproducing Indigenous Art, and for communal designs permission is needed from traditional owners.

Effective communication is:

-       Awareness of how their culture sees an issue

-       The aim is to create cultural awareness

-       Patience which may arise from revealing misunderstandings, stemming from cultural differences

-        Appropriate people to consult with about the issue

Informed consent is required. People are to be allocated the appropriate time and information for the requests to be taken into consideration.

-Allow time, more than one meeting for your proposal

-        - Allocate time for the decision process and to be made

-       -Be ready for the possibility of no as an answer

-       -Make sure consent is given from the appropriate person or quarter  -

Consultation

Keep in mind that the consultation and communication procedures will vary in communities

Moral Rights and Issues

The moral right of atributition requires the artists right to have their name reproduced alongside every reproduction of the work. If a work is altered by 10%, the designer can’t claim authorship of the work. The artists who created the work are entitled to attribution of a part or entire body of work. The artists name is to be reproduced next to every reproduction. The industry protocol for displaying this information is as Banduk Marika Djanda and the Sacred Waterhole, 1988 6 color linocuts, ink on paper 53 cm x 29.5 cm Collection of the National Gallery of Australia License courtesy of the artist.


Information was sourced from The protocol for producing Indigenous Australian Visual Arts