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Leaders of the APY Art Centre Collective have rejected calls for its general manager to stand down and said its artists had been under “unjustified and sustained attack”, following allegations of interference by white assistants in the creation of Indigenous art.
In a rare public statement, the board of the APY Art Centre Collective on Wednesday described allegations of unethical practices as false and criticised the scope of a South Australian government-led probe into its operations.
At the same time, artist Sally Scales, the collective’s cultural liaison and spokesperson, told ABC Radio it had become a victim of “tall poppy syndrome” and doubted the inquiry would be either fair or transparent if it did not investigate the practices of the Indigenous art industry as a whole.
National Gallery of Australia council member and APY Arts Centre Collective cultural liaison and spokesperson, Sally Scales, has recused herself from the NGA investigation.
Two investigations are underway into the collective’s use of studio assistants, first raised by The Australian in April.
The National Gallery of Australia has postponed its major winter show pending the findings of an independent review into the provenance of the 28 paintings originating from the collective. That review is expected to report early next month.
A separate tri-government probe will focus on the collective’s governance, management, and whether the studio provided a safe workplace for its artists. South Australia is leading the inquiry as the collective’s major funder.
The National Gallery of Australia has delayed its winter showcase of Indigenous art.Credit: James Brickwood
The review panel is being led by solicitor Anne Sibree, Menang woman Megan Krakouer and Quandamooka man Cameron Costello, after Indigenous academic Brenda Croft was initially approached
Croft, a professor of Indigenous art history at the Australian National University, said she was later told she was not the correct fit after seeking clarification about the inquiry’s scope and questioning aspects of the review. Writing in The Australian, she warned the controversy threatens the standing of Indigenous artists across the country.
The collective’s board has defied calls for its art administrator Skye O’Meara to stand down while the panel carries out its investigations.
The board said the inquiry’s ambit fell “far short of what is required to shine a spotlight on deeply
entrenched issues that continue to confront Indigenous artists” and had been canvassed, agreed and published without any consultation with the artists or communities concerned.
“Fundamentally, the terms of reference appear to show little understanding of the APY Art Centre Collective model,” the statement read. “This is a grass-roots organisation that is owned and governed by Anangu people. The APY Art Centre Collective has individual artist members, as well as organisations.
“These organisations are entirely autonomous, Aboriginal-owned, not-for-profit social enterprises – doing important work in remote and regional communities in South Australia. The collective neither owns or runs them, in fact it is the opposite – they own the collective.
“As it stands, the practice, legitimacy, and authenticity of over 500 artists, their works, and stories has been under unjustified, sustained attack.
“The attack extends to both the Anangu leadership of the collective and some of Australia’s and the world’s leading institutions where dozens of these works hang. Our artists are confident any review will demonstrate the ill-informed nature of the allegations supporting the attack and their falsity.”
The collective expressed concerns about the failure of other organisations to “address deep-seated and persistent problems with painting sheds, funding issues, the performance of the indigenous art code, and other peak bodies”, adding: “We will not stop doing so”.
Scales said the collective represented 500 artists from early career to established artists, and seven art centres, and that decisions about the future of O’Meara were “our call, not their call”.
The board said its support for O’Meara was unchanged.
“It is the collective’s minimum expectation that the review will be thorough, but not unduly delayed,
and will be conducted in a manner that allows for due process, natural justice, and the proper testing
of allegations.”
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