Protecting Aboriginal Art
Here’s a question for you. What is real Aboriginal Art? Does the design of an artwork make it Aboriginal,or is it the artist that makes it Aboriginal? This question is one the Australian Government is trying to answer. Right now the government is holding an inquiry to work out the best way to police the exploitation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture through the sale of fake art and artifacts.
Many Indigenous groups are in favor of this as an idea, but some individuals have concerns. Harold Thomas, winner of the 2016 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander award and designer of the Aboriginal Flag, is one such individual. He believes that any legislation around this issue will be problematic and doomed to fail.
Tess Connery was lucky enough to speak to Harold Thomas about his opinion of the government inquiry.
