Arts Law attends Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair 2022

The Arts Law stall at DAAF 2022. From left to right, Jo-Anne Driessens (AITB Coordinator), Robyn Ayres (former CEO), and Donna Robinson (Director of AITB Legal). Photo by Andrew Leslie. DAAF celebrates Aboriginal art and culture, including fashion design.
The Arts Law stall at DAAF 2022. From left to right, Jo-Anne Driessens (AITB Coordinator), Robyn Ayres (former CEO), and Donna Robinson (Director of AITB Legal). Photo by Andrew Leslie.

The Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair opened on Thursday evening 4 August and ran from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 August at the Darwin Convention Centre.  More than 70 art centres had stalls as did Arts Law.  We joined with the Copyright Agency and Indigenous Art Code in promoting the Fake Art Harms Culture campaign which was very popular.  We encouraged visitors to the stall, and passersby, to sign postcards addressed to the government asking for the introduction of laws to protect Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property and laws to prevent the sale of inauthentic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island art and craft.

We received 1,000 signatures which is a great achievement and we are now posting the postcards to the Prime Minister encouraging action on legal change. DAAF was a great opportunity to meet with art centre staff who we’ve spoken to or visited on outreach and build on those relationships and connections.  

DAAF is part of the Darwin Festival and there are some amazing activities on around that time.  We attended the Country to Couture on Tuesday night, the Indigenous Fashion Awards on Wednesday night, DAAF’s opening on Thursday night, the NATSIA awards on Friday night and the Indigenous Music Awards on Saturday night.  

A great experience.