Sunday in Adelaide.
Well here I am, sitting in the kitchen of my Keswick home. My daughter and grandson have headed to the Wayville showgrounds for some fun at the Royal Adelaide show. Amy will phone me at some stage to come and join them, check out the chooks (my favourite) and the phtographic competitions, sister in law Kathy has work on display but most important of all, help carry the show bag haul home.
I am rather excited. I picked up the new Cliff Reid paintings while traveling through Alice. I am so pleased. I will add one of the new Cliff works to the Tandanya show, most of the work has now been dropped off and the balance will go with me in the taxi as I head to the plane back to Blackstone early Monday morning.
There is a large article in the Saturday review section of the Adelaide Advertiser, a lift out with a front page heading of "culture vultures" and including an article titled "aboriginal artists sold out". I have not yet had the chance to read this with any proper concentration, but always I am frustrated by the sensational headings and the giant dollar amounts mentioned, which devalue the important story of indigenous art and indigenous art centres. Headings which make statements about huge amounts of money and artists living in poverty, simplistically belittle the complexity of the situation. I am glad that the issue is out there in the public arena but I wish someone would bother to have a better look and consider the whole view, not just the so called "high end" resale market, which at best is a little skew and very removed from the base roots of indigenous artists and their production of art.
Lotte from Desart is working on the short list of applicants for the manager position at papulankutja artists. She will try to tee up a series of phone interviews with the applicants, the selection committee, me and artists from papulankutja for next week. Some wonderful people have applied for my job!
