THE INDIGENOUS ART CODE

UMI Arts supports the Indigenous Australian Art Commercial Code of Conduct which aims to contribute to the well-being of Indigenous Australians by providing a tool to regulate the conduct of dealers in the Indigenous art industry. The code will ensure:

• fair and ethical trade with artists
• transparency with the promotion and sale of artwork
• a fair and equitable dispute resolution system for disputes arising under this Code

The code was signed off in 2009 and is managed by a Code Administration Committee, with the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts providing secretariat support to the Committee.

Anyone operating in the Indigenous Art Industry (such as dealers, agents, art galleries, auction houses and art centres, wholesalers and retailers of Indigenous art) may apply to the Code Administration Committee to become a signatory to this Code. Signing up to this Code is voluntary, but in making that commitment signatories agree to comply with all provisions of the Code.

To produce this code the Australia Council has worked closely with an Industry Alliance Group made up of artists, Indigenous art centres, commercial art galleries, public art galleries, auction houses and visual arts peak bodies; including UMI Arts, the Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA), , Ananguku Arts, DesArt, Australian Commercial Galleries Association (ACGA), National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) and the Australian Indigenous Art Trade Association (AIATA).

For inquiries please contact the Code Administration Committee Secretariat by e-mailing: IndigenousArtCode@arts.gov.au or telephone 1800 145 101.