Breaking my country's heart

In the last decade the flow of miners and size of the resource industry in the Western Australian Midwest region expanded at such a rapid rate it took many in my community by surprise. In this article I will explore the impact of mining on the Aboriginal arts industry in a Western Australia rural coastal community with particular emphasis on tensions created from a mining-initiated Aboriginal art exhibition held in Perth, Good Heart. These tensions are around protecting country versus financial gain, social licence to operate versus destroying country, traditional owners versus practising artists and the circumvention of local Aboriginal art centres. As a local Aboriginal artist who is living on the frontier of a mining boom and who briefly participated in this art exhibition, my purpose is to provide an alternative perspective to the increased mining activity in the region and its impact on the local Aboriginal arts industry.