If the 70s is remembered as a period of nurture for Aboriginal art, the 1980s will certainly be remembered as the decade of its dramatic development...there has been an eflorescence of community based enterprises in the remote areas of Australia.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Education Centre in Cairns is a vocational school of Arts aimed at the development and realisation of Aboriginal artistic talent.
The period of 1986 - 1989 has been epoch making for Aboriginal printmaking, not necessarily because of an improvement in the quality of the prints produced during that time but because Aboriginal prints in forums broadly motivated by the centenary has allowed them to receive the recognition they deserve.
In 1989, Jon Altman, Chris McGuigan and Peter Yu were asked by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs to look into the viability of the Aboriginal Arts and Crafts industry, to point to ways to improve its efficiency and effectiveness and to advise which government programs could give cost effective support to the industry and to recommend managing and marketing strategies.
'Bangarra' is a Wiradjeri word meaing to make fire and the dance company so named has sparked enthusiasm for its performances in countries as far afield as Japan, New Guinea, the USA and Finland.
Two alternative opinions on Australia's most obvious cultural exchange - Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal- was the original conception of Balance 1990 Views, Visions, Influences - a collaborative exhibition originally titled Balance 1988: Two views One Vision. Beginning by artists sitting and talking it became obvious that there were more than just two perspectives.
Whatever capital city one may visit these days, there will usually be an art gallery exhibiting works from the latest Aboriginal art movement. The demand for Aboriginal painting has probably doubled every year over the past decade and nowhere is this more evident than in central Australia.