After a wide-scale crackdown on shady art dealers exploiting Aboriginal artists, Australia’s Arts Ministry is enacting a new “code-of-conduct” policy to ensure that art dealers actually…well…pay their artists.
The new policy — which still must be signed by federal Arts Minister Peter Garrett — is laudable in some places, laughable in others.
On one hand, the policy clearly states that dealers shall in no way “take advantage” of artists or their representatives, or try to bully talents into giving up their works.
Yet on the other hand, the code allows dealers to pay artists using some rather low-class alternative currencies — alcohol and used cars (though drugs are a no go); worrisome, considering the high rates of alcoholism in the Aboriginal community.
Still, the only caveat is that an agreed-upon value of the booze or clunkers must be agreed upon before any dealer-artists transactions are completed. That figure must also be a “reasonable market rate” declared in writing.
The new code comes after a 2007 inquiry by the Australian Senate into the state of the Aboriginal art market – which has become quite hot in the past decade.
Artists hope that these new standards will boost confidence in the market and encourage more artists to offer their works to dealers.