Participants and Gallery and Wesfarmers staff (from left): Kelli Cole (NGA), Sharyn Egan, Helen Carroll (Manager, Wesfarmers Arts), Gabriel Nodea, Casey Kickett (Indigenous Cadet, Wesfarmers), Ron Radford (Director, NGA), Tina Baum (NGA), Franchesca Cubillo (NGA), Glenn Iseger-Pilkington, Emma Loban, Jirra Harvey, Kimberley Moulton, Renee Johnson, Ron Bradfield Jr, Freja Carmichael, Alison Furber, Tahjee Moar and Nadeena Dixon.
Advancing the industry through Indigenous leadership the Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Fellowship program Indigenous art enjoys a high profile as the cornerstone of the Australian arts industry with over half of all Australian artists being Indigenous and an annual contribution to the Australian economy of over $400 million; however, there is a continuing trend that the only role for Indigenous people within the industry is that of the artist or producer. Nowadays, many Indigenous artists command attention through representation in national and international collections, exhibitions and programs. Many rich and diverse Indigenous stories have been told through the work of these artists but there is still a distinct Indigenous voice that continues to be either dampened by
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its isolation or not heard at all, that of the Indigenous art professional—curator, publisher, designer, educator, art handler, conservator and so on. For the Indigenous arts sector to continue its unparalleled growth over the last 40 years and its important role within the broader visual arts industry, it is essential that this voice is nurtured and given a place. Addressing this issue is one of the most important challenges the Australian arts industry now faces. The groundbreaking Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Fellowship program is an unprecedented partnership between the National Gallery of Australia and Wesfarmers Limited. It is a five-year
initiative that illustrates the commitment of both organisations in redressing the unbalanced representation of Indigenous Australians in the administrative and operational side of the arts sector. November saw the fruition of an extensive two year process that included a national consultation program with Indigenous and arts communities and resulted in the development of the Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Fellowship program that comprises two separate component focused on fostering the next generation of Indigenous arts professionals. The primary component, the Wesfarmers Arts Indigenous Fellowship allows two senior-level participants to pursue