For artist Angelina Boona from Kalumburu, the northernmost settlement in Western Australia, it was a two-day drive to the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair. But the long trip has been worth it - Boona has already sold some artworks and is enjoying being in the city. "We love coming to Darwin and seeing all the people," she told AAP.
"It's like we are all a big family - we come together through our artworks." The 2024 event features art from more than 70 Indigenous-owned art centres including the first art organisation from NSW to participate - Malang Indigenous Corporation from the Hunter Valley. Artist and Malang chief executive Saretta Fielding said many artists fell through the cracks when it came to marketing their work.
"A lot of Aboriginal artists don't have the opportunity or knowledge," she said. "There's a digital divide for them to take their art from the canvas and out of their home." By Friday, art buyers were queuing around the exterior of the Darwin Convention Centre with 4000 people expected, and up to 7000 on Saturday.
While it's too early for sales figures, costs have skyrocketed, with some art centres spending more than $40,000 on travel, according to the fair's executive director Claire Summers. Cost-of-living increases have hit remote art centres hard, she said, with petrol about $3 a litre in remote areas and the collapse of Rex Airlines also having an impact. "The cost of living is horrendous, and the people who are struggling the most are not the retirees who .