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Indigenous arts agency launched in Far North Queensland
By Tricia Fitzgerald
For almost a decade Indigenous artists in Far North Queensland have been wanting to create a representative body to help them showcase their work to the world.
Now, that aspiration has finally become a reality.
UMI Arts has been established. It's been set up to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and craftspeople from Mount Isa , across the Gulf, Cape York and the Torres Strait and from Cairns down to Cardwell.
‘There have been previous attempts to set up an Indigenous arts support agency in Far North Queensland but this is the first time something has actually got off the ground,' Natasha Shaw, the acting manager of UMI Arts said.
‘There is now real recognition within government of the cultural and economic value and importance of the Indigenous arts industry to communities. The timing was right and governments at both the federal and state level have provided financial support to turn this idea into reality.'
The name UMI was coined by UMI Arts Board member Michael Solomon, an artist from the Injinoo community on the tip of Cape York . In his community YUMI is a pidgin term meaning ‘you and me'.
UMI Arts hopes to increase employment and training opportunities for the region's Indigenous artists, to advocate on their behalf on issues such as copyright, and to increase their participation in the arts and cultural industry.
‘The focus of UMI Arts will be to raise the profile of the rich and varied arts of this region, so that in the broader community there's an understanding that there is much more to Indigenous art than the high profile dot paintings of the Central Desert and the cross hatching styles of Arnhem Land,' Shaw said.
The Australian Government's National Arts and Craft Industry Support (NACIS) program, has funded UMI Arts to employ a manager and to set up a small office in Cairns .
With Australian and Queensland Government support secured, UMI Arts is moving quickly. An interim board has been set up that includes local art workers and three Indigenous artists, Michael Solomon, Lisa Michl, from the Kokoberrin language group of the West Coast of Cape York Peninsula and Daphne De Jersey from Mapoon. Additional UMI Arts staff are being recruited and an assessment of the needs of the region's Indigenous artists is underway. By October it's hoped a permanent board will be elected.
The veteran Indigenous arts resource agencies Desart Inc, in the Central Desert , and ANKAAA, the Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists are providing inspiration for UMI Arts. However, Shaw says the North Queensland environment has its own particular history and needs.
‘ Queensland doesn't have as many established art centres as South Australia and the Northern Territory . Up here a lot of artists are working independently and that's different from Desart Inc and ANKAAA where most of their members are art centres,' Shaw said.
The UMI Arts acting manager believes because Far North Queensland hasn't had the infrastructure of arts centres, its arts industry is far less developed than in Central Australia, the Northern Territory and the Kimberley .
‘The hope is that UMI Arts will support the growth of a stronger Indigenous arts industry and that local artists will get greater national and international recognition,' Shaw said.
The NACIS program is funding art centres and advocacy and support agencies around Australia . It aims to build the capacity of the sector, maintain culture and generate income and employment opportunities.
Visit www.dcita.gov.au/indig for more information on NACIS.
Contact UMI Arts Tel: 07 4041 6152 Fax: 07 4041 6542 Email: umiarts@bigpond.net.au