home | news l

Indigenous arts marketing and export agency launched

Premier & Trade
The Hon. Peter Beattie MP

29 April 2004 - Premier Peter Beattie today officially launched the Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency.

"Our Indigenous art is in great demand overseas, as the success of the recent exhibition in Dusseldorf revealed," Mr Beattie said.

"The Dusseldorf exhibition showcased 39 artworks by 11 artists, from far-north Queensland, south-east Queensland and the Torres Strait.

"Many of those artists are exhibiting work in a special Indigenous exhibition - Out of Country - which begins in Washington this Friday.

"The Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency was instrumental in putting the exhibition together."

The new agency was announced at the launch of the 2004 Premier of Queensland's Export Awards at Parliament House.

The export awards have been running for 15 years and have steadily grown in stature and importance, with the 2003 event having attracted entries from a record 179 companies.

A really heartening feature last year was that so many of the entries came from companies based in regional Queensland - 143 in all.

Mr Beattie said exports contributed $30 billion a year to the State's gross domestic product, but the Government was working with the private sector to increase activity.

"We've set a target of increasing the number of Queensland exporters by 20 per cent, from 3,000 in 2001 to 3,600 by 2006," he said.

"The strategy is working. Since July 1, 2001, we've helped 245 Queensland businesses achieve their first export sales."

The winners of these awards, to be announced in October, automatically qualify for the national awards, which will be presented on December 9.

Source: The State of Queensland (Department of the Premier and Cabinet)

related links :

• Virtual Gatherings
  The Reconciliation Art Partnership (RAP) project has developed from the Queensland Indigenous Art Promotion project sponsored by the Queensland Premier, the Hon Peter Beattie, to showcase Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in a high quality catalogue and exhibition, both under the title of Gatherings, launched for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2001, and the Virtual Gatherings Website.
• Queensland indigenous art finds an international audience
  6 November 2003 - Brit’s Art & Promotion - The Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency (QIAMEA), in conjunction with Brit's Art and Promotion, today announced that the special exhibition at the Great Art Exhibition 2003 will exclusively feature works by Queensland’s indigenous artists.
  Premier’s Foreword, Great Art Exhibition, Dusseldorf
• Look back in anger
  4 January 2003 - Faced with a government review, the National Museum of Australia may be forced to reinterpret its controversial portrayal of the nation's colonial history, writes Joyce Morgan. The federal Arts Minister, Richard Alston, made a curious qualification when he referred to the National Museum of Australia last month. He told Parliament the establishment of the museum had been a good outcome, "certainly in terms of the structure of the building".
• We must be careful to preserve the value of Australia's Indigenous art
  13 December 2002 - Earlier this month, the Australia Council for the Arts (OzCo) announced a series of protocols for dealing with Indigenous cultures. Developed to guide non-Indigenous artists and the wider community in how to interact respectfully with Australian Aboriginal identities, imagery and ancestral myths, the Oz Co's Indigenous Protocols are a major step towards protecting the status of native Australian's cultural heritage.
• Australian Film Now 'In the Black'
  8 December 2002 - Australian Democrats' Arts and Indigenous Affairs Spokesperson, Senator Aden Ridgeway, has congratulated director Ivan Sen; actor David Gulpilil; director and producer Rachel Perkins; and all involved in the making of Rabbit Proof Fence, Beneath Clouds and The Tracker on their success in last night's AFI Awards.

Further information: art issues page - includes news index and external links