The Araluen Arts Centre is the annual host venue for Desert Mob. In 2007 the exhibition displayed 342 works from 35 Aboriginal art centres in Central Australia, with works by artists living and working in remote areas of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.
This exhibition provides a unique opportunity to view and purchase art works from both new and established artists, all in one place, directly from the art centres.
All members of Desart, the participating art centres are owned and managed by the Aboriginal people in their own communities. The main focus of these art centres is to encourage the production of art and craft by local community artists and to assist them with the sale and promotion of their work.
Desert Mob has become the annual highlight of the Araluen exhibition program, with an increasing number of national and international collectors and researchers returning each year for the show, along with the local community.
In most communities, art centres provide the only source of self-generated income for Aboriginal people. They play an important role in the financial well being of the community but also provide an important platform for cultural maintenance and education.
The Desert Mob Exhibition celebrates and defines a living art movement that is expressed through the heritage values of the oldest living culture in the world.
