Article in the Australian newspaper about the upcoming Garma festival that is being overshadowed by two controversies, the federal government intervention into Aboriginal communities and the Senate committee report into the sustainability of the Aboriginal art industry.
Quoted from the article:
This, of course, touches on another topical issue. This year’s Garma comes less than two months after a Senate committee released its report into the sustainability of the Aboriginal art industry. The federal Government is still considering its formal response to the report, which was prompted by articles in The Australian.
Arts Minister George Brandis visited the festival on opening night and told the crowd how inspired he was by the spirituality, intelligence and “rich mystery” of indigenous art.
“This is my first visit to Arnhem Land,” Brandis said. “It’s been a brief time that I have been here — just today — but already it’s evident to me what a special place this is. The beauty, the serenity, the sense of remoteness all converge in this country in a spirituality which I, as a stranger to it, can detect is palpable.”
