Marketing and the Multiple Meanings of Australian Aboriginal Art

Aboriginal Australian art is enjoying increasing artistic and commercial success in the world art market. The channels of distribution for much of this art move paintings and other artworks from artists in small Aboriginal communities through indigenous corporations, largely White-run galleries and museums, to collectors and tourists. In another sense, however, these art works and the ideas they represent, move from the sacred dreaming contexts of their Aboriginal artists to the commoditized and aestheticized contexts of their largely non-Aboriginal consumers. This article explores these changes in meaning as Aboriginal art moves from its origins to its final destinations, as well as the consequences of these changes in meanings for those involved. In this analysis striking shifts are found in the meanings and uses of these artworks, and it is concluded that the success of Australian Aboriginal art is a mixed blessing with both positive and negative consequences.