20 years of Aboriginal woodcarving in Arnhem Land, Australia: using art sales records to examine the changing dynamics of sculpture production

Abstract

The growth of the Aboriginal Arts Industry in Australia over the last few decades has seen an increase in the number of indigenous communities producing woodcarvings. The timber used for carving is derived from locally available tree species. Whilst the practice relies on the continued supply of timber from native forests, very little is known about the harvesters and their production of sculpture. A long-term community art centre sales database from the Maningrida region of central Arnhem Land was used to examine the changes the sculpture sector has experienced over the last 20 years. The results show that sculpture production has grown rapidly over the last two decades. Arts production is a flexible economic activity and carving is a popular artistic medium. One language community in the region produces the majority of pieces and major shifts in the age demography and gender of sculpture producers attest to the social and cultural sustainability of carving production in the region. This large dataset from Maningrida Arts and Culture illuminates the changing dynamics of arts production and highlights the importance of compiling similar detailed and historical arts information for other regions. Show more