Ellen Bertani

White hands' and authenticity in the Aboriginal art market

"Authenticity in relation to Aboriginal art is a contested site that has implications for the Aboriginal art market"

Ellen Bertani

My research will explore the Aboriginal art industry primarily from remote/regional regions with inquiry to its operation and how stakeholders are positioned. It will particularly focus on the prevalence of non-Indigenous stakeholders and how this combined with non-Indigenous conceptions of 'authenticity' impact the market. By centralising Aboriginal voices and experiences, the research will speak back to authenticity as a contested space and explore industry models that centralise Aboriginal ways of doing and being and build capacity within Aboriginal artist communities.

About Ellen Bertani

Ellen is a Kokatha and Ballardong Noongar woman born and raised in Tarntanya on Kaurna Country. Ellen's research draws on her lived experience as the daughter of an Aboriginal artist to explore the construction of authenticity and how it affects the Aboriginal art market. Her research also hopes to spotlight best practice industry models that centralise Aboriginal artists and their communities.