Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts

Nothing is older, nothing more powerful than this.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts are the creative heritage of an extraordinary people, the original inhabitants of the Australian continent. For 40,000 years they have shaped and handed down - through song, dance, painting, sculpture and craft - their inner landscape, their spirituality.

Today, new generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists are enhancing this cultural inheritance, and expanding its range - multimedia and fiction writing are as central to their culture now as traditional forms such as ceremonial dance and bark painting. Increasingly, their art is sought and acclaimed by international audiences.

Indigenous artists draw on the colours of Australia’s soil, the expanse of our skies, the rhythms of our riverbeds and billabongs, as well as the urgency and complexity of urban and regional life. Moving across many boundaries, their vision and inspiration remains at the heart of Australia’s culture.

Festival of Pacific Arts Australia's delegation to the Festival of Pacific Arts in American Samoa.

Guides to help do the right thing with Indigenous culture The Australia Council for the Arts has released a fully revised second edition of its protocol guides to help Australians better understand the use of Indigenous cultural material.

Arts Yarn Up - Autumn 2009 Welcome to the Autumn 2009 edition of Arts Yarn Up, the Australia Council for the Arts' Indigenous arts magazine. Highlights of this issue include Australia's delegation to the Festival of Pacific Arts, Vernon Ah Kee's selection for the Venice Biennale, and Terri Janke's thoughts on the need for a national Indigenous cultural authority.