‘Traumatic chapter’: APY Art Centre Collective investigation concludes with no adverse findings
The latest investigation into the APY Art Centre Collective has been dropped.
The APY Art Collective says the conclusion of an investigation by the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations “closes the book on [a] terrible traumatic chapter”.
In a letter provided to InReview dated 14 November 2024, APY Arts Collective CEO Skye was informed that the investigation had concluded with no further action taken.
“We are the most examined organisation in our industry,” read a statement attributed to the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara artists represented by the non-profit arts organisation.
“Every piece of our business has been looked at, and no problems have been found. The artists of the APY Lands have been vindicated.”
The ORIC inquiry is the third high-profile probe to clear the collective following the so-called “White Hands on Black Art” controversy.
In April 2023 the APY Art Centre Collective became the focus of a string of reports by The Australian newspaper which aired claims about the role of non-Indigenous studio assistants in works attributed to First Nations artists.
The fallout from the coverage prompted an eleventh-hour cancellation of a major exhibition, Ngura Pulka – Epic Country, at the National Gallery of Australia. The NGA subsequently launched its own independent review of the artworks, which concluded in July 2023 that the Anangu artists featured in the exhibition had “exercised effective control over the creation” of the 28 works.
In July 2024 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also announced it was discontinuing its investigation into the organisation, which began after a referral by a three-person panel appointed by the South Australian government.
APY Art Centre Collective and community leader Frank Young called on the government to address “unscrupulous private dealers” who he claims have “exploited vulnerable artists” and fuelled the negative media coverage that “tried to kill” the collective.
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“For two years the investigators have looked at our money story, they interviewed leaders, artists and staff, and none of the negative stories were proven to be true.
“Surely it is time for government to look at the rest of the industry now? We know there are many others that don’t operate with the same level of integrity and ethics as us.”
The Board also called on the federal government to launch a Senate Inquiry to “ensure the safety of vulnerable women and elderly artists”.
A spokesperson from ORIC told InReview that it was not appropriate to comment on the now-closed investigation, but that “no adverse inference should be drawn from an investigation being conducted”.