Respected authorities on Indigenous art say claims that white staff at a major art centre are interfering with Aboriginal artists' paintings are "distressing", and that it is "wrong" for non-Indigenous people to be adding their own touches to artworks.
The comments follow the publication of video footage showing a white woman painting on an Aboriginal artist's canvas at the highly regarded Tjala Art Centre (APY Art Centre Collective) in South Australia's far north.
The woman in the anonymously filmed video is seen to be making decisions about where to put particular markings on a painting of the Tjukurpa — the spiritual and sacred law that governs culture.
Alison Milyika Carroll, a painter and sculptor with one of the oldest art centres in the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands), said only Anangu people should be painting the Tjukurpa.
Ms Carroll is a board member of Ernabella Arts and also sits on the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Board of Management.
She is not associated with the APY Art Centre Collective (APY ACC).
Luke Scholes, a former curator of Aboriginal art at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, said the footage was "distressing and very sad", and he had never seen anything like it before.
"The thing that struck me most was that the non-Indigenous assistants were not having a conversation with the artist about the work, they were having a conversation amongst themselves," he said.
Their statements follow an article by The Australian's Greg Bearup, published in the News Corp broadsheet, that examined the role of studio assistants in the creation of Indigenous artwork.
Bearup's four-month investigation included the anonymous footage of the APY ACC assistant painting on an Indigenous artist's canvas.
Mr Bearup said during his investigation he spoke to five artists and six studio staff who had worked in the APY ACC galleries.
"They claimed to see this as a regular occurrence — that white staff painted on Indigenous artworks," he said.
The allegations have been vehemently denied in a written statement by the APY ACC's general manager, Skye O'Meara, on its website.
In the statement, the collective does not deny what is depicted on the film but justifies the actions of the worker by saying that "APY ACC does not hide the fact that art assistants assist in the underpainting process".
Ms O'Meara has not responded to requests for an interview by the ABC.
Philip Watkins, the chief executive officer of Desart, the peak arts body for 35 Central Australian Aboriginal art centres, said he was aware of the allegations but would not be making a public statement.
KU Arts, the South Australian equivalent of Desart, declined an interview but released a statement on its website outlining the group's "serious concerns" about the reports.
KU Arts has pledged to support any Anangu artists who have been affected by the allegations.
'It's not right'
Ms Carroll said the video clearly depicted a white arts centre worker painting on top of an Anangu artist's canvas, not "underpainting" it.
"I think that video is true for everybody to see it. That's the proof," Ms Carroll said.
She said that "it's not right for the white person to paint on an Anangu canvas".
"It's only for Anangu to paint their own stories on the canvas.
"It's their Tjukurpa. It's not for a white person [to] paint.
"The artists have to paint their own stories on the canvas and not people who don't know the stories because that story is important to Anangu artists.
"I don't know why they are painting and telling the stories. It is wrong."
Ms Carroll said the role of art centre assistants was defined and they should be limited to preparing canvases for artists to paint on.
"They have to paint the canvas only in black or white or in any colour," she said.
"Then they give it to the artist to do their stories on the canvas."
'Devastating for artists'
Mr Scholes said the implications of the allegations about non-Indigenous art assistants interfering with Indigenous artworks within the APY ACC were potentially devastating.
However, he stressed that it was not a common occurrence.
"It [the video] was unbelievable, it's highly irregular, and should never happen," Mr Scholes said.
He said the wider ramifications of allegations could affect art centres' reputations and ultimately sales.
"The economic implications of this issue coming out is going to be devastating for the artists," he said.
"[They are] an economically vulnerable group of people who really are relying on the only sustainable kind of income they have in communities [which] is making art.
"This will certainly be very disruptive to sales, very disruptive to exhibitions around the country and potentially internationally.
"The consumer confidence will take a real hit."
He said while the allegations had not yet been proved, the video was "damning".
Mr Scholes said it was unprecedented to see how outspoken the artists had been in Bearup's article.
"I think they're feeling empowered and as they should," he said.
"The APY collective is their collective and I'm sure they will make decisions about the staffing there.
"And I think over time, we will see, hopefully, the truth come out."
Independent review
The allegations come at a challenging time for the National Gallery of Australia, which is hosting the APY ACC in the upcoming exhibition Ngura Pulka – Epic Country.
The NGA has said on its website that it will be conducting an independent review into the provenance and creation of artworks.
A spokesperson for the NGA declined to be interviewed by the ABC for this story.
"It's a really difficult situation, I don't envy the position that they're having to take," Mr Scholes said.
"I'm sure they'll go through proper processes to try and get to the bottom of how these allegations may or may not affect their exhibition."
APY ACC denies allegations
In a statement on its website, the APY ACC has "strenuously" denied "the over-arching narrative that APY ACC art and any artists are compromised".
"To the contrary. We believe our professional studios meet highest standards of integrity and professionalism," the statement reads in part.
"True industry experts understand the line between assistance at artists' direction and interference with the artistic process and know that APY ACC has never crossed this line.
"It is grossly offensive to the many hundreds of proud Anangu who work with APY ACC to suggest otherwise, or that they would tolerate their Tjukurpa being interfered with."
Aboriginal Art Code sets standard
A spokesperson for the Aboriginal Art Code said in a statement that they do have a process for investigating complaints but they do not comment on current investigations or mediations.
The code is a set of rules and guidelines that dealers (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses) commit to follow to ensure ethical practices and fair treatment of artists.
They said they were aware of the recent allegations against the APY ACC and Tjala Arts staff in The Australian newspaper on April 8, 10 and 11, 2023.
The APY ACC and Tjala Arts are signatories to the code as dealer members.
