Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair draws crowds

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Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair draws crowds

Pottery, paintings and pandanus mats detailing stories from First Nations artists across the country have drawn large crowds at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair DAAF. A major event for art lovers around Australia, the fair is held every year at the Darwin Entertainment Centre as a way to share their stories with the public.

This year's event is expected to bring in millions of dollars for the 78 art centres represented at the fair, giving an economic boost to remote communities around the country.

DAAF Chair Franchesca Cubillo said that arts and culture in remote regions were the lifeblood of any community, but the fair was not just a chance to share our culture as a gift to the nation Ms Cubillo said.

It allowed artists to earn a wage.

They're able to secure an economic return, which will allow that next generation of First Nations people to feel empowered to think about what might a business look like, operating out of my community? She said something.

We've got some remarkable artists working out of art centres, but what if we had a modelling agency in Gapuwiyak for those remarkable young men who were part of our Country to Couture fashion show. For Karen Rogers, an artist from Ngukurr Arts Centre, the fair was also a chance to pass down skills to family.

She said that we have my son at the moment, just teaching him how to do lino printing, printing on material.

He's doing a good job, like framing canvas. Art centres can offer a lot of things for young people, career pathways, and I think they can do a lot of things. Ms Rogers said it was fascinating learning about other indigenous cultures through art and finding common links.

She said that she was interested in this one from Torres Strait because I speak Kriol and they speak different Kriol.

It was amazing to see it, because they speak a little bit different to our way of speaking. It was inspiring. Each art centre brought its own languages, styles and practices to the floor of the convention centre from the tropics to the desert.

Lex Namponan, from Wik and Kugu Arts Centre, said that his father was a major source of inspiration.

When we were 14, 15 we saw our dad doing sculptures and bark painting and everything, he said.

As we were growing up, it gave us the idea for what we're doing, and now we're here, travelling around with all of our colleagues.

I have a big show coming up from this moment, back to home, going out country collecting milky pine, clays, white clay, red clay from the ground.