Desart

Desart is the non-profit peak industry body for over 35 Central Australian Aboriginal Art Centres. Art Centre members are community-based enterprises, owned and managed by Aboriginal people in their communities. They provide economic, social and cultural benefits. Desart member’s represent approximately 8000 artists, from sixteen distinct language groups spread across the Central desert region of Australia. Based in Alice Springs, Desart has been providing support services for Art Centres for the last twenty years. Desart provides a united voice for Art Centres and delivers programs that support the maintenance of strong governance and business practices, in addition to providing opportunities to market and promote art. Desart provides a conduit for broad engagement with remote Art Centres and has developed a national reputation for being a strong advocate to Governments and the broader arts industry, highlighting the unique position Aboriginal Art Centres hold in the national arts and cultural landscape, their successes, needs and challenges. Art Centres are important community places. They are innovative and vibrant spaces where culture is kept strong, passed on between old and young, and places where Aboriginal people can share our arts and culture with the world.