Our Business 2026: Aboriginal Art Centre Showcase

Hear from Aboriginal art centres about how they are creating new opportunities for their communities, preserving and sharing cultural knowledge and opening doors through cultural tourism.

Aboriginal art centres are at the heart of strong Aboriginal communities – creating vital economic opportunities, sustaining culture, and providing places where artistic practice, cultural knowledge and storytelling thrive.

The showcase features a welcome to country, live music, a language activity and three dynamic panel discussions:

Panel 1: The Role of Art Centres

This panel will explore the ways in which Aboriginal art centres are so much more than places to make and sell art. Hear how they support artists, create jobs and economic opportunities, and strengthen communities.

Facilitator: Michelle Adams (Yinja Baarni artist)

Panellists: Kara Patch (Martumili Artists), Jan Griffiths (Waringarri Aboriginal Arts), Augustine Badal and Venetta Yanawa (Bidyadanga Artists)

Panel 2: Culture Shared is Culture Continued

Discover how art centres are keeping culture strong and ensuring stories continue to be shared into the future through archival projects, art collections and contemporary creative practice.

Facilitator: Glenn Iseger-Pilkington (Nhanda, Nyoongar, Dutch & Scottish arts leader, cultural strategist, and curator)

Panellists: Lynley Nargoodah (Mangkaja Arts), Eunice Yu (Nagula Jarndu Designs), Britt Pfeiffer (Warlayirti Artists), April Nulgit (Warmun Art centre)

Panel 3: Art Centres & Tourism

Hear from art centre and industry leaders as they discuss the opportunities and challenges at the intersection of Aboriginal art, culture and tourism, and the powerful role these partnerships can play in creating benefits for artists, communities and visitors.

Facilitator: Don Monk (Business Development Manager at WAITOC: Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council)

Panellists: Leah Umbagai (Mowanjum Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre), Margot McTaggart (Ord Valley Events), Jade Heffernan (Marketing Support for Waringarri Aboriginal Arts)

Please Note: The event schedule, speakers, presentations, sessions and activities are subject to change.

This event is presented by the Aboriginal Art Centre Hub of Western Australia (AACHWA) – the peak body and resource agency for art centres in the state – and forms part of our annual Aboriginal art centre and industry gathering, Our Business: Aboriginal Art Centre Forum. Each year the forum is held in a different regional location, with this year’s event presented in association with Waringarri Aboriginal Arts.