In collaboration with Jacky Winter, Emrhan Tjapanagka Sultan of Sul Nation – Mukulri Art and Consultancy, and directly alongside First Nations community members, we are attempting to increase access, representation and compensation of First Nations artists and designers through the creation of a First Nations space and support system that is culturally safe, inclusive and supportive. The project forms a core part of Jacky Winter’s statement of intention for Anti-Racist Action and Accountability in Artist Representation.

We are working to privilege First Nations voices within the process, draw on First Nations’ ways of working, and follow the expertise of those familiar with First Nations cultural and intellectual property. We are creating something alongside and supported by the First Nations community so it can be sustainable for the long-term future.

The project is focused on understanding and articulating how access and participation for First Nations creatives can be improved to ultimately lead to culturally safe and rewarding employment and new forms of creative expression within design-based industries. The contribution to knowledge lies in examining how First Nations creatives might be enabled and supported to engage within commercial industries in a culturally safe and supported environment – acting as a pathway to economic participation and cultural innovation. We are currently seeking funding to establish the project.

The research project ‘Fostering Indigenous access, participation, and representation in the design and commercial art industries in Australia’ (HREC ref: 22832) has been approved by the RMIT University Human Research Ethics Committee as it meets the requirements of the National statement on ethical conduct in human research (NH&MRC, 2007).