Abstract

Indigenous cultural tourism offers significant future opportunities for countries, cities and Indigenous communities, but the development of new offerings can be problematic. Addressing this challenge, this article examines contemporary Australian Indigenous art innovation and cultural entrepreneurship or culturepreneurship emanating from Australia’s remote Arnhem Land art and culture centres and provides insight into the future development of Indigenous cultural tourism. Using art- and culture-focused field studies and recent literature from the diverse disciplines of art history, tourism, sociology and economics, this article investigates examples of successful Indigenous artistic innovation and culturepreneurship that operate within the context of cultural tourism events. From this investigation, this article introduces and defines the original concept of Indigenous culturepreneurship and provides six practical criteria for those interested in developing future Indigenous cultural tourism ventures. These findings not only challenge existing western definitions of both culture and culturepreneurship but also affirm the vital role of innovation in both contemporary Indigenous art and culturepreneurial practice. Equally importantly, this investigation illuminates Indigenous culturepreneurship as an important future-making socio-political and economic practice for the potential benefit of Indigenous communities concerned with maintaining and promoting their cultures as living, growing and relevant in the contemporary world.

Highlights

  • Artistic innovation of Indigenous cultural knowledge has been a mainstay of Australian cultural tourist attractions over many decades, evidenced by the diversity and volume of new Australian Indigenous art emanating from one of the world’s oldest known continuous cultures (Wright 2017).1 Concurrently, art and cultural tourism as well as Indigenous tourism have become major trends in domestic and international visitor experiences (Smith 2009a, pp. 15–36; Simone-Charteris and Boyd 2013, p. 220).Indigenous cultural tourism offers significant opportunities for countries and cities, especially for those Indigenous communities whose options are limited due to remote locations, inexperience and limited resources

  • This article introduces and defines Indigenous culturepreneurship as it relates to art practice and reveals important criteria that may assist the development of future Indigenous art and cultural tourism experiences

  • Since the 1970s in Australia, these participants who were both Indigenous and non-Indigenous actively coalesced with artists as well as their art and culture centre coordinators over a relatively short and intensive period to contribute to the exciting emergence of new Indigenous art

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Artistic innovation of Indigenous cultural knowledge has been a mainstay of Australian cultural tourist attractions over many decades, evidenced by the diversity and volume of new Australian Indigenous art emanating from one of the world’s oldest known continuous cultures (Wright 2017). Concurrently, art and cultural tourism as well as Indigenous tourism have become major trends in domestic and international visitor experiences (Smith 2009a, pp. 15–36; Simone-Charteris and Boyd 2013, p. 220). Two case-studies of successful Australian Indigenous culturepreneurship are investigated These examples both function within the context of significant art- and culture-focused tourist events and highlight fine art produced by artists from art and culture centres in Australia’s remote Arnhem. This article introduces and defines Indigenous culturepreneurship as it relates to art practice and reveals important criteria that may assist the development of future Indigenous art and cultural tourism experiences It identifies key features of Arnhem Land’s innovative Indigenous history and culture that have contributed to culturepreneurship. The context of Australia’s Indigenous art and cultural tourism is examined first, followed by examples of innovative Indigenous art practice and culturepreneurship drawn from Arnhem Land’s dynamic art and culture centres. Each of these centres advance their own unique and distinctive art styles, cultural emphases and approaches to innovation, offering tourists a diverse and intriguing drawcard for their cultural experiences

Examples of Artistic Innovation and Culturepreneurship in Practice
Arnhem Land’s History of Innovation and Culturepreneurship
Australian Indigenous Art and Culture Centres
Art and Culture Centres’ Culturepreneurial Networks
Indigenous Culturepreneurship
Definition of Indigenous Culturepreneurship
Indigenous Culturepreneurship and Its Relationship with Entrepreneurship
Distinguishing Features of Indigenous Culturepreneurship
Indigenous Culturepreneurship and Its Relationship with Culture
Established Culturepreneurial Capacity
Cultural Integrity and Indigenous Control
Patient Capital and Art and Culture Centres
Market Competitiveness and Innovation
Ongoing Marketing Support
Findings
Conclusions
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call