Welcome. This web-site provides guidance on visiting remote Indigenous-owned art centres in Australia. Only art centres that welcome visitors and have agreed to be on the map are shown.
Please read the sections below before using the map.
Travel advice
Avoid the heat
Summer temperatures can be extreme in outback Australia – it is recommended to avoid travelling in northern Australia in the hottest (and near the coast, wet) months of November to March.
Call ahead when visiting a community
It is advisable to call ahead when visiting an Art Centre to ensure it will be open. If you are relying on purchasing fuel or supplies from the local shop, also check that supplies are available. You can get the contact details of each Art Centre from its web-site. Note that Art Centres are not open 7 days/week, and sometimes not even 5 days/week.
Taking photos
It is not polite to take photos of people in communities without asking. Also, there may be areas on country where you are not permitted to take photos. If in doubt, ask – this will be appreciated.
Phone reception
There are 3 suppliers of mobile infrastructure in Australia – Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. In remote areas, Telstra generally has the best coverage. Where phone reception is marked as available in a community, it will often ONLY be for phones with a Telstra SIM. Determine which underlying infrastructure your mobile service provider uses. You might wish to purchase a Telstra pre-paid SIM for your phone if you will be doing a lot of outback travel. An alternative is to hire a satellite phone.
Sorry business
When a member of the community passes away, the whole community gets together and shares that sorrow. Ceremonies and mourning periods last days, weeks and even months depending upon the beliefs of the language group and the social status of the deceased person. (www.creativespirits.info) Non-essential services will close during this time.
Entry permits
For a small number of communities, you are required to obtain a permit before visiting. There are about 5 different permit systems. Please follow the link supplied for a community if this is listed as a requirement.
Dry communities
Many of the Indigenous communities are ‘dry’, that is alcohol-free. Where this is the case, you must not take alcohol into the community.
About
Using the map
The Travellers’ map of Indigenous art centres indicates the locations of remote art centres with a yellow circle. When you tap the circle, details about the community including a list of amenities, links to community web-sites, and notes on the community are displayed in a small block of text appearing above the map.
You can zoom into any area of the map to see more detail. As you zoom in, the geography and landscapes of the area are shown in distinctive colours, as shown below.
As you zoom in further, satellite imagery is shown. This shows the layout of the community when you are fully zoomed in.
Reliance on the internet
Although the map is internet-based, the most recent views of the map are automatically saved to your computer / tablet / phone, so if you view a community and its pop-up information shortly before travelling, then this part of the map and the pop-up information will most likely be viewable on your phone / tablet / computer while you are travelling without internet. (This is not 100% guaranteed though, so please do not rely on this for navigating.)
Email a view of the map to your friends
If you want to show someone else the view of the map that you have on your screen, simply copy the URL displayed in your browser into an email, and send that off. The recipient will be able to click on the link and see the same view of the map, without installing anything on their computer, tablet or phone.
For example, https://trilobite.solutions/indigenous/#14.55/-23.94268/132.78027
will show a view of Hermannsburg.
Indigenous communities
Note that only Indigenous-owned art centres that wish to be on the map are included. Please contact us if you would like your art centre to be added.
Spread the word
This is a volunteer-run system. If you love using the map, please help us by telling other travellers or friends, posting in social media or forums, writing an article for a magazine or newsletter, creating a link to http://tinyurl.com/artcentres on your web-site, or displaying the poster below.
Open source
This system has been created using free Open Source software – including Ubuntu, Qgis, GIMP, Inkscape, WordPress, Javascript, HTML, CSS, PHP, and Python. Many thanks to the global Open Source community.
Open data
Also thanks to the organisations that have provided data for this map.
Contributors
System development
David Collins (retired Geologist and Developer)
Design and development, stake-holder engagement, promotion.
http://trilobite.solutions
Julie James Bailey (retired Professor of Media and Film)
Instigator, stake-holder engagement, promotion.
General assistance and advice
ANKAAA – Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists
http://ankaaa.org.au/
Desart – peak arts body for Central Australian Aboriginal Arts and Crafts centres
https://desart.com.au/
IACA – Indigenous Art Centre Alliance
https://iaca.com.au/
AACHWA – Aboriginal Art Centre Hub – Western Australia
http://aachwa.com.au/