Artists from remote community-owned art centres in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia, selling paintings, sculpture, textiles, jewellery and homewares, are alongside regional and remote NSW artists, many of whom participate in the regular Blak Markets at La Perouse.

Peter Cooley, who co-runs social enterprise First Hand Solutions Aboriginal Corporation, which oversees the fair and the Blak Markets in Sydney, says the art fair is an invaluable meeting point for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike.

“We’ve got a lot to share,” he says. “We want people to understand about us as Aboriginal people.”

He is also keen for people to invest in Indigenous artists, many of whom are still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns.

“Everyone’s done it tough,” he says. “But these remote communities, where sometimes the art centre is the only opportunity for these artists to get an income, we hope people come and support them as much as possible.

“There’s an opportunity to make connections with Aboriginal people in remote areas and then potentially even visit them and learn in their communities.”

The fair, returning after a two-year hiatus to launch NAIDOC Week, also features bush food cooking demonstrations, dance and singing performances, an interactive weaving circle with Indigenous artists, and storytelling and art and craft workshops for children.

Loading

A Sunday panel discussion featuring traditional owners, Indigenous leaders and artists looks at how issues such as fracking, mining and climate change affect remote communities.

Smith, a Walbunga woman from the Yuin Nation on the NSW South Coast, whose work is influenced by the bright colours of water and fish life where she grew up, says the fair is about culture, connection and emerging from the personal and career-related effects of the pandemic.

“Because it’s an ethical marketplace every dollar goes directly to the artists,” she says. “That helps them go home and create new products and build their business.

“People coming can know it’s all Indigenous-owned businesses selling authentic Indigenous art.”

Chatfield, whose acrylic paintings are also influenced by South Coast waters, along with the red dust and ochres of the outback, is looking forward to “meeting up with mob” and helping to reframe perceptions of Aboriginal cultures.

“A lot of people to this day say, ‘Are you the artist?’” he says. “They think we’re selling someone else’s artwork.”

Smith says helping to change preconceptions is part of being an Indigenous artist.

Loading

“People can perceive Indigenous people as [having] really dark skin,” she says. “Like Northern Territory mob. Sometimes they don’t realise that, because of colonisation, we’re fairer in New South Wales.

“The art market is a celebration, a modern-day gathering, and a chance for us all to keep talking.”

The National Indigenous Art Fair, July 2 and 3 at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks

A cultural guide to going out and loving your city. Sign up to our Culture Fix newsletter here.