Client: Maningrida Arts and Culture (MAC)

Maningrida Arts and Culture (MAC) was established in 1973, and is one of the oldest Aboriginal Arts Centres in Australia. It currently services over 700 artists from Maningrida and surrounding outstations. MAC artists produce work in bark painting,wooden and fibre sculpture, natural fibre item, print, and bronze and aluminium. The arts centre also engages in cultural maintenance activities including the production of dictionaries, music recording, preservation of the archives, supporting researchers and students, responding to the community’s request in respect of Cultural maintenance. The art acquisition of MAC is entirely from with the Maningrida community and it doesn’t buy in work from other communities. MAC is one of the few arts centres in Australia which has a total acquisition policy, and buys all artwork up front from its artists. This encourages the careers of young and emerging artists and provides income to older artists who are beyond their best work. The profits from selling artworks are adjusted to give the artists maximum return.

Project Representative and Project Partner: Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) - Ian Munro, CEO, BAC & Apolline Kohen, Director, MAC

Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) was established in 1974 to support people living on their land on outstations in the Arnhemland Reserve. The Community Development Employment Program (CDEP) was introduced in 1989, and outstation residents were paid to maintain their land. In 1996 after financial problems with Maningrida Council the government transferred the Maningrida town CDEP program to BAC to operate and administer. There are around 600 Aboriginal people participating in the program. MAC comes under the umbrella of BAC as part of its objectives to promote the maintenance of language,culture and traditional practice; to promote community development; and to foster business opportunities and economic independence in the community.BAC’s interest in developing MAC is as a way for the Community (and outstations) to develop an economically viable business, independent of government policy changes, which enhances their culture.

Project Partner: Thomas Foundation http://www.thomasfoundation.org.au/

AWF’s role in this project was generously sponsored by the Thomas Foundation. who donated $17, 200 towards this and another project in Arnhem Land, to cover AWF expenses incurred in carrying out these projects. In December, AWF applied to the Thomas Foundation for funding to support this and another project, which was subsequently agreed to, and donated in March 2008. Specifically for the Maningrida project, the Thomas Foundation grant allowed two AWF members to fly to Maningrida in April 2008 to meet with the stakeholders and scope the project.

AWF Project Team: Debra Kunda & Rebecca Adams

Apolline Kohen

Ian Munro

In 2005, Maningrida Arts and Culture (MAC)recognised the need for larger and improved space.

MAC began fund raising and also approached architects Build Up Design, for preliminary design contribution. Build Up Design has undertaken considerable design work for the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) for sixteen years. They are well known to the members of the community and the staff of the organisation, allowing them to undertake quality consultation.

Build Up Design subsequently spent three days in the Maningrida community assessing the spatial needs and design requirements of MAC, observing the current facilities and interviewing the art director, the CEO of BAC, the arts administrator and the Indigenous arts workers. The outcome of this process was the production of preliminary drawings, which were refined after further consultation,and then used for the preparation of a preliminary costing. As a result of this the project was able to attract seed funding.

The project has stalled, however, as while MAC has been trying to attract additional funding, the costs of building in remote communities has risen, making the Art Centre further from being built than it was two years previously. AWF believe that this is an important project that will significantly help the Maningrida Community increase their cultural and economic autonomy.

This is why AWF accepted MAC’s request we step in to re-invigorate the project. The BAC approached AWF for assistance in late 2007, and as a result, AWF agreed to do a ‘scoping’ document for the project which collected all the information available and costed the existing design. This document could then be used to help MAC to obtain funding to build the Arts Centre.

Project Name: Maningrida Arts Centre

Location: Maningrida, Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

Commencement Date: March 2008

Project Description

Two AWF volunteers, Deb Kunda and Rebecca Adams, flew to Maningrida in April 2008 and met with the MAC and BAC, and inspected both the existing and proposed site for the new Arts Centre. It was ascertained that there were some updates needed in the design due to changed conditions. These changes were subsequently made by Build Up Design Following this vist, a scoping document was produced which re-costed the design for the Arts Centre, discussed the requirements of the community, the site, and the capacity and employment possibilities of the community. This scoping document was completed in August 2008.