Supporting Tasmanian Aboriginal creative development

Elise Archer,Minister for the Arts

The Hodgman majority Liberal Government through Arts Tasmania is delighted to support six Tasmanian Aboriginal artists to develop and share their practice through a series of arts activities.

Arts Tasmania’s Aboriginal Arts Program will provide $31,987 in funding, which will allow the artists to create new works for exhibition and performances across Tasmania during 2020.

The recipients are as follows:

  • Kartanya Maynard (Hobart) will work with theatre organisation, Archipelago Productions to develop her skills as a performing artist;
  • Ms Belynda Hooper (Launceston / Cape Barren Island) will undertake research towards writing her first non-fiction book telling personal stories of Tasmania’s Aboriginal men and women war heroes; and
  • Visual artists Allan Mansell (Bruny Island), Delia Summers (Launceston), Cheryl Rose (Burnie), and Sonya Maher (Launceston) have all been supported to create new work.

The Government is committed to our Reset agenda with Tasmania’s Aboriginal people, while investing to grow social, cultural and economic outcomes and to promote greater understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal culture.

Tasmania’s arts and cultural sector is a critical part of our State’s identity and economy, injecting approximately $179 million into the Tasmanian economy a year and directly employing approximately 5,000 people. The Tasmanian Aboriginal communities and their artistic contributions are of course a vital aspect of this flourishing sector.

/Public Release. View in full here.