Indigenous art funding boost to roll out QR codes so customers can check authenticity of works
The federal government has boosted funding to the Indigenous arts sector, including money to roll out QR codes that allow customers to check the authenticity and cultural significance of artwork and products.
Up to 80 remote and regional Indigenous arts centres will be helped to connect to the National Broadband Network (NBN) and be provided with equipment and training from March next year, in a bid to get communities access to potentially lucrative online markets.
The Commonwealth is also considering a certification system to ensure knock-off products and art claiming to be produced by First Nations artists can be readily identified as fake.
Arts Minister Paul Fletcher said the increase in funding would result in more than $27 million going towards the Indigenous arts sector each year for the next five years.
"[It] will help safeguard the cultural knowledge which underpins the work of Australia's world-renowned Indigenous visual artists, while investing in sustainable economic opportunities for a modern digital environment," he said.
