Aboriginals Motifs

Functions and Philosophies

Principles and Protocols

Principles and Protocols means respect between each others. Protocols require agreement between a group and the society. Museums and public galleries should follow the protocols when they are deciding which product to sell though their museum shops. Indigenous cultural keeps places promote the work of Indigenous artists through arts projects, commissions, exhibitions, displays and sales. Cultural centres can take on board protocols for the commission of projects, exhibition and sale of artwork.

When curating an exhibition, it is important to acknowledge and consider about the message behind the artwork and how the message will affect the society and the audiences before they’ve been put up on display. Those products or artworks should be consulted by the artist’s family or community and should be recommended by the curator of the museum. Photographs or any other type of presentations should NOT project any aspect about deceased indigenous people. Some communities request to hold the artwork from deceased artist for some time after the artist’s death. And this is one of the example that shows respect to those artists.

Moral Rights and Issues

The Moral Rights Amendments to the copyright were introduced in December 2000 and provide some new ways to challenge inappropriate treatment of Indigenous artworks.

Artists has moral rights of integrity and attribution to their artwork. The moral right of integrity means that the artist can take action against inappropriate treatment of their artwork. Under the moral rights provisions of the Copyright Act, the right against false attribution when reproducing the artwork. It is a good idea for artists to check design proofs of their work carefully before reproducing and publishing them.