Every year millions of tourists come to Australia, OK maybe not so much this year, but usually they do and many of them want to bring something uniquely Australian home with them. And what's more uniquely Australian than a piece of Indigenous art. If you've ever been in a souvenir shop you've probably seen lots of paintings and didgeridoos, boomerangs, even t-shirts and tea towels featuring patterns and designs from traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. But there's a bit of a problem, not all of them are the real deal.
JACK EVANS, REPORTER: OK, which of these was designed or made by an Indigenous artist? It's a trick question because neither of them are but if you thought they were well, you're not alone.
According to the Arts Law Centre of Australia around 85 per cent of artworks and souvenirs sold in Australia are fake. They are usually made overseas and not made by an Aboriginal artist. Now you might be wondering what's wrong with that. Well Nici from the Art Gallery of South Australia says to many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people art is about way more than just a pretty picture.
NICI CUMPSTON, ART GALLERY OF SA: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists come from over 200 different language groups. Everybody has their own way of expressing their cultural knowledge. Whether it's knowledge of how to grow plants, how to follow the seasons, you know, there's there are ancestral creation stories that are being shared. There's history narratives, there's personal experience, there's protest art.
She says if a non-Indigenous person copies an artwork without that cultural knowledge or personal experience it can be really offensive to the people it belongs to. It also means Indigenous artists aren't paid for the work they do. While it's illegal to pretend something has been created by an Indigenous person, there are no laws against selling art that looks similar and many people say that's not right.
KEN WYATT, MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS: Many tourists go home not realising that they don't have authentic Indigenous artwork and that's why we're working together to make sure that we stamp out this practice.
The Government says it's working on laws which would protect real Indigenous art by banning the fake stuff. Which is something a lot of artists and art lovers have been asking for, for a long time. And while it could make it harder for tourists to get their hands on cheap souvenirs some say it's worth it.
NICI, ART GALLERY OF SA: It's a message that is loud and clear to people who are considering copying works of art for commercial gain to think you know, to think about it, it's a multi-million dollar industry. And that's money that could be going back into Aboriginal communities.
In the meantime, Nici says there are things you can do to check the art you're buying is real. Like asking where it comes from, who made it and what their language group is? You can also look for clues in the artwork, like dot painting from central Australia and cross hatching from Northern Australia. She says it helps to learn more about Indigenous art and Indigenous culture so we can really appreciate just how special these works of art are.
