Solenne Ducos-Lamotte in exhibition WaterMark – The signature of life at The Space in Hong Kong, September 2012 – Photo Shashin © IDAIA

Solenne Ducos-Lamotte at exhibition WaterMark
The signature of life
at The Space in Hong Kong, September 2012
Photo Shashin © IDAIA

PRESS RELEASE
Date: Thursday 19th September 2013

Director and Founder of IDAIA, Solenne Ducos-Lamotte, joins the Board of elected Directors of the Indigenous Art Code, aiming to ensure fair trade with Indigenous artists, during well attended AGM in Alice Springs.

Solenne Ducos-Lamotte was honoured and excited at the announcement of the results of the vote at the Indigenous Art Code AGM in Alice Springs, on Friday 6 September. On Saturday 7, the same day as the Australian federal elections, Mrs Ducos-Lamotte attended her first Board of Directors meeting to discuss the next steps for the code and take action on complaints and disputes. Along with Mrs Ducos-Lamotte, five new Indigenous Directors are coming on board by
appointment: Dr Mark Bin Bakar, Maree Clarke, Bindi Cole, Glenn Iseger-Pilkington and Carly Lane.

In her speech in front of a large audience of members of the code and the general public, including representatives from the Office for The Arts (OFTA), Solenne acknowledged “the Traditional Owners of the land” and paid her “respect to the elders past and present” before showing her engagement in the code’s value and practice. “The Indigenous Art Code is entering a new vital and exciting phase with growing numbers of Code Members especially overseas, the ever increasing international markets for Australian Indigenous art, and the arrival of new Indigenous directors”, says Solenne Ducos-Lamotte.

As the Founder and Director of IDAIA – International Development for Australian Indigenous Art, Solenne has over ten years of experience in the international trade and promotion of Australian indigenous art. She is passionate about protecting and developing the best ethical practices, and a fervent defender of the Aboriginal-owned art centres model. She believes in a stronger industry in which cultural maintenance and sustainability need to be strengthened and nurtured. Fairness for both the artists and the consumers is paramount for her. Solenne Ducos-Lamotte is bringing to the Board her knowledge and skills, her international experience and connections, and above all her unconditional love for the Indigenous art and culture … plus maybe her
Franco-Australian determination!

Solenne Ducos-Lamotte joins the Board of the code at critical times as “There continues to be significant unethical and unfair treatment and exploitation of Indigenous artists by some dealers in the Industry. […] The nature of the misconduct has not changed significantly since the Senate report was published in 2007”, as per Ron Merkel QC, Chair at The Indigenous Art Code comments in April 2013.

Created in 2008 to provide answers to recommendations of the 2007 Senate Inquiry report: Indigenous art – Securing the Future, the Indigenous Art Code is the national regulatory body for the fair and ethical trade in works of art by Australian Indigenous artists. The Code was publicly launched on 29 November 2010. A public company – Indigenous Art Code Limited (IartC) – was established to administer the Code. IartC is lead by a Board of Directors, drawn from the Indigenous visual arts industry and the wider community, with now a majority of Indigenous Directors and the objective to have an Indigenous co-Chair in the near future.

 

Note to editors
• IDAIA – International Development for Australian Indigenous Art
Since its creation in 2008, IDAIA has thrived to promote Indigenous Australian Art towards international audiences through educational events, exhibitions and acquisitions projects.

IDAIA is the only entity providing an online overarching platform of information on Australian Indigenous Art across the globe.
IDAIA contributed to draft the Indigenous Art Code in 2010 and is a registered member of the code since 2011. More than ever and to better serve the sector, IDAIA’s cause is to develop the appreciation, visibility and presence of the ethical and curatorial Australian Indigenous contemporary art, working alongside the existing like-minded stakeholders and organisations.

Recent exhibitions and events include:

Gestuelles, the art of transmission by Aboriginal desert women
Curated by IDAIA and supported by the Embassy of France in Australia, the exhibition toured
in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in 2012 and 2013.

WaterMark, The signature of life
Curated by IDAIA, with the support of the Australian Consulate-General in Hong Kong & Macau,
the Australia-China Council, the exhibition was held at The Space in Hong Kong in September 2012.

NAIDOC Guided Tour: Aboriginal Bark paintings and ochre based art-forms
Themed guided tours by IDAIA at the Art Gallery of NSW, as part of the NAIDOC celebrations, 10 July 2013.

Waringarri Artists
Curated by IDAIA, the group show dedicated to Waringarri Artists from the Kununurra community
in Western Australia is to be held in Versailles, France in October-November 2013.

More information on IDAIA events http://www.idaia.com.au/en/idaia-events/
and exhibitions http://www.idaia.com.au/en/idaia-exhibitions/

 

• The Indigenous Art Code
The Code was developed in the first instance by the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA)
and then by the Australia Council for the Arts, who worked closely with an Industry Alliance Group made
up of artists, Indigenous art centres, commercial art galleries, public art galleries, auction houses and visual arts peak bodies; including the Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA), Desart, Ananguku Arts, Umi Arts, the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA), Australian Commercial Galleries Association (ACGA) and the Australian Indigenous Art trade Association.
The structure of the board has been changed to allow the Company to operate more successfully
in a potentially changed regulatory environment, and to position the Company as a majority
Indigenous governed entity that can equally represent Indigenous artists as well as dealer members.
The Board structure includes up to eleven Appointed Directors Positions to represent Indigenous Artists, Artists Resource Organisations, and Legal/Business Expertise non-arts representatives. And it still includes Elected Directors Positions: up to four commercial Dealers who are Code Members (a member of the Australian Commercial Galleries Association, a member who is also a member of the Australian
Indigenous Art Trade Association, a member who represents an Indigenous Art Centre and a member
who is a non-affiliated dealer).

For further information about the code: http://www.indigenousartcode.org

 

• Media Contact Details
Please do get in touch for further details and/or to secure an interview with Solenne Ducos-Lamotte:

Pascaline Biron
Communications and Marketing Assistant
Phone: +61 (0) 2 800 60 262
Mob: +61 414 512 184
Skype: idaia.com.au
communication@idaia.com.au
http://www.idaia.com.au/
Bénédicte Vachon
IDAIA’s Representative and Curator in France
Mob: +33 6 85 14 82 84
france@idaia.com.au
Social media:
facebook.com/idaiaaboriginalart
twitter.com/IDAIA_Ab_Art
http://pinterest.com/idaia/
http://www.youtube.com/user/IDAIAoz

 

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