The Art Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ) advocates for art history and the visual arts. In 2017 the Association established several advocacy working groups to address issues which had been identified by the AAANZ Membership and the Executive as crucial.
1. Advocacy Committee
This advocacy group is the first point of contact in the Association for relevant issues as they arise. The committee currently looks at current advocacy efforts under way in Australia and New Zealand by cognate organisations to see where AAANZ can best devote its energies.
This group focuses on “where does advocacy need to be applied right now in our sector?” AAANZ collaborates and works with National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA), Arts Law Centre of Australia, Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools (ACUADS), National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), and Museums Australia, as well as current advocacy efforts that are taking place in other countries by sister organisations such as CAA (College Art Association of America) and AAH (Association for Art History, United Kingdom) to understand best practice in the sector.
Contact: Wendy Garden
2. Indigenisation Advocacy Group
This advocacy group emerged out of discussions at the 2016 conference about the need for AAANZ to actively support the work of many scholars, artists and curators in Australia and New Zealand who are working to diversify the curriculum and promote greater literacy in Indigenous art and culture in education at all levels and in the museum sector.
This group is focused on advocating for the introduction of more Indigenous Australian, Māori and Pasifika people teaching art and art history across the region. This group supports researchers, writers, and curators to find employment positions through specifically targeted programs. This group liaises with relevant organisations such as Arts Front’s ‘First Peoples First‘ initiative, as well as the Pacific Art Association and the Aboriginal Art Association of Australia
Read AAANZ | Indigenisation Values Statement
Contact: Ngarino Ellis