ARTISTS MATERIALS FUND
From the Coorong to Coober Pedy, the Flinders Ranges to Port Lincoln, the Artists Materials Fund enables Ku Arts to provide tangible and necessary support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists across South Australia. Overcoming barriers of equity and access, including the prohibitive cost of freight, this vital funding champions artists’ agency and self-determination, supporting cultural practice.
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Ku Arts provides access to quality art materials at no cost to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists across South Australia. Eligible artists are working outside of art centre models - creating a gap in their support system. The Artists Materials Fund enables us to close that gap by providing quality materials at no cost to artists, ensuring that they can continue creating their work.
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Every dollar from your donation funds the purchase of quality art materials and cost of freight to artists anywhere in South Australia. Ku Arts ensures that artists are able to reach out at any time of the year for materials.
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The Artist Materials Fund builds on the success of an Arts SA funded pilot in 2022 that saw over eighty artists across seven regions provided with artist materials such as canvas, paints, brushes, watercolours, masking tapes, scissors, wood carving equipment, sculpting and weaving supplies.
This pilot program demonstrated the direct benefits of this crucial support for emerging artists to launch careers, grow their economic participation and financial independence. Artists were able to create new bodies of work that were exhibited for sale at events such as the Tarnanthi Art Fair, Our Mob Exhibition, and Ku Arts' Arts in Health Exhibitions at Flinders Medical Centre.
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For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists painting is a vital cultural practice. Art is a way to share stories, to connect to Country, and to keep culture strong.
Your donation ensures that South Australian storytellers and culture keepers can continue creating - without any worries about accessing the materials they need to do so.
YOUR IMPACT
For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists painting is a vital cultural practice. Art is a way to share stories, to connect to Country, and to keep culture strong. Your donation provides quality art materials to South Australian storytellers and culture keepers.
The table below has been set up to illustrate the costs associated with producing artworks. You can choose to provide funds towards quality materials, or to fund an entire project for an artist.
“Having access to the art supplies provided by Ku Arts was very beneficial not only to myself, but also my little family. Living in Port Augusta there isn’t anywhere here, or in the nearby region that we can access quality art supplies. Without this assistance from Ku we would not have much art supplies to continue our art practices. We do not visit Adelaide very often and can’t afford the freight costs or fuel costs to go between Port Augusta and Adelaide for supplies.”
-- Juanella Donovan (Adnyamathanha, Luritja)
Independent artist located in Port Augusta“I’ve lived in Coober Pedy all my life and my family has been here for generations. If we didn’t have this [support from Ku Arts] we wouldn’t be able to buy brushes, paints, or canvases. My whole family paints and now the younger generations are starting. We get tourists asking for us to paint and it is important that the quality is good - if we use the cheap paints they fade after time.”
-- Jillian Williams (Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara)
Independent artist located in Coober Pedy“Ku Arts supported me in accessing quality art materials and jewellery findings so I could finesse my work, leading to exhibition and retail outcomes at Tarnanthi Art Fair in 2023. I couldn’t have done this without Ku Arts’ support.”
-- Belinda Wilson (Ngarrindjeri)
Independent artist located on the Coorong