Paper short abstract

Based on a case study of an Australian art dealership this paper discusses contested value creation in the exchange of Aboriginal art

Paper long abstract

Aboriginal art dealers regulate and mediate categories of value through particular practices of representation and the social relationships they foster. In conducting the sale of Aboriginal art in the fine art market, the dealer must also mark a specific formulation of culture through processes of mediation and negotiation. Such social practices raise interesting questions about issues of appropriation and collaboration between artists, art workers and buyers.

This paper discusses localised, ethnographic research undertaken in an Australian dealership selling Aboriginal art. Influenced by the ideas of Gell, it concentrates on relationships that facilitate the circulation and marketing of art works, rather than the production of art forms. In so doing it focuses on personal, communal and market interests, which are evident in the mediation of exchange. It explores how the dealer negotiates these interdependent yet unstable and contested value regimes.