2017 reports including TEFAF’s Art Market Report 2017 and ArtTactic’s Global Market Outlook for 2017, indicate an optimistic increase in global art markets for the start of 2017. In particular, several key international exhibitions in 2016 focusing on Indigenous Australian artists, have seen a tangible resurgence in the demand for the Indigenous art market. To name just a few:

• Who’s Afraid of Colour, National Gallery of Victoria, VIC, Australia
• Everywhen, Everywhere, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, QLD, Australia
• 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial: Defying Empire, National Gallery of Australia, ACT Australia
• Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia, touring exhibition: Newcomb Art Museum, Tulane University, New Orleans, thePatricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, Florida International University, the Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, The Phillips Collection, Washington, and the Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
• No Boundaries: Aboriginal Australian Contemporary Abstract Painting, collection of Debra and Dennis Scholl (touring exhibition), Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nevada; Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon; Pérez Art Museum Miami; Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, Michigan; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
• Tracey Moffat, representing Australia at the 57th International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennale 2017

These significant exhibitions being held around the world demonstrate an increased international awareness and renewed appreciation for the Indigenous Australian art industry, an optimistic sign of things to come.

In May 2017 the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra launched the long-awaited National Indigenous Art Triennial, titled Defying Empire.
This major exhibition surveyed the contemporary practice of 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from across the country, responding to the 50th Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum through a diverse group of works.
Artists include Pedro Wonaeamirri, Ray Ken, Nonggirrnga Marawili, Yhonnie Scarce and many more.
Exhibition dates: 26 May – 10 September 2017

Until the end of the 2015/2016 financial year, artworks purchased by Australian small businesses are eligible to receive a tax refund.
The following announcement was made by the Federal Treasurer on Budget night, 12 May 2015:
All small businesses may be entitled to receive an immediate tax deduction for any individual asset they buy costing less than $20,000. These arrangements are set to continue until the end of June 2017.
It is currently understood that this includes purchases of all art (paintings, sculpture, photography, video art, drawings, etc) for use by businesses with an ABN and with annual turnover of less than $2million.
Please seek advice from your accountant with regards to this incentive, as your office makeover could incorporate a new painting or sculpture fully tax deductable!