The art of the outback will

The Arts Law Centre of Australia (ALCA) is a national not-for-profit community legal centre for the arts, providing advice, resources and training to artists and arts organisations on a range of legal and commercial matters. Allens has a longstanding pro bono association with the ACLA and it was through its 'Artists in the Black' initiative that Associate Elisabeth Sandbach accompanied Arts Law and Desart (the peak industry body assisting arts centres in Central Australia) on an outreach trip to Tennant Creek and the surrounding communities of Epenarra and Canteen Creek.

'Artists in the Black' supports First Nations people, with a focus on wills and estates. On the week-long outreach trip, which Elisabeth called 'Wills on Wheels' to reflect the distance covered, she and her ACLA counterpart drafted 26 wills for Indigenous artists from across the Barkly region, often taking instructions caked in red dust in the 40-degree heat.

Traversing many kilometres of Arrernte, Warumungu and Alyawarre desert country, they also met with artists of the Barkly Regional Arts Centre to provide advice about copyright, royalties, and licensing opportunities and answered questions about artists' rights and protecting Indigenous Culture and Intellectual Property.

Elisabeth reflected that it was a valuable opportunity to observe the impact the ALCA is making at a grass-roots level.

'The clients welcomed the service, and many took the time to show us their paintings and share stories of the meaning behind their work, which were all connected to Country, including representations of bush medicine, tucker and plants. Altogether, it was a wonderful, whirlwind of a trip, and an incredible opportunity to connect with the Barkly arts community and learn about wills and estates,' she said.

She also noted the bespoke nature of some of the issues explored with the communities she visited.

'The primary focus of our trip was to draft and execute wills for the artists. The wills were tailored to appoint a copyright trustee, and to ensure that the artists' wishes in relation to looking after their family and community (often including non-biological children) were respected and formally recorded,' she said.

Allens' pro bono support for the ACLA spans a range of areas and includes work in relation to the Productivity Commission's 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Visual Arts and Crafts' inquiry. Informed by Arts Law's 'Fake Art Harms Culture' campaign, the IP and Competition teams and Allens secondees assisted in the preparation of their submissions to the inquiry, preparing a response to the Commission's draft report. The final report was published in December 2022.