PRESS RELEASE



On the 26th of August 2010, Adrian Newstead will launch the Indigenous Art Market Top 100, www.aiam100.com, a comprehensive state-of-the-art website covering the careers of more than 100 of the most important artists of the Indigenous art movement.



As the founder and director of Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery (Est. 1980), Newstead has more than 30 years involvement with artists throughout Australia. After steering Lawson~Menzies Aboriginal Art Department to eclipse Sotheby’s sales during 2005/2006 he became Managing Director of Deutscher~Menzies auction house. He subsequently became a consultant and widely published commentator on the Australian art market, writing regularly for the Australian Art Market Report and the Australian Art Sales Digest.



According to Newstead, ‘2010 has been a most unsettling year in the visual arts, but most especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts. Following 15 years of uninterrupted growth the Indigenous art market, estimated to be worth in excess of 200 million dollars annually, has suffered a number of frustrating setbacks. This has affected over 60 art centres and thousands of individual artists whose income from art production makes a very real difference to their lives.’ During the first half of 2010 the introduction of; a code of conduct; the long-promoted resale royalty scheme; uncertainty surrounding art in self managed superannuation funds, and speculation that the on-going GFC would worsen, all played a role in unnerving the market. The failure of Sotheby’s annual Aboriginal Fine Art auction prompted The Australian to declare that the ‘Aboriginal art market bubble has burst and will never recover’.’



Adrian Newstead has, however, seen it all before. As a dealer with wide primary and secondary market experience he has weathered two previous market downturns. According to Newstead, ‘what we are seeing is a temporary setback with all the ingredients being put in to place for a brighter, fairer, if not more realistic, future. For those deeply committed to the industry and those considering the status of their collections it is a perfect time for reflection, analysis and planning.’ The Australian Indigenous Art Market Top 100 ‘ provides professional advice on the Indigenous art market in line with other investment categories, thereby serving the interests of artists, galleries and collectors.’



The site includes; information about the artists, each ranked with an annual AIAM100 Index, calculated on secondary market activity; who they worked with and how their art found its way into the market; detailed sales results presented graphically and analysis of the market’s preference for different styles and periods; and the ten highest results for each artist presented visually with details of the sales, dates and prices achieved.



The site itself is easily and inexpensively accessible to galleries, auction houses and collectors. It is user friendly, with free registration, interactivity, and content that can be purchased in a downloadable format on a one by one basis, rather than a standard yearly subscription. Subscribers can also follow the latest news via facebook, twitter, youtube, and regular articles to follow the highs and lows of this most fascinating field of artistic endeavour.



For information and interviews please contact the AIAM100 Team,

Phone: (02) 93009233 Email: info@aiam100.com Opening: 6-8pm Thursday the 26th of August 2010 31 Lamrock Ave Bondi Beach 2026 Registration: www.aiam100.com Facebook: Australian Indigenous Art Market Top 100 Twitter and Youtube: AIAMonehundred