Earthblog

These days there are many and varied sorts of tourism in Australia; there are eco tours, adventure holidays, educational tours, trekking holidays, cultural festival tours, colonial architectural tours of Tasmania and so on. But recently, in Australia, a new sort of tour is being offered. It combines art appreciation, cultural awareness, sightseeing and adventure. 

For many years, Aboriginal culture was viewed as an oxymoron by many Australians. And when Aboriginal painting started to attract world interest, the same Australians dismissed it with the comment, 'It's just all dots.' Gradually, however, this attitude has changed within Australia, perhaps due to the huge prices some of the Aboriginal paintings have attracted in other countries, notably America. (Any American wanting to see a good representation of Aboriginal painting could well consider visiting the Seattle Art Gallery where there is an excellent collection.)