In June 2023, senior associate in our wills, estates and succession planning team, Conor Sheridan spent a week travelling throughout the Northern Territory providing legal advice to First Nations artists through the Arts Law Centre's (ALC) Artists in the Black program.

The Artists in the Black Program

Since 2017, the Colin Biggers & Paisley Foundation has worked in collaboration with the ALC to assist in protecting the cultural and artistic rights of Indigenous artists by providing pro bono support to their Artists in the Black program. The Artists in the Black Program forms part of ALC's community outreach program where solicitors travel to remote communities to provide legal advice and draft wills for Aboriginal artists.
 

Arts Law - Artists in the Black Northern Territory Trip by Conor Sheridan

 
I flew in to Alice Springs on Sunday 21 May and met with Donna Robinson, Director of Artists in the Black Legal, and Katherine Giles, Head of Legal and Operations, at Arts Law.
 
The next day we drove approximately an hour to Ntaria (Hermannsburg) to meet with some amazing artists at Hermannsburg Potters. The artists were very generous with their time, talking about their creative process and sharing the stories behind the artwork, which struck me as deeply personal as it represented their history and connection with the land.
 
Over two days while at Hermannsburg we provided advice on estate issues to the artists and art centre. We also prepared wills and reviewed existing wills, for 16 artists and their families. In addition to preparing wills and advising on estate related issues, Donna and Katherine spoke to artists about their intellectual property rights, licensing and copyright issues.