Open Access

Tatjana Thimm

• This article argues that Indigenous art and Indigenous tourism have become important drivers for Indigenous businesses in Australia and are interrelated to varying degrees. The article focuses on Western Australia where Indigenous art and Indigenous tourism businesses are widespread in both rural and urban areas. Indigenous art and tourism have a long history in Western Australia. Art is predominantly displayed in art centres in rural areas, and galleries and museums in urban settings. The term ‘urban’ in Western Australia is often synonymous with the city of Perth, the capital of the federal state of Western Australia and the only larger city in the state. Art centres are located in smaller towns and sometimes in very remote areas. Despite being far from any larger markets, remote from policy makers, and located in areas with poor infrastructure, Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs in Indigenous art and Indigenous tourism have nonetheless managed to successfully support Indigenous culture and the community. Indigenous tourism and Indigenous art are always caught between the cultural self-empowerment of artists and communities on the one side and the realities of commerce on the other. This tension can lead to positive developments for both tourists and artists, contributing to reducing regional disparities; but it can also manifest in negative ways for Indigenous culture. The aim of this article is to identify interrelations between Indigenous art and Indigenous tourism and to develop a model that depicts these interrelations to make such connections visible.