Until the late 1980s Indigenous art was being ripped off left right and centre. It was open slather. First at the cheap end of the market on T-shirts and then on fancy carpets made in Vietnam. The rip-off merchants maintained black artists were just painting old patterns, so their work was for the taking. The lawyer who proved them wrong was Colin Golvan AM, and his new book shares historical stories of Indigenous copyright infringement and his experiences travelling around, often to remote communities, to work with artists to fight for their rights. Bronwyn Bancroft is one of Australia's most recognised First Nation artists and when she stumbled across the theft of her work, Colin took up the legal fight and they settled out of court. Bronwyn now mentors other Aboriginal artists to assert their copyright.

Guests:

• Colin Golvan AM is a lawyer, QC and author of new book, Protecting Indigenous Art
• Bronwyn Bancroft AM is a Bundjalung woman, artist and author of 45 books

This story originally aired on 03 October 2024.