SALON Art Projects

SALON Art Projects is a collaboration. Begun when two Darwin gallerists, Matt Ward and Paul Johnstone joined forces in 2013 to host the first SALON des Refusés alongside the Nation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), it reflects deep and abiding partnerships with Aboriginal-owned Art Centres and their artists. From that first exhibition, which is now a hotly anticipated annual event in the national art calendar, SALON Art Projects has gone from strength to strength, supporting and working with Art Centres to bring groundbreaking Aboriginal art to audiences across Australia and the United States through exhibitions, events and consultations. Every August, SALON Art Projects presents the SALON des Refusés, an exhibition of works submitted but not accepted into the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. (NATSIAA). The SALON des Refusés has been an annual event since 2013, and is a highlight of the SALON Art Projects exhibition calendar, held during the Darwin Festival season. The quality of the SALON des Refusés demonstrates the superb standard of art being created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists nationwide, and it also provides valuable insight into where the movement has come from, and where it is heading.