Premier Jay Weatherill has announced the establishment of an Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Island visual arts festival – to be held in Spring 2015 – and supported by the State Government, Art Gallery of South Australia and a $4 million BHP Billiton investment.

The $4 million earmarked for the visual arts festival is part of a number of activities inSouth Australia being supported by BHP Billiton as a result of its recommitment to the State.

The winner of this year’s Premier’s NAIDOC award and the first Aboriginal curator
appointed to the Art Gallery, Nici Cumpston, has been appointed the inaugural artistic director for the festival.

The festival that will feature: a series of exhibitions; a curated Aboriginal art fair
featuring recognised APY Lands artists and other selected artists; and a national
symposium that brings together collectors, exhibitors, academics and arts centres.

Along with its $540 million investment in re-scoping the Olympic Dam expansion project, BHP Billiton has also committed more than $110 million to other scientific,
environmental and social initiatives.