Australian Art

Australian Indigenous art is the oldest ongoing tradition of art in the world. Initial forms of artistic Aboriginal expression were rock carvings, body painting and ground designs, which date back more than 30,000 years.

The quality and variety of Australian Indigenous art produced today reflects the richness and diversity of Indigenous culture and the distinct differences between tribes, languages, dialects and geographic landscapes. Art has always been an important part of Aboriginal life, connecting past and present, the people and the land, and the supernatural and reality.The vigor and originality of the arts in Australia — film, music, opera, painting, theatre, dance and crafts — are achieving international recognition. In practice, it is difficult to discern much about Australian culture by examining the isolated peaks of music, dance or literature.

Traditional "high culture" gains small attention from much of the population, it thrives with excellent galleries (even in small towns); a rich tradition in ballet, enlivened by the legacy of Dame Margot Fonteyn and Sir Robert Helpmann; a strong national opera company based in Sydney; and good symphony orchestras in all capital cities — the Melbourne and Sydney symphony orchestras are said to be worthy of comparison with any.


Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_in_Australia, http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/indigenous/ar