Product Development Project

Make it Real is a social impact project lead by AACHWA, designed to disrupt the existing fake Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander souvenir and merchandise market, replacing it with an industry that has at its core the participation of WA’s remote and regional Aboriginal arts centres in the development of authentic products that reflect the values and stories of communities. 

Join the Team in 2025

Most of Western Australia’s Aboriginal art centres are not-for-profit organisations with Indigenous ownership and/or governance. They are often the economic, social, and cultural nucleus of remote and regional Aboriginal communities; a complex mix of commerce, story, and place, no two are the same. In recent years art centres have evolved across Australia in response to a growing national and international interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and culture. Art centres continue to be resilient despite the many day-to-day challenges of distance, access to technology, and limited resources.  

Make it Real aims to enrich the art centre model by diversifying income streams. The project will develop the support structures for the creation of new, authentic cultural product. In effect this will create opportunities for artists to supplement their income from the fine art market, in turn strengthening their future, and the future of artists and remote and regional communities. 

Make it Real will support the six participating art centres to deliver a diverse mix of product at varying price points and ensure that the economic benefits flow directly to artists, art centres and in turn, communities. 

Make it Real will demonstrate how art centres can practically and effectively participate in this retail market by implementing new supply chains and technologies that address market barriers in a way that is culturally and economically viable.