In the remote community of Papulankutja in Western Australia, diesel is $4.28 a litre, roughly double the price in capital cities.
One of the few sources of income in the community is its not-for-profit arts centre, but selling artworks at Aboriginal art fairs requires huge amounts of travel.
Making it to the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair in August, for example, is a journey of some 2500km, at a time when filling up the four-wheel-drive costs about $350.
“With fuel going up, prices are definitely more expensive and general travel costs have increased,” arts centre worker Simone from Papulankutja Artists told AAP.
Papulankutja, also known as Blackstone, is 900km west of Alice Springs – it’s a five hour drive to get to a bitumen road at Yulara, another five to Alice Springs and 15 more to Darwin.
Along the way are all the headaches of remote travel, from corrugated roads and the risk of flat tyres, to buffalo and kangaroos on the roads.
More than 100 artists from 30 Indigenous centres will travel from as far away as the Pilbara, the Tiwi Islands and the APY Lands, to the 20th iteration of the Darwin fair.
Getting to Sydney’s National Indigenous Art Fair in July is a whole different challenge: it requires several flights and with the price of aviation fuel also increasing, these too are more expensive.
The 2026 fair will be held at the new Cutaway at Barangaroo, the first major cultural event at the venue after its redevelopment.
About 2400 km away from Papulankutja in the Northern Territory community of Ramingining, the Bula’bula Art Centre is also facing the costs of remote life, with diesel priced around $4.40 a litre.
While the distance to Darwin is not so great as from Papulankutja, it’s hard to say how long it takes to get to the city from the central Arnhem Land community because there are more than 24 river crossings on the way.
The art centre receives a small travel allowance from the Darwin fair, which usually costs it a total of about $15,000 to attend.
The Bula’bula centre was still deciding how many artists it could afford to take on the trip because the artworks themselves also had to be transported, said manager Mel George.
“Do I freight the work or do I drive the work in and lose a passenger: these are all considerations because it’s so expensive for us to get there,” she said.
The central Arnhem Land region has been home to some notable artists, including David Malangi, whose bark painting was featured on Australia’s one dollar note without permission in 1966.
Instead of the usual paintings, the Bula’bula centre is planning to showcase weavings in 2026, highlighting works by Melinda Gedjen and Cecilie Mapurrumburr.
The sisters and fibre artists work with pandanus and various barks using ancient techniques to make practical and ceremonial objects.
Aboriginal art fairs were massive events and travelling in person was vital for artists to understand what their contemporaries were making, said George.
“It’s just so important to come together and look at the diversity of everything that’s happening across the nation. It’s the highlight of our calendar year,” she said.
Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair organisers have launched an appeal to help remote art centres with travel costs.
The National Indigenous Art Fair in Sydney runs July 3-5 and the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair runs August 2-9.
