Advocacy

Adrian Newstead was the instigator and founding President of the Australian Indigenous Art Trade Association (Art.Trade), now renamed and rebranded as the Aboriginal Art Association of Australia (AAAA). Its mission is to ensure a vibrant, healthy, sustainable and inclusive Indigenous visual arts industry — one that supports cultural strength and promotes a nationwide safe and ethical environment in which Indigenous artists receive fair and prompt remuneration, free from exploitation.

With more than 300 artist members and over 50 trade members — retail shops and wholesalers, galleries, supporters and associates — the AAAA provides an ideal mechanism for members to expand their contacts, stay abreast of and discuss industry issues, and grow their businesses.

After six years on the board from 1998 to 2002, Adrian was appointed a Patron in 2020 alongside the renowned Indigenous artist Barbara Weir (dec.). He rejoined the board in 2023 to assist in its further development and was reappointed President in 2024.

The Association is a charity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and is endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office as a deductible gift recipient (DGR).

Adrian instigated the Aboriginal Benefits Foundation in 2004 with a tithe on the profits of the Indigenous art auctions he organised for Lawson-Menzies. He played a formative role in bringing together a group of committed individuals in Indigenous art and culture to establish the Foundation's legal status. Formative members of its first board were the writer Jennifer Isaacs AM, arts administrator Dr Robert Edwards AO, and lawyer Shane Simpson AM.

The Aboriginal Benefits Foundation Trust is a Public Ancillary Fund registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Its objectives are to promote, provide and carry out activities, facilities and projects for the benefit, welfare and well-being of Aboriginal communities throughout Australia. The Foundation has a particular focus on health and education projects connected to Aboriginal art and/or artists, assisting youth, the aged, and those who face infirmity, disability, poverty or other disadvantage.

The Foundation is a Deductible Gift Recipient organisation, so all monetary gifts over $2 are tax deductible. It can accept donations as money, as proceeds in full or in part from the sale of artworks, as gifts in kind, and as bequests.

In 2023, Adrian stepped down from the board of the Art Consulting Association of Australia (ACAA) after more than a decade, five years of which he served as its President. The ACAA is a professional industry association linking art consultants nationally and providing information for individuals, businesses and government seeking the services of a consultant.

Its purpose is to represent, promote and further the interests of art consulting as a professional endeavour in Australia. Its members specialise in a range of fields including advisory services, valuation, collections management, arts writing, curatorial services and research.