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. Art has always been an important part of Aboriginal life, connecting past and present, the people and the land, and the supernatural and reality.
Aboriginal art has come to the forefront of Australia’s national identity in recent years, celebrated by Australians and the world in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Olympic games.

The prominence of Indigenous art is due in part to the motivation and considerable effort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, particularly painters, who have played a major role in introducing both Australia and the rest of the world to Australia's Indigenous cultures. Indeed, the country’s Indigenous artists have had a major impact on the art world with exhibitions in major galleries around the globe.The quality and variety of works produced reflects the rich and diverse culture with works mirroring the distinct differences between tribes, languages, dialects and geographic landscapes. Indigenous arts and crafts express the artists' sense of place, connection to land, their history, experiences and respect for law and culture.

Indigenous art and cultural expression ranges across a wide variety of mediums from paintings, works on paper, canvas, sand, wood, stone, metal, eggs, shells, fibre and in glass, using ochre, acrylic and polymer paints, gouache, charcoal, water colours, and silver gelatin.
The story of the way these art forms runs parallel to the history and experiences of the artists themselves. It reflects customary trading patterns, a struggle for survival and the influence of governments and churches.

A market in Indigenous artefacts has existed between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples since they first came into contact. Non-Indigenous trading and exploration parties such as those headed by Matthew Flinders in the early 1800's actually came in search of artefacts because of their innate beauty and ethnographic value. The French explorer Nicolas Baudin and his botanist Francois Péron sailed to Australia under strict instructions from Emporer Napoleon Bonaparte to in the first instance seek and exchange artefacts.

After a hundred years of colonisation, artefact production for the purposes of sales had begun to occurr on a wide-spread basis throughout south-eastern Australia . The practice of making art works allowed tribes people to pass on knowledge about country and culture and sales provided economic support for many Indigenous families forced to live on government mission stations in the Bass Strait, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. This is reflected the award winning organisations, the Koori Heritage Trust in Victoria and Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency (QIAMEA) .

Today, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art has become internationally accessible, recognised as fine art as well as being utilitarian and decorative, with the Western Desert art movement recognised as one of the most significant art movements in twentieth century art. In 2004 there were about 96 art and craft centres across Australia, in all states and regions, encompassing urban, rural and remote communities which provide one of the main avenues of support for Indigenous artists.

Indigenous art has embraced technology and new media. Indigenous Art Online (cyberTribe) and Maningrida art and culture are but two examples. There are also many galleries and exhibitions of Indigenous Art on the Internet, which have enhanced the international popularity and awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Trait Islander art.