It is something of a paradox that Australia's longest running indigenous art fair has yet to reach double digits when the culture it represents stretches back tens of thousands of years.
But that is a gap the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair hopes to bridge.
It has been trying to connect Aboriginal art with the rest of Australia - and the world - since 2007 by bringing remote artists to the public and overcoming the country's geographical barriers.
The mix of traditional artists, city slickers, international tourists, curators and buyers at this year's three-day event in August suggests it is succeeding.
"Bringing people to an event like this is a way of starting that two-way communication," the fair's event manager, Claire Summers, told AAP.
"It's introducing indigenous art at a level where people feel comfortable, where people can communicate."
For its ninth anniversary in 2015, the fair hosted more than 40 Aboriginal-owned art centres from across Australia's remote communities.
Curators from every national and state art institution were present to consider artwork that ranged in price from below $100 to thousands of dollars.
But you do not have to be an expert or even an art collector to appreciate Aboriginal art.
The fair prides itself on being an entry point for people to wander in off the street and chat to artists and community centres about their work.
"It is the oldest living culture in the world and it is our responsibility to bring it to audiences who won't often see it in an urban or big city environment," Summers says.
"We're here to celebrate the beauty of indigenous cultures from around Australia and we're here to help people understand it more."
It is also less of a physical impossibility to walk around the fair's stalls than it is to visit the remote communities where the works originate.
Rather than wait for people to venture to the isolated Tiwi Islands off the coast of Darwin, for instance, the fair is bringing these indigenous communities to the people.
It is also a big pow-wow for artists who are separated by distance but joined by culture.
"The artists get so excited about coming as they don't often get to experience different styles of artworks or different mediums since art centres have their own niche," Summers says.
But it has not been easy overcoming the geographical and cultural distances between mainland Australian culture and the nation's Aboriginal identity.
There is still a collective naivety about indigenous cultural expression, even in 2015, and cuts in government funding for art centres and projects have forced organisations to take a few steps sidewards when they should be looking ahead.
"When times are tough the arts is often one of the first things that suffers," Summers says.
There is hope, though, that Australians are developing a greater thirst for knowledge and are becoming increasingly willing to connect with Aboriginal Australia.
At the very least, people are becoming more aware of its importance amid the outcry over the treatment of AFL player Adam Goodes by footy fans following his indigenous war dance.
"Why is he being condemned for standing up for who he is and what he believes in?" Summers asks.
Encouraging cultural expression such as dance and art, on the other hand, has helped the fair grow every year since it was established.
"It's our irresponsibility to support people who are cultural ambassadors," she says.
Buoyed by growth, organisers have their sights on taking the fair to Australia's eastern states and eventually going global beyond their 10th anniversary in 2016.
"The art has no limits," Summers says.
"This art will live forever. It will always be strong because the people and the stories behind it are strong."
IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
Qantas flies to Darwin daily from Sydney and Melbourne. The Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair is held at the city's convention centre near the waterfront. Entrance to the three-day event is free.
The fair celebrates its 10th anniversary in August 2016.
*The writer was a guest of Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair and NT Tourism.
