Rio Tinto exhibits over $1 million in artwork from Australia’s Kimberley region

Kimberley art

The striking and colourful artwork of the Traditional Owners of Australia’s Argyle Diamond Mine is being celebrated in Europe with an exhibition of aboriginal art  from the Kimberley region of Western Australia, sponsored by mining giant Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO).

The exhibit titled Country to Coast: Colours of the Kimberley is the single largest on its kind, and includes 44 pieces of artwork valued at more than US$1 million.

The pieces are being displayed at the AAMU Museum of Contemporary Aboriginal Art in the Netherlands until Oct. 5, 2014. The AAMU is the only private museum in Europe exclusively dedicated to contemporary indigenous art.

Alan Davies, Rio Tinto’s Chief executive of Diamonds & Minerals said in a statement the artwork pieces could help people “develop a deep understanding of the [Traditional Owners of the Argyle Diamond Mine’s] culture and their country.”

Rio Tinto is one of the world’s major diamond producers through its 100% control of the Argyle mine in Australia, 60% of the Diavik mine in Canada, and a 78% in the Murowa mine in Zimbabwe.