The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Art collection includes a wide variety of necklaces, boomerangs, digjeridus, sculptures and other carved wooden works. It includes several batiks on silk and cotton, from the Ernabella and Utopia regions, along with a woollen rug, made about 1972 and attributed to Nyukana (Daisy) Baker.
Other works made from natural fibre included fans, mats, fishnets, traps and skirts. The largest group of woven fibre work is baskets. The identity of the makers of most of these objects is unknown but their styles and types show they came from across Australia.
Most were probably made by women. From the 1970s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs bodies recognised the importance of women in communities, and promoted their role in posters, programs and collections.
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