Papunya Tula

 Papunya is the place where all the nomads from the inhospitable western desert of Australia were resettled. In the 1950s the British wanted to try out their atomic bomb in the western desert, they didn't want to drop it on somebody's head, so when it was discovered that some people lived there, they were restettled. In Papunya it was discovered that these people were born artists. So far their medium was coloured sands with which the earth was prepared for a corroboree, but in 1970s some of them started painting on boards and canvasses. They formed a school which was called Papunya Tula. They became so popular that in time they sold their work for thousands of dollars. Which meant prosperity for the tribe, because any money was divided among relatives.

Of course this could happen because at the time in Europe abstract paintings were considered art. A mere 100 years earlier none of those natives would be considered an artist. 

If anyone wants to lean more on the subject, I published a book about it: