Four artists in The Torch program – Ash Thomas, Robby Wirramanda, Trevor, and Veronica Mungaloon Hudson – have had their artworks wrapped around The Torch’s four new Toyota RAV4 hybrids!

Toyota Australia and Toyota Finance Australia are proud supporters of The Torch and have funded the wrapping and artist licence fees for the new RAV4 hybrids.

The Toyota RAV4s will be used by The Torch Indigenous Arts Officers to visit prisons and communities across Victoria to carry out its arts programs with Indigenous offenders and ex-offenders.

The Torch Chief Executive Officer Kent Morris said he was extremely grateful for the support of Toyota Australia, Toyota Finance Australia and Affordable Art Fair Melbourne in helping to raise awareness of The Torch program and give its Indigenous artists a major stage from which to earn an income.

Having the four new wrapped RAV4s will give The Torch much greater visibility and increase awareness of the program as our arts officers travel across the state, providing participants with vital arts skills, opportunities, and cultural reconnection.

Indigenous Australians are over-represented in Victorian and Australian prisons and The Torch is providing an opportunity for them to build resilience against the reoffending cycle by helping provide a reconnection with culture and a vital income stream upon release.

Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer, Vin Naidoo said Toyota was proud to support an organisation like The Torch that is having such a positive impact on the lives of Victoria’s Indigenous population.

For these talented artists, raising awareness of their work is the best way to help support them to grow their audience. Toyota Australia is proud to support The Torch and its programs, and help raise further awareness of this vital not for profit organisation.

Toyota Finance Australia has provided the four new RAV4s on a three-year lease and President and CEO of Toyota Finance Australia, Evan Tsirogiannis, said he was honoured to be able to support The Torch further and continue to strengthen its relationship with The Torch.

The Torch was in need of new vehicles that were reliable, safe and fuel efficient as their arts officers travel increasingly greater distances to help their artists both in and out of prisons across the state.

To help promote the work The Torch does we have assisted by helping fund the wrapping and artwork licensing of the vehicles.

The stunning artworks that have been used to wrap the cars will further help raise awareness of the program and provide income for the artists, and we are proud that we could take action that will truly make a difference.

Toyota Australia also supports The Torch’s annual exhibition of all of its artists through its social investment fund that allocates 1 per cent of pre-tax profits to not for profit and charity organisations.

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When you buy artwork from The Torch’s Online Gallery, 100% of the artwork price goes directly to the artist