CIAF appoints new Chair

Koorie Heritage Trust CEO and Bangarra Dance Theatre board member, Tom Mosby, has been welcomed as the new Chair of the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) Board of Directors following his appointment at the CIAF AGM on Thursday, March 17.

Mosby succeeds Cameron Costello who leaves the Board after chairing CIAF for the past year in the transition to a corporate entity and the expansion of its event program. Costello has been involved with CIAF since its inception in 2009.  He was warmly acknowledged by fellow board members for his work.

Mosby has served as a board member since May 2015 and says he is happy to take the lead position as Chairperson of the CIAF Board of Directors.

“I am committed to the CIAF vision of strengthening and celebrating Indigenous culture and generating interest in Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art,” Mosby says.

“CIAF is a platform that offers economic and professional development opportunities for Indigenous artists, as well as providing an ethical point of sale for their work.”

“I look forward to being part of the team that creates the diverse cultural experience that is CIAF.”

Mosby holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in the Conservation of Cultural Materials, and a Bachelor of Laws. He has many years’ experience in legal practice in Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as working at the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) and the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) as a conservator.

Mosby was the lead curator of the first survey exhibition of contemporary Torres Strait Islander art and culture, launched at the Cairns Regional Gallery (CRG) in 1997, and the Torres Strait Islander Project in 2011, a collaboration between the State Library of Queensland, Queensland Art Gallery, Queensland Performing Arts Centre and Queensland Museum.

In his role as Executive Manager, Indigenous Research and Projects at the State Library of Queensland, Mosby created innovative Indigenous projects including the 2010 black&write! Indigenous Writing and Editing Project which has since expanded to screen writing.