CIAF 2026 MASTERCLASS SERIES
Friday 10 - Sunday 12 July 2025 | Ticketed
The CIAF 2026 Masterclasses are led by esteemed First Nations artists, providing an exclusive and intimate opportunity to learn traditional techniques directly from master practitioners. This year features an extraordinary international exchange with Indigenous Taiwanese artists alongside renowned First Nations creators from across Queensland.
Class sizes are small (max of 15 participants) to enable one-on-one teaching.
Nature’s Jewellery: Reclaiming Materials, Regenerating Practice with Sabrina-Rose Toby
Friday 10 July, 10:30 am – 1 pm | Tanks BGVC | Ticketed
Create your own wearable artwork in Nature’s Jewellery: Reclaiming Materials, Regenerating Practice, a hands-on masterclass presented as part of CIAF 2026. In this welcoming and creative session, participants will design and make necklaces, bracelets or earrings using bush beads, kangaroo leather, natural fibres, timber, feathers, seeds and reclaimed materials. Guided by contemporary First Nations art practice, you’ll learn simple jewellery-making techniques while exploring how nature, place and intuition can shape creative expression. This workshop is designed for beginners and creatives of all experience levels. No prior skills are needed, and all materials are provided. Participants are encouraged to slow down, connect with materials, and enjoy a relaxed making environment that supports curiosity and experimentation. You’ll leave with a finished wearable piece and a deeper appreciation for ethical making, creative regeneration, and the stories held within natural materials.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sabrina‑Rose Toby is a proud Gangulu woman based in Gurambilbarra/Townsville, Queensland. A multidisciplinary artist, curator and arts worker, her practice spans painting, weaving, jewellery, metalwork and object‑making, grounded in connection to Country, cultural continuity and contemporary storytelling. Working with natural and reclaimed materials including timber, fibres, seeds, metals and found objects, Sabrina explores themes of reclamation, regeneration, resilience and identity. Her works draw on intergenerational knowledge and lived experience, weaving together personal and collective narratives. Alongside her studio practice, Sabrina is an experienced workshop facilitator and arts administrator, regularly delivering community‑led creative programs across regional Queensland. She currently works with Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts and supports cultural events and creative development initiatives through Big Eye Theatre Inc. In 2024, Sabrina received a Highly Commended Award in the Queensland Regional Art Awards First Nations category, with her work touring statewide.
Carrying Culture: Traditional Raffia Weaving with Carly Wallace
Friday 10 July, 2 pm – 4:30 pm, Tanks BGVC | Ticketed
Join Dulguburra Yidinji artist Carly Wallace for a Durban Bagii hands-on weaving workshop celebrating cultural knowledge, creativity and connection. Originally from Yungaburra in Far North Queensland and now based in Brisbane/Meanjin, Carly is a rainforest and freshwater woman (bama) and founder of Durban Bagii. In this relaxed, welcoming session, participants will learn the foundations of traditional raffia weaving—a calming, meditative practice carried by First Nations people since time immemorial. Guided step by step by Carly, you’ll create your own hand-woven raffia basket to take home as a meaningful keepsake.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Durban Bagii creator Carly Wallace is a Dulguburra Yidinji woman from Yungaburra in Far North Queensland. Carly is a rainforest and freshwater woman now residing in Brisbane/Meanjin since 2013. The art form of traditional and contemporary weaving has been handed down to Carly from her Elders. Weaving is a cultural practice Carly is proud to keep alive for her family and loves to share with people across Australia and the world through her woven creations and teachings.
Needlework of the Ancestors/Paiwan Designs for Today with Sigesile Kalidoai
Saturday 11 July, 10:30 am – 1 pm, Tanks BGVC | Ticketed
In some Indigenous communities in Taiwan, needlework is more than decoration — it is a cultural contract woven through love, memory, and responsibility. In this workshop, artist Sigesile guides participants in developing a contemporary interpretation of traditional Paiwan needlework. Participants will explore the patterns of the ljavac, a traditional tote bag of the Paliljaliljaw people from the Hengchun Peninsula, learning how ancestral designs preserved on family heirlooms are re-imagined for contemporary life. Experience the Paiwan aesthetic of colour and pattern, and leave behind a meaningful cultural mark through each stitch for future generations.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sigesile Kalidoai was born and raised in a Paiwan village at the southern tip of Taiwan, on the Hengchun Peninsula. As a fashion designer and artist, she has immersed herself in the profound heritage of Paiwan culture and dedicated her career to the documentation, research, reconstruction, and cultural empowerment of traditional Paiwan attire.
Paiwan Bead Embroidery with Juan Chih Chun (‘alapiyac Parucunuq)
Saturday 11 July, 2 pm – 4:30 pm, Tanks BGVC | Ticketed
Bead embroidery is a distinctive art form of the Indigenous Paiwan and Rukai peoples of Taiwan, historically reserved for nobility and symbolising honour, status and identity. In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore the cultural significance of Paiwan bead embroidery through patterns inspired by the sun - a sacred symbol in Paiwan mythology reflecting their origins as descendants of the sun. Guided through creating radiant circular motifs, participants will make their own beaded work while gaining insight into the symbolism and living cultural traditions embedded in the Paiwan decorative practices.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
In the realm of Paiwan clothing design, Juan Chih Chun (‘alapiyac Parucunuq), committed to researching the expressions of traditional textile patterns and recording in detail the paths of their contemporary evolution and applications, is a guardian of decorative pattern design. He is well-versed in pattern structure and traditional beaded embroidery, turning traditional imagery into a vocabulary that can still be used today and thus presenting the enduring vitality of Paiwan patterns in different eras.
Adornment and Connection: A Shell Necklace Workshop with Vicki Newie
Sunday 12 July, 10:30 am – 1 pm, Tanks BGVC | Ticketed
Discover your creativity in Making a Shell Necklace, a fun and interactive workshop designed for all experience levels.
Ready to bring your ideas to life? Join me for a hands on session where you’ll learn step by step how to design and create your own shell necklace. Whether you’re completely new to jewellery making or looking to refine your techniques, this workshop offers a supportive and inspiring space to explore your creativity.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Vicki Marie Newie is a proud woman of the Zagareb Tribe in the Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait, originally from St Paul’s Community on Moa Island and now based on Badu Island. A self taught artist since 2004, her practice is grounded in culture, identity and connection to place. Working across shell jewellery and decorative objects, Vicki transforms shells, Bernie beans, seeds and beads into one of a kind pieces that carry stories of heritage, memory and cultural pride, celebrating Zenadth Kes culture through colour, texture and symbolism.