CIAF '25 THEME: Pay Attention!
This year’s theme is a call-to-action.
Inspired by Tony Albert’s evocative print work Pay Attention! (2011) the theme for Cairns Indigenous Art Fair 2025 calls on artists to reflect on the powerful message of this moment in our collective history, following the Voice Referendum in 2023. Pay Attention! challenges us to remain vigilant about the social, political, and cultural issues impacting First Nations communities in contemporary times.
In 2025, we stand at a critical juncture. Our past—rooted in the actions of our Old Peoples, the voices and wisdoms of our Elders, and the resilience of our next generations—provides us with the strength to confront current issues such as: our continued existence and stereotyped visibility within society, cultural authenticity of our works, truth and treaty, justice, racism, health disparities, the rising cost of living, and everyday life.
Yet, we also look forward, asking: What does our future look like? Where are we now? Are we on the right track?
This year’s theme is a call-to-action and urges artists to be bold and delve into personal and communal experiences, and collective memory, and to share these as overdue lessons for others, making our mark. Art is not only a form of expression but a vital record of the times. Across all artforms, we ask artists to explore all that shape our lives, while addressing the dominant societal forces at play.
Image (top): Tony Albert, Story Place, 2023, Appropriated found vintage objects, 200 × 400 cm. Exhibited as part of Not Eating Cakes, CIAF 2024 Satelite Exhibition.
STATEMENT FROM CIAF ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, TEHO ROPEYARN
"As artists, you hold the power to document, challenge, inspire and innovate. Your work is a form of resistance, a means of survival, and a document of knowledge. In 2025, let us confront the issues affecting us today while also celebrating our ingenuity, cultural evolution, and spiritual resilience.
Your art has the potential to determine narratives, correct history, bring light to the complexities of our present, by designing our future tomorrow.
As we move towards the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympic Games, our collective position as cultural advocates are to ensure that our voices are centred in this global moment.
Pay attention to the issues of today. Pay attention to the stories of our past. Pay attention to the possibilities for our future. Pay attention to us!"