CIAF 2023 was an awe-inspiring celebration of Queensland's First Nations arts and culture.
Take a look back through last year's photo galleries from Opening Night to the Closing Ceremony.
Cairns hosts Queensland’s biggest ever celebration of First Nations arts and culture
17 JUL 2023
• Five of CIAF’s nine ticketed events were sold out, with the remaining four all exceeding ticket sale targets.
• While final sales figures are still being tallied and will be released soon, CIAF’s 14th edition of Art Fair and Art Market sales are expected to surpass previous records and 2022 achievements while satellite exhibitions also reported strong sales.
The 14th edition of the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair wrapped on Sunday afternoon with cultural dance displays and a last-minute rush of art sales following a stunning four-day festival celebrating the dynamic arts and culture movement of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Taking a cue from the 2023 theme, Weaving our Future: Claiming our Sovereignty, CIAF’s multi-arts program, replete with art exhibitions, cultural dance, a decade anniversary fashion performance, a two-day symposium, masterclasses, workshops, a music festival and more,
people came from near and far to the event’s biggest cultural immersion to date.
Rounding out CIAF’s $60,000 awards cache during Sunday’s closing ceremony was the announcement that Torres Strait Islander artist, Toby Cedar had won the 3-D Installation and Sculpture Award sponsored by Ports North ($5,000), Pormpuraaw artist Mylene Holroyd had
won Apunipima’s Emerging Artist (Acquisitive) Award ($5,000) with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artist Douglas Tamwoy winning the Torres Strait Regional Authority’s People’s Choice Award ($5,000).
These winners add to the honour roll of three major awards announced at the opening event on Thursday 13 July; Elder and artist Janet Koongotema secured the Premier’s Award for Excellence ($25,000), Pormpuraaw Art and Culture Centre won Cairns Regional Council’s Art Centre Award ($10,000) and Holding Redlich’s Innovation Award ($10,000) went to independent Sunshine Coast based artist, Darren Blackman.
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