Queensland’s most culturally immersive festival returns to where it all began
The 16th edition of the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) officially opens tonight with a vibrant celebration at the Tanks Arts Centre, marking a triumphant return to the festival’s spiritual home and a defining moment in the evolution of Queensland’s premier First Nations cultural event.
Nestled within the lush rainforest surrounds of Gimuy/Cairns’ Botanical Gardens precinct, CIAF 2025 will officially open on Thursday 10 July (Opening Night) and run from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 July, transforming the Tanks Arts Centre—its three heritage-listed, repurposed World War II oil tanks—into a powerful hub of visual and performing arts, fashion, talks, and cultural exchange.
Over four dynamic days, Tanks 3, 4 and 5 and the precinct’s promenade will come alive from dawn to dusk and into the night, featuring the creative energy of more than 400 artists, performers and presenters.
CIAF’s 2025 season also marks the debut program from newly appointed Artistic Director Teho Ropeyarn. Inspired by Tony Albert’s 2011 print, this year’s theme, Pay Attention!, is both a provocation and a call to action, urging artists, audiences, and institutions to reckon with the truth, amplify First Nations voices, and shape the future of contemporary storytelling across all art forms.
“CIAF is more than a fair—it’s a movement,” said Ropeyarn.
“Pay Attention! is a creative call to remain vigilant, honour our histories, and assert our presence as we shape the future.
For some artists, CIAF is a powerful launchpad, a formative platform that propels new talent into national recognition. For others, especially those boundary-pushing, bold practitioners creating cultural ripples, it’s a critical site of expression, resistance, and renewal.
“I trust this year’s program captures the maturity and momentum of Queensland’s First Nations arts movement. I’m incredibly proud to share this with the world,” Mr Ropeyarn said.
The 2025 program features some of Australia’s most acclaimed First Nations artists, curators, and thought leaders, including Golden Lion-winning artist Dr. Archie Moore, curators Sebastian Goldspink and Bruce Johnson McLean, artist Tony Albert, and CIAF’s own Artistic Director Teho Ropeyarn, alongside leading cultural commentators such as Dr. Terri Janke.
CIAF Chair Bianca Beetson said the return to Tanks Arts Centre was both a symbolic and strategic move.
“In 2025, CIAF comes full circle—returning to the site of its earliest beginnings to present a bold new program shaped by our next generation of First Nations voices. This year’s theme, Pay Attention!, invites festivalgoers to listen deeply, reflect honestly, and engage fully with the stories being shared. It’s a program that honours legacy while looking fearlessly to the future.”
With a new location, new energy, and a renewed sense of purpose, CIAF 2025 promises to deliver its most inclusive and impactful celebration of First Nations culture to date.
Destined to be a crowd pleaser among visitors and art collectors attending CIAF this week at Tanks Arts Centre, are the hand-carved sculptures representing Ku' Warpung, the ancestral dogs associated with the Apalech ceremonial group of Cape York Peninsula. On show this week in Tank 3, Wik & Kugu Art Centre. Image: KU’ AAK PAAMP, 2024 (bigger sculpture); and KU’ PAAMP MANY, 2024 (smaller sculpture) Milkwood (Alstonia achtinophylla w/w/ochre pigment & PVA fixative by Lex Namponan. Photograph: Michael Marzik.