Reclamation & Regeneration to headline CIAF’s 17th anniversary and return to Tanks Arts Centre, 9-12 July 2026

With planning for the milestone season underway, today’s announcement coincides with the release of Expressions of Interest (EOI) for CIAF’s flagship Art Fair, Artisans Marketplace, fashion performance, and performing arts program.

Reclamation & Regeneration is the second curatorial vision from Artistic Director Teho Ropeyarn, following 2025’s Pay Attention!, which provided artists with a rich platform to engage audiences on pressing social, political, and cultural issues.

In unveiling next year’s theme, Mr Ropeyarn provided important context from which artists will draw inspiration on their creative journey, that will culminate in next year’s event commencing with opening night on Thursday 9 July, followed by three full days of public programming from Friday 10 July through to Sunday 12 July at Tanks Arts Centre on Gimuy Walubara Yidinji Country in Cairns.

“Reclamation is a powerful act of cultural resurgence, speaking to the ongoing process of retrieving what has been taken, lost, archived or forgotten. For Queensland’s First Nations communities, reclamation is not only a response to historical and ongoing dispossession but also a declaration of survival, sovereignty and strength.

“Regeneration is the natural partner to reclamation. Where reclamation retrieves what was lost, regeneration breathes new life into it — a dynamic force rooted in ancestral knowledge yet reaching boldly into the future,” Mr Ropeyarn said.

With details announced in the new year, CIAF’s 2026 program highlights will include the Art Fair Showcase (themed exhibition), Artisans Showcase (art and craft marketplace), Fashion Performance, Masterclasses, Talks, Guided Tours, live music, cultural dance, children’s activities, food vendors and signature evening events.

After this year’s triumphant return to its 2009 birthplace, CIAF will once again transform the precinct into one of Australia’s most significant and culturally immersive celebrations of Queensland’s First Peoples.