Friday, 4 October 2024. Cairns Indigenous Art Fair’s (CIAF) Curatorial Associate Teho Ropeyarn has taken up the Acting Artistic Director’s role effective immediately.
Mr Ropeyarn is a long-serving member of the CIAF leadership team, a celebrated artist and respected arts worker who has dedicated his career to advancing First Nations artists and communities throughout North Queensland.
CIAF CEO Dennis Stokes welcomed Mr Ropeyarn’s appointment following Francoise Lane's resignation after two years at the artistic helm and overseeing the delivery of this year’s 15th-anniversary milestone program.
“Teho is a well-respected member of Australia’s creative arts industry, and being a Cairns, Far North Queensland local, his interim appointment to Artistic Director is a good news story for the community,” said Mr Stokes.
Along with Mr Stokes's commencement in June in the organisation’s first CEO role, Mr Ropeyarn's appointment signals an exciting new chapter for CIAF.
“Teho is a valued member of our team who brings his deep passion for First Nations art and culture to the forefront of this celebrated platform.
“Under his artistic leadership in this interim period, CIAF will continue to build on its reputation for promoting the diverse voices and stories of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,” he said.
Born in Mount Isa in 1988 and hailing from Injinoo in the Cape York Peninsula, Mr Ropeyarn holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, Sydney.
Mr Ropeyarn’s extensive experience includes roles as Gallery Curator at UMI Arts, Curator of Indigenous Australian Art at the Cairns Art Gallery, and most recently, CIAF’s Curatorial Associate.
Over his career, Mr Ropeyarn has collaborated with more than 100 artists and produced over 30 exhibitions, including notable projects such as the co-curated Goobalathaldin Dick Roughsey: Stories of this Land exhibition, which was presented at both the Cairns Art Gallery and Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art. He also managed the Big Sculpture exhibition, CIAF’s first major touring project.
Mr Ropeyarn’s curatorial expertise has been internationally recognised through numerous prestigious developmental opportunities, including participation in the Getty Paper Project at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection and the National Gallery of Australia’s Wesfarmers Indigenous Leadership Program.
Mr Ropeyarn’s career as an artist has flourished parallel to his curatorial work, having been showcased in several solo and group exhibitions in national and international settings.
It is not surprising that Mr Ropeyarn's artworks, which have been featured in the 23rd Biennale of Sydney (2022), Nuit Blanche in Canada (2022), and the Queen Sonja Print Award in Norway (2022), comprise significant collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, and South Australia.
Mr Ropeyarn commenced his new role as CIAF’s Acting Artistic Director this month, and it will be effective until 31 January 2025.