Cairns Indigenous Art Fair | Cairns & Great Barrier Reef
The Cairns Indigenous Art Fair may not be what comes to mind when one thinks of Australia? More obviously you may lean towards the Great Barrier Reef, or the opera singers singing in the beautiful Sydney House, or maybe the Boxing Day test matches held every year watched keenly by those cricket aficionados. There is also the Blue Mountains national park, or the vast outbacks of this country or the Bondi Beach– the great beach getting featured in the show called ‘Bondi Rescue’ on Natgeo. There is just so much to this beautiful country which is like a continent in itself.
To the top right corner of this majestic country is a state called as Queensland. The major tourist spots of Queensland include, Cairns , the Great Barrier Reef ,Brisbane, Gold Coast,Port Douglas and the Daintree Rain-forest, Hervey Bay and nearby Fraser Island. There is just so much to this state!
In Queensland, to the east coast, there lies a city of Cairns. Cairns is a popular travel destination for tourists because of its tropical climate and the Great Barrier Reef, one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. However, there is more to Cairns than this and that is the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair.
Cairns Indigenous Art Fair is an arts and cultural event which is held over three days starting in the month of July. This Festival started way back in 2009 and has been attracting tourists ever since. In the year 2016, the festival is slated to be held from 15th to 17th July, with an opening night ceremony to be held on 14th
Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) merges an art market with the celebration of the unique cultures of the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Cairns Indigenous Art Fair is the only art fair in Australia which showcases the original works of the artists from the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island via not only the local art centers, but also the commercial art galleries. This fair allows the visitors to immerse and blend themselves in the unique and flavorful cultures of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders through various fun events like dance, music, visual artworks, forums, workshops, talks from the artists and art activities for small children.
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The key components of this event include:
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Art fair:
- An Art fair which puts up stands for commercial galleries and Indigenous arts centers
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Exhibition:
- Exhibition at Cairns Regional Gallery, presenting new works by most important and talented Queensland Indigenous artists, which can be purchased by visitors
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Performance and workshop program:
- It includes dance and music performances, children’s art workshops, a public education program of artists and industry talks
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Symposium:
- Forum to examine contemporary issues in the Indigenous arts sector
The goals of CIAF are:
- Celebrating the rich and lively practice of modern and traditional Indigenous art in Far North Queensland and other Queensland spots of Indigenous arts practice.
- Educating and inspiring the community about the value and importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and arts
- Showcasing and marketing Queensland Indigenous artwork from local to international buyers for revenue generation
- Encouraging a gathering for industry development, professional development, networking and ethical practice within the sector
- Creating a significant art event, thus promoting tourism
The Cairns Indigenous Art Fair is a main program of the (BIA) Backing Indigenous Arts initiative to build a unique, sustainable, stronger and ethical arts industry in Queensland which showcases the wonderful artwork of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Click the link for more events on Aboriginal festivals.
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