Celebrating art and culture

THE Cairns Indigenous Art Fair is fast becoming the must-do event celebrating the art and culture of Australia’s indigenous community.

It grows in popularity and importance as it showcases the best artistic and cultural talent from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

CIAF is dedicated to supporting the careers of Queensland Indigenous artists by providing a platform to show their works and generate income.

As well as being focused on offering an ethical art market place, attracting national and international collectors and curators and commissioning new work, it provides pathways for emerging visual and performance artists.

It was first held in 2009 and over the years more than 185,000 people have participated in or attended CIAF. An estimated 2000 Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists have been represented, more than $5 million in Queensland indigenous art has been sold and about $19 million has been injected in to the Queensland economy.

The Cairns Post has been a strong supporter of CIAF to help spread the word of its significance to the Far North and Australia. The newspaper also published a special booklet this week to further our commitment to CIAF and introduce more youngsters to the event.

This year it is expected the fair will crack the 50,000 mark for attendance, a remarkable figure in such a short history. With a range of other indigenous activities, such as Tjapukai and Mossman Gorge Centre, the Far North is truly becoming the indigenous cultural capital of Australia.