Artistic director Teho Ropeyarn unveils the program for the 2025 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair at the Tanks Arts Centre on 28 February. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
A return to nature and the event’s roots will help connect artists and attendees when the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) opens its doors to what are expected to be record crowds in July.
The program for the 2025 CIAF was officially launched at the Tanks Arts Centre on 28 February, with some big name Cape York and Torres Strait artists set to feature alongside Indigenous creatives from across the country over three days.
The 16th CIAF will embrace the theme of Pay Attention!, something artistic director Teho Ropeyarn said he believed married contemporary and traditional sensibilities and connotations, and would a compelling artistic response and interest from art collectors and curators from Australia and overseas.
“Pay Attention! is a timely and urgent prompt to remain vigilant about the realities First Nations people continue to face,” he said.
“Our artists will use their creative voices to document, challenge, and inspire, ensuring that today’s messages become tomorrow’s narratives.
“CIAF is a movement – a joyful convergence of community that inspires and delights – and welcomes everyone from art lovers, festivalgoers and visitors from home and away, near and far, shining a light on our special place in the world.”
The inaugural CIAF was held at the Tanks Arts Centre in 2009 and Mr Ropeyarn told Cape York Weekly returning the event to its roots and the natural environment of the Cairns Botanic Gardens would help inspire artists as they shared their culture and messaging through their work.
“Artists are incredible people, and we draw inspiration from, you know, the environment around us,” he said.
“So, you can imagine, like just doing art in a studio or in a room, it brings that sense of calmness and focus, and I think to just be back at the Tanks Arts Centre and within nature, it just goes hand in hand.
“It brings a tropical experience for visitors, too; it will help with drawing in a crowd and the Tanks Arts Centre is just a venue that sells itself.”
This year’s CIAF program incorporates more than 600 visual artists and 150 performers, something Minister for Education and the Arts John-Paul Langbroek said the cemented the event’s position as a must-do experience for art lovers.
“Each year the CIAF offers a captivating program, which attracts thousands of interstate and international visitors, and its success continues to reinforce Queensland’s reputation as a unique arts and cultural destination,” he said.
CIAF will run from 10-13 July.
The Cairns Indigenous Art Fair will return to its roots – and the natural environment – at the Tanks Arts Centre for the 16th anniversary of the event in 2025. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
