Aurukun artist Lex Namponan will be one of the Cape York talents showcased at the Queensland Children’s Hospital First Nations exhibition. Photo: Aurukun Shire Council.
Cape York and Torres Strait artists will be featured in a new Queensland Children’s Hospital exhibition through a program delivering long-term cultural legacy.
Opening on 12 March at the hospital’s Community Gallery, they will be among more than 30 First Nations artists/art centres whose works were acquired by Children’s Health Queensland following staff participation in the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) On Country VIP Program.
The program offers guests, including museum professionals, philanthropists, and institutional buyers, curated experiences with artists, elders, and communities at the annual fair.
This invitation to experience art in its cultural context has become a key mechanism for deepening cultural understanding, strengthening ethical collecting practices, and building enduring partnerships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and public institutions.
CIAF Artistic Director Teho Ropeyarn said the acquisition demonstrated how the event was expanding its impact from a marketplace to a national cultural infrastructure, serving as a pipeline between First Nations artists, Country and enduring public collections.
“The On Country VIP Program was designed precisely for moments like this, where curators and collectors don’t just see art, they experience the cultural context that gives it meaning,” he said.
“CIAF has always been about more than sales across four days in July. Rather, it is about relationships, education, and pathways that keep growing year after year.
“When that leads to acquisitions in public institutions like Children’s Health Queensland, the benefits flow back to artists, communities, and audiences for generations.”
Children’s Health Queensland Arts in Health strategic lead Lynne Seear said the On Country VIP Program was instrumental in shaping her approach to curating the hospital’s collection.
“Being on Country with CIAF transformed how I encountered these works, not just as objects for a collection, but as living expressions of culture, place and care,” she said.
“For Children’s Health Queensland, acquiring First Nations art is about creating healing environments for children and families, while also ensuring that contemporary First Nations artists are meaningfully represented in public collections that will be seen by thousands of people each year.”
Cape York and Torres Strait artists/art centres featured:
Aurukun Arts Centre: Lex Namponan
Hope Vale Arts & Cultural Centre: Bernard Lee Singleton, Teneille Nuggins, Melanie Gibson, Gertie Deeral and Wanda Gibson
Independent artist: Mylene Holroyd (Pormpuraaw)
Moa Arts: Paula Savage
Northsite Contemporary Arts: Lara Fuji (Badu Island)
Onespace: Teho Ropeyarn (Injinoo) and Brian Robinson (Waibene/Thursday Island heritage).
