Tarquin Singleton and Teho Ropeyarn reveal a commissioning project and animation work to bring the 2026 CIAF theme to life. Photo: Chisa Hasegawa.
A Cape York or Torres Strait artist could be the next big thing at the 2026 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) through a major artist development opportunity.
Expressions of interest for Resonance – A CIAF Art Commissioning Project, opened on 18 November, will see one First Nations artist chosen to create a large-scale work under the mentorship of Brisbane-based creative agency, Blaklash.
CIAF artistic director and Injinoo man Teho Ropeyarn encouraged artists outside of Cairns to also take on the opportunity.
“As you can imagine, if you live in a small, rural community in Cape York and Torres Strait, you’re far away from materials and opportunities like this,” he said.
“That’s why I think this commissioning project is really important because it gives that opportunity for someone in not only the city, but living remotely, to be able to access that sort of professional development.
“It’s also to expand their practice, whereas I think in community, many artists just work in some of the traditional art forms, like painting. But I think this gives that opportunity to really broaden their scope.”
The $70,000 project will be funded through the Arts Queensland First Nations Commissioning Fund; the completed work will premiere as a focal point of CIAF 2026.
Mr Ropeyarn said the expressions of interest would be open until early January, giving artists plenty of time to develop their ideas.
He said while the concept was fairly open, he wanted to see artists push their boundaries and tell stories in creative ways to align with next year’s theme, Reclamation and Regeneration.
“It’s open to a broad range of artists. At CIAF, we get painters, ceramicists, a mixture of stuff, so for the selected artist, we’re keeping it open,” he said.
“We want it to be innovative, we want to see something new and exciting, and really pushing the practice.”
Also unveiled on 18 November was the 2026 Hero Artwork Animation, a striking digital work which will be used as the central branding motif and large-scale projection.
Produced by Red Ochre Republic artists Tarquin Singleton, Sheree Jacobs and Leigh Harris, the animation brings the Reclamation and Regeneration theme to life through a seasonal calendar and cyclical imagery.
“When you see the animation, it’s the broken lines that reconnect, and the wheels start turning,” Mr Singleton said.
“That’s probably the best approach I could think of when it comes to regeneration because everything happens in cycles. It’s repeating itself, but it’s also improving itself.”
