Records broken at art fair

l CAIRNS CBD

| Gail Sedorkin

SELL-out events were just some of the many records broken during the four days of this year’s 14th edition of the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF).

Five of CIAF’s nine ticketed events were sold out, including the two fashion performances, with the remaining four events all exceeding ticket sale targets.

On the final day on Sunday, dance displays and a last-minute rush of art sales ended the fourday festival celebrating the dynamic arts and culture movement of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

While final sales figures are still being tallied and will be released soon, CIAF’s art fair and art market sales are also expected to surpass previous records.

Taking a cue from the 2023 theme, Weaving our Future:

Claiming our Sovereignty, CIAF’s multi-arts program, replete with art exhibitions, cultural dance, a decade anniversary fashion performance, a two-day symposium, masterclasses, workshops, a music festival and more, people came from near and far to the event’s biggest cultural immersion to date.

Another record was the boosted prize cache of $60,000 which placed the CIAF’s art awards among Australia’s richest art prizes while acknowledging and supporting the practice of Queensland’s brightest and best First Nations artists.

Elder and artist Janet Koongotema secured the Premier’s award for excellence ($25,000), Pormpuraaw Art and Cul- ture Centre won Cairns Regional Council’s art centre award ($10,000) and Holding Redlich’s innovation award ($10,000) went to independent Sunshine Coast based artist Darren Blackman.

Torres Strait Islander artist Toby Cedar won the 3-D installation and sculpture award sponsored by Ports North ($5000), Pormpuraaw artist Mylene Holroyd won Apunipima’s emerging artist (acquisitive) award ($5000), and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artist Douglas Tamwoy won the Torres Strait Regional Authority’s people’s choice award ($5000).

This year also saw the first exhibition of traditional coconut leaf weaving and also the first time the six master weavers from Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait) have come together to create an exhibition of their work.

Among the 50-plus events in CIAF’s program, there were many highlights including two sellout fashion performances of Woven at Tanks Art Centre curated by Lynelle Flinders and showcasing 14 designer collections and 17 models.

Presenting a fashion collection at CIAF for the second year running, artist and designer, Quandamooka artist, Delvene Cockatoo-Collins said Friday’s performance was “the perfect way” to bring together her generational family story of art and culture in a collection of garments featuring hand-woven adornments and prints interweaving her great grandmother’s woven basket to her grandmother’s written words and her mother’s mat making.