Skip to main content

THE CAIRNS INDIGENOUS ART FAIR 2010

TOWARDS RECOGNITION

Georges Petitjean
Eyeline 73
The following is a brief preview - the full content of this page is available to premium users only.
Click here to subscribe...

This second edition of the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF)—the last to have Michael Snelling as artistic director—was marked by impressive efforts to give the fair international appeal and exposure. International curators and art dealers were invited and a program for major national collectors and curators was set up. Events and exhibitions surrounding the art fair, including exhibitions at the Cairns Regional Art Gallery and art spaces around town, helped to position the fair in a broader framework of Queensland art.

Like the 2009 inaugural CIAF, this edition was held at the Tanks Cultural Precinct located in the lush tropical Cairns Botanical Gardens. This location, rich with history (the oil storage tanks date back to the Second World War, but were in use until 1987), indeed provided an extraordinary setting for an art fair and a fairytale-like décor for the opening night. Divided over two tanks (tanks 3 and 4), art centres from Queensland and galleries dealing in Queensland Indigenous art showcased their best artists. While tank 4 hosted art centres, tank 3 tended to show the more established art galleries and the two most successful art centres in North Queensland: Mornington Island Art and the Lockhart River Art Centre. One was struck at the entrance of tank 4 by a pack of carved and painted wooden camp dogs by, amongst others, Craig Koomeeta, Jack Bell and Garry Namponan from Aurukun (Wik and Kugu Arts and Craft Centre), commissioned by Michael Snelling. The dogs, which seemed to welcome the visitors to the art fair in a quieter manner than camp dogs usually would in the community, bear witness to a vibrant and well-developed tradition of woodcarving from the Aurukun region... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline

Dick Roughsey OBE, Fishing at Big Bay, Mornington Island, 1983. Oil on masonite panel, 25 x 36cm. Courtesy Jan Manton Art and QCA Gallery, Griffith University.

Dick Roughsey OBE, Fishing at Big Bay, Mornington Island, 1983. Oil on masonite panel, 25 x 36cm. Courtesy Jan Manton Art and QCA Gallery, Griffith University.

Vernon Ah Kee, Unwritten #4, #5, #11, #10, 2008. Charcoal on canvas, 150 x 90cm. Courtesy the artist and Milani Gallery, Brisbane.

Vernon Ah Kee, Unwritten #4, #5, #11, #10, 2008. Charcoal on canvas, 150 x 90cm. Courtesy the artist and Milani Gallery, Brisbane.