From the perspective of art history, it is rare to actually see an art movement going through its paces. Art movements are usually identified retrospectively, well after the explosion of creative uplift abates. Yet the inaugural Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF), held over three days in late August 2009, had the air of an art movement in its infancy that has been sucked through a portal of time and stacked onto a stage the other side. Here it is—all at once—and in no particular order! This is not a criticism of the event, but more a description of the odd kind of vibe it generated. An unconventional format of cultural festival / contemporary art fair / tourism expo produced a healthy disrespect for the cool white cubes where art is usually administered to audiences, and the large number of Indigenous artists in attendance gave them an ‘ownership of the show’ that is rarely seen down south. The first CIAF had excitement, diversity, surprises, and plenty of art of the highest standards, but it was also almost willfully incoherent. As a showcase of what is happening in North Queensland the event was an outstanding success, however, any sustainable international market profile will require a refinement of this diversity into something that is more identifiable as the spirit of Indigenous art in North Queensland today.
The political and social contexts of contemporary art produced in North Queensland derive more from issues of economic and cultural sustainability than the imperative for autonomy that characterised Indigenous art emerging from the post-Assimilation era of the 1970s. Western desert acrylic painting and Arnhem Land bark painting generated a vision of difference that demanded its own terms... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline