The 17th edition of the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) brought four vibrant days of art, fashion, performance and cultural exchange to Far North Queensland, with thousands converging on Tanks Arts Centre and satellite venues across Gimuy/Cairns for the Fair’s largest and most expansive program to date.
Presented under the theme Reclamation & Regeneration, CIAF 2026 featured the largest Art Fair Showcase and Artisans Showcase in the Fair’s history, alongside expanded fashion, theatre, talks, music, dance, Elders and family programming.
CIAF Artistic Director Teho Ropeyarn said the response to this year’s program demonstrated the growing impact and significance of CIAF nationally and internationally.
“CIAF 2026 has been a powerful celebration of resurgence, creativity and cultural authority,” Mr Ropeyarn said.
“Across four days we witnessed artists, designers, performers and communities come together to share stories grounded in culture while pushing contemporary practice into exciting new territory.
“Reclamation & Regeneration was about honouring where we come from while creating space for where we are going. The response from audiences, artists and visitors has been extraordinary.”
CIAF’s Fashion Performance was launched in 2013 by Grace Lillian Lee and has grown and grown over the years in both power and prowess. Curated this year again by Lynelle Flinders, the runway shows were a thrilling part of CIAF, with 25 designers – the largest line– up in CIAF fashion history – including, for the first time, international collections from three Indigenous designers and a guest designer from Indigenous Fashion Week New York – presenting shows that responded to the theme of Reclamation & Regeneration.
Lynelle Flinders spoke about the collections before the runways and said,
“This year’s fashion program brings together designers from across Queensland, each sharing stories of Reclamation and Regeneration — from climate resilience and connection to land to personal journeys of healing and identity. Their collections reflect the strength that comes from reconnecting with culture, Country, and community.”
Across the program, designers reclaim their voices through making — using fashion to honour cultural knowledge, challenge assumptions, and express lived experiences that have long been overlooked. Their work becomes a form of self-determination, celebrating who they are and where they come from.”
CIAF Fashion Performances at The Mill Show 1: Reclamation
Simone Arnol: ‘Lace’ (Celebration Walk)
‘Alapiyac Parucunuq / Juan Chih Chin: ‘Craft Advances And Memory Lives On’
Kerry Klimm: ‘Shouty’
Ngalpa Kalmel (Trinity Bay State High School): ‘Ancestral Cells’
Deadly Creative Sistas: ‘G[U]Ilt’
Kuku Bulkaway Arts: ‘Kuku Bulkaway (Sharing Our Stories)’
Irene Olive Adams: ‘Nan-Dhi’s Unconditional Love’
Delvene Cockatoo-Collins: ‘Mat Making’
Pumicestone Indigenous Education & Employment Council (Pieec): ‘Yarunyung’
Yuma Taru: ‘Dialogue Between Form And The Soul
—Regeneration Of The Virtual And The Real In The Atayal Spirit’
Badu Art Centre: ‘Badhulgaw Kuthinaw Mudh Collection’
Girringun Art Centre
CIAF Fashion Performances at The Mill Show 2: Regeneration
Samala Cronin (Mumred): ‘Flow State’
Sandra & Shara Delaney: ‘Ngali Guri, Ngalijara:
We Are The People, We Are The Places – Woven In Words’
Lisa Lui: ‘Wada’
Felicity Chapman: ‘Skin Tight’
Nicole Chatfield: ‘Saltwoven’
Magpie Goose X Quandamooka Artists
(Amy) Wudan Neal: ‘Burugga’
Francoise Lane: ‘Sea Garden Collection’
Yarrabah Arts & Cultural Precinct (Yarrabah Community): ‘Blak Canvas’
Sigesile Kalidoai / Lin Chun Hsiang: ‘Dynamism—The Beauty Of Transformation’
Tafe Cultural Arts: ‘Speak’
Relative Arts (New York)
As well as 2026 being the 10th anniversary of the CIAF Art Awards, it was also the year of the inaugural CIAF Fashion: Textile & Design Awards, further expanding the Fair’s platform for artistic recognition and professional opportunities, and taking the Fashion Performance to the next level.
The CIAF Fashion: Textile & Design Awards recognised outstanding cultural storytelling, innovation and creative leadership at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) 2026, and featured a combined prize pool of $20,000.
The Simone Arnol Textile Innovation Award, supported by QIC, was presented for the first time, just months after the respected Gunggandji artist, designer and former Yarrabah Art Centre Manager passed away following a courageous battle with cancer.
The inaugural CIAF Fashion: Textile & Design Award winners
The Simone Arnol Textile Innovation Award ($10,000), supported by QIC — Yarrabah Arts & Cultural Precinct for Blak Canvas.
· Cultural Couture Award ($5,000), supported by Terri Janke — Delvene Cockatoo-Collins (Quandamooka) for Making Mats.
· Sustainable Adornment Award ($5,000), supported by Kowa Collaboration — Irene Olive Adams for Nan-Dhi’s Unconditional Love.
Appropriately, the inaugural award bearing Simone’s name was presented to Yarrabah Arts & Cultural Precinct for its striking Blak Canvas collection, while Simone’s own collection, Lace, opened the Reclamation runway performance, creating a fitting tribute to one of Queensland’s most influential First Nations fashion pioneers.
CIAF Artistic Director Teho Ropeyarn said the inaugural awards reflected the remarkable evolution of Queensland’s First Nations fashion sector while honouring the creative leaders who helped shape it.
“This year’s collections demonstrate just how far First Nations fashion has come. Artists and designers are confidently pushing creative boundaries while remaining deeply connected to culture, Country and community.”
“Naming our premier fashion award after Simone Arnol is a fitting tribute to someone whose vision, generosity and creative leadership helped shape CIAF’s fashion program,” Ropeyarn continued. “To see Simone’s own collection open tonight’s performance and then witness Yarrabah Arts & Cultural Precinct receive the inaugural award in her honour was an incredibly powerful moment.
“This year’s program also welcomed designers from Taiwan and New York, creating an exciting cultural exchange that demonstrates CIAF’s growing international reputation as a place where Indigenous fashion traditions and contemporary practice come together to inspire new ideas and conversations.”
CIAF will return from 8–11 July 2027
