It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day – CIAF is a frontier for artistic sustainability

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, we speak with Artistic Director of Cairns Indigenous Art Fair Janina Harding on how remote communities are trailblazing the festival model
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CIAF celebrates the unique character of Queensland Indigenous artists – opening night celebrations; photo Kerry Trapnell

Opening the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) this year, it was senior artist Syd Bruce Short Joe who set the tone in a conversation about art and activism. Short Joe made the point that while he speaks nine languages, there is not a word for art in any of them.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina