Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) has introduced two behind-the-scenes tours for visitors attending next month's event.
The venture has been created in collaboration with Welcome to Country, a not-for-profit online marketplace of First Nations experiences and products.
The tours include CIAF’s Art Fair and Fashion Performance, led respectively by Indigenous artist Jack Wilkie-Jans and model Benita Williams.
The tour details are:
CIAF VIP Fashion Showcase Experience – July 7 at 5pm (120 minutes), Tanks Arts Centre. Participants will be the first to see the CIAF Fashion Performance with front row seats for the dress rehearsal. It will be an opportunity to meet the designers, models and the creative team leading the showcase.
CIAF VIP Art Fair Tour – July 7 and July 8 at 3pm (90 minutes), Cairns Convention Centre. Participants will receive insights into the Art Fair and Art Market as well as Queensland's First Nations art scene including meeting the artists and seeing the art centres that set the stage for CIAF 2022.
Welcome to Country’s head of marketing Tim Sculthorpe welcomed the partnership.
"With such privileged access to this celebrated event, these unique and inspiring experiences are sure to impress and resonate with visitors long after they return home.
“Welcome to Country is all about providing insights and experiences that money cannot usually buy.
"We always strive to ‘go beyond the ordinary’, something we share with CIAF.
"The organisation’s commitment to championing and creating a platform for emerging and established Indigenous artists is something to be celebrated, and we are privileged and delighted to be able to offer visitors front row access to this incredible event."
CIAF GM Darrell Harris said the event’s inclusion in Welcome to Country’s platform of experiences realises a long-held dream to strategically position and profile the event to a wider, albeit targeted tourism market.
“CIAF has proved time and again its wide appeal - not just to collectors of Indigenous art - but visitors who want to experience the destination at a deeper, cultural level.
“For CIAF, this is the beginning of something big and we are grateful for the opportunity to work with Welcome to Country to deliver something truly special at this year’s event,” he said.
Member for Cairns and Assistant Tourism Minister Michael Healy said the Indigenous Art Fair was an iconic Cairns cultural event.
“Tens of thousands of visitors every year are enthralled by the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair and the unique opportunity it presents to connect with Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage,” Healy said.
“The Queensland Government is an enthusiastic supporter of the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair which supports local jobs and generates $5.5 million for the Far North’s visitor economy.”