Finding a Voice and a Place in the Contemporary Indigenous Art World

Abstract

This paper arises from my research on the fine art market for visual artworks by community-based artists and Cairns-based artists in Far North Queensland, and on the role of the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF). While there is a vast body of knowledge and research on Australian Indigenous art there has been limited research into the Indigenous art of Far North Queensland, particularly that of ‘fine art’. My research is an examination of how the participants’ intercultural relationships can affect their collaboration and interdependency with other players in the art network. Taking a casestudy approach, or what might be termed micro-ethnography, my research has involved interviewing artists, arts coordinators, commercial and public gallerists and buyers. I have examined the role of intercultural exchange in these relationships. In this article, I concentrate on a few questions that relate to aspects of intercultural exchange from the points-of-view of the artists, with a few additional comments from art coordinators.