IACA Artists Welcome CIAF 2019
The IACA Artists Welcome event is a highlight on the yearly calendar for our remote Indigenous artists and art centre staff. The Welcome provides members the chance to catch-up with others who have made the annual expedition to Cairns. This year, special guest Ian Coates from the National Museum of Australia (NMA) announced the exciting news that IACA will be partnering with the NMA to host and acquire the Belonging exhibition in Canberra in 2021.
The 2019 Lucille Osborne Emerging Artist Memorial Fellowship was awarded to Dorothy Gabori of Mornington Island Arts who humbly accepted her prize on stage while images of her artworks were beautifully projected behind her. Pam Bigelow took the opportunity to publicly acknowledge and farewell outgoing Girringun Art Centre Manager Valerie Keenan with a heartfelt thank you for all her hard work over the years.
A highlight of the event was undoubtedly the Belonging Exhibition Preview Projection curated by Glenn Iseger-Pilkington. Behind the scenes images of IACA’s Belonging project were displayed inside the venue simultaneously with select artwork images projected outside onto the side of the building, trees and the footpath. These projections continued every night during the week of CIAF to the delight of many passers-by, especially children who couldn’t resist interacting with the vibrant, lit-up artworks.
Main image credit: Dorothy Gabori receiving her Fellowship with Pam Bigelow and Abe Muriata. Image: IACA