Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CAIF), March 2023
Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) has confirmed an impeccable line up of 15 Indigenous fashion designers and wearable art makers from across Queensland whose collective response to the 2023 theme ‘Woven’ will tell a powerful story marking 10 years of fashion performances.
CIAF’s Fashion Performance Curator Lynelle Flinders said the organisation had received an unprecedented response from Queensland’s emerging and established Indigenous fashion designers wanting to participate in this year’s historic event following a call out issued in January 2023.
“From Quandamooka Country in southeast Queensland to the Cape and Torres Strait, we are pleased to announce a stellar line up designers who will individually express the ‘Woven’ theme in what will be a collectively powerful and engaging showcase,” Ms Flinders said.
Participating designers in 2023 include the collaborative partnership of Holly McInnes and Simone Arnol from Yarrabah’s Gunggandji Country, Delvene Cockatoo-Collins from Quandamooka Country and Emily Beckley from the Torres Strait Islands.
Holly McInnes and Simone Arnol, Cairns
After learning of her successful bid to present a collaborative collection with Aunty Simone Arnol in this year’s CIAF fashion performance, Holly McInnes said she was “really excited”.
After graduating year 12 in 2022 Holly, a former St Mary’s student is currently enjoying a gap year before heading off to Brisbane in 2024 to study fashion design.
According to Ms McInnes, both herself and Aunt Simone, an experienced multi-disciplinary artist and fashion designer, will create eight looks (four looks each) to comprise their ‘Guyu, Lemon & Rice’ collection.
“Guyu, the Gunggandji word for fish, along with lemon and rice is our interpretation of the theme because the three elements together make a meal that weaves people and families together,” said Ms McInness.
Holly McInnes
From as long as Holly can remember she has wanted to be a fashion designer.
In her younger years she was taught to sew by her father, during time spent at his upholstery business. After finishing school in 2022, during which she studied textiles, Holly has set her sights on a career in fashion with plans to study design at QUT in Brisbane from 2024. Holly is spending her gap year working in retail and preparing four looks that will comprise her Guyu, Lemon and Rice collection collaboration with Aunty Simone Arnol. Together they will create eight looks including hand woven adornments and accessories.
One garment set to draw attention is a male jumpsuit she is working on that will feature woven straps and colourful fish fabric that the couple created, and hand screen printed.
An intergenerational knowledge sharing process Holly is being mentored by her Aunt Simone during which she will also learn traditional weaving techniques for adornments.
Simone Arnol
“Keeping it grassroots while respecting the elders, the keepers of Knowledge.”
A descendant of the Gunggandji Peoples, Simone uses her strong connection to family and Country to draw inspiration for her art practice. She is inspired by the many Elders, children and all the Traditional Owners that have been a part of her life, and through her working career in Indigenous Law and Native Title, she continues to expand herself as a developing, grassroots artist.
Arnol’s stories flow strongly through her works on canvas, portraits on paper and true passion for textiles and clothing design. She continues to experiment and progress through different mediums with each piece keeping within cultural and mainstream sustainability practices which see her work revealed.
Emily Beckley
From her home on Horn Island (Ngurupai), Meriam-Samsep and Panai of Maguiag women, Emily Beckley said she is ecstatic to be a part of CIAF’s iconic fashion performance.
“This platform enables Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders like me to showcase our talents, lifestyle, and culture to a wider audience. Together we can make an impact in a positive way,” Ms Beckley said.
While an artist for over 40 years with two collections in the National Gallery of Australia, Ms Beckley says she is still a relative newcomer to the fashion industry with just five years of experience.
For CIAF’s 2023 Woven fashion performance Ms Beckley will creative eight looks that will draw inspiration from her surroundings and traditional practices.
“My collection will feature the geometric patterns and imagery of Mer (Murray Island) bridal pendants to tell an origin story of turtles, fish, pearls and so on. My art is concerned with reviving and maintaining cultural practices,” she said.
Delvene Cockatoo-Collins
Also presenting in 2023 is Minjerribah-North Stradbroke Island
(Quandamooka Country) artist Delvene Cockatoo-Collins who in 2022 took a giant leap to show her first ever fashion collection in the round at Tanks Arts Centre for CIAF’s Master of Country performance. And with great success too. Since CIAF 2022 Ms Cockatoo-Collins has gone on to create collections for Melbourne Fashion Week’s Mob in Fashion (currently on static display in Melbourne) and this month’s Black, Bold & Beautiful at Brisbane Convention Centre.
A proud North Stradbroke artist who has operated her own shop and gallery for the past 13 years, Ms Cockatoo-Collins said participating in CIAF is something she had always wanted to do but had never felt ready.
“It wasn’t until a visit from the CIAF team whose encouragement convinced me to elevate my work to take part. And I am so glad I did. I really enjoyed the process and CIAF is a great space. It’s very liberating. Before then I had never really had a platform to explore,” she said.
Ms Cockatoo-Collins said her ‘Woven’ collection will feature hand-dyed and printed cotton from the St George area and traditionally woven articles and detailing inspired by her grandmother’s words, “Dillybag & Mat Making as Granny Did”.
“Dated March 1974, this is a statement that I found among Nan’s photos and letters. There is also the actual dillybag woven by my grandmother’s grandmother using traditional weaving techniques – now on display in North Stradbroke Museum after it was returned in 2021,” she said.
From screen printed fabrics to accessories, Ms Cockatoo-Collins said she is planning to create between five and 10 complete looks for her 2023 collection.
Ms Cockatoo-Collins’s business, Minjerribah Art Studio and Cottage is based in a studio and retail store in Goompi (Dunwich) and open to the public everyday. Her products and services include commissions, public art, talks, workshops, licensed stationery, ceramics, small sculptural works, and hand-printed homewares.
Recurring themes across Ms Cockatoo-Collins’s artwork and expressions are the stories of her family’s lived experiences on North Stradbroke Island, her responses to images and texts related to her family, the relationship to her Great-Great Grandmother (through a body of work titled Six Generations), traditional mat-making techniques, and the use of clays and pigments found across Quandamooka including the islands and mainland around Moreton Bay.
Lynelle Flinders, Curator of CIAF 2022
‘Masters of Country’ & 2023 ‘Woven’
When it comes to CIAF’s Fashion Performance experience there is no one more qualified than Cairns based textile and fashion designer and 2023 Fashion Performance Curator, Lynelle Flinders.
An event close to her heart, Ms Flinders has been involved in CIAF’s fashion story from the very start – the first seven years of which she created and presented designer collections before taking up the curatorial lead in 2021.
“CIAF’s fashion performance has and continues to be, life changing. What started as a creative expression has developed into a mentorship role where I can support other First Nation artists progress in their journey and encourage them to follow their dreams,” Ms Flinders said.
In a collaborative, working partnership with choreographer, professional dancer, model and mentor, Hans Ahwang, Ms Flinders said the duo work hard to create a world-class performance that ascends beyond a fashion event to become a transformative and culturally immersive experience with a powerful message.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that given the age of this video, it may contain images, voices, and names of deceased persons.
Exhibiting Designers
The successful designers showcasing their collections in 2023 are:
- Delvene Cockatoo-Collins.
Quandamooka woman and artist who lives and works on Minjerribah; - Fiona Wirrer-George Oochunyung.
Descends from Mbaiwum-Trotj, Alngith-Liningithi and Wik Apalech Nations of Western Cape York; - Deadly Weavers – Felicity Chapman.
Tinnaburra Station. I am part of the stolen generation, I’m looking and learning about my culture through traditional weaving for healing and strengthening my connection to country and culture; - Yarrabah Arts & Cultural Precinct. Yarrabah;
- Robert Pau;
- Simone Arnol (Gunggandji) and Holly McInnes (Yarrabah);
- Emily Beckley.
Based on Horn Island, Torres Strait Islands. She belongs to the language groups Meriam Mir and Kala Lagaw Ya. She draws on her experiences along with the stories and history of her culture from her parents from the Meriam-Samsep of Mer and Panai of Mabuiag to create works, to connect the past to the present for the future; - Bana Yirriji & Shannon Brett.
Located in Wujal Wujal Community, Far North Queensland and represents artists from the Yalanji, Nyungkul and Jalunji clan groups. Shannon Brett is a Wakka Wakka, Gooreng Gooreng, Butchulla artist, designer and educator, with many years of experience as a fashion designer and textile artist who has worked with numerous studios and art centres internationally; - TAFE Cultural Arts;
- Sown in Time by Lynelle Flinders.
Dharrba Warra – Starke River; - Jedess Hudson.
Traditional Owner from Ewamian and Western Yalnji peoples; - Bernard Singleton.
Umpila, Djabugay/Yirrgay; - Elverina Johnson – Paperbark Arts.
Gimuy Walubara Yidinji; - Mumgarr by Chantel Henley.
Chantal Henley is a practising textile artist and designer with strong ancestral connections to the Nughi and Mununjali peoples of South East Queensland; - Hans Ahwang.
Hans Ahwang originates from St Paul’s Community Wug Village, Mua Island, one of the Torres Strait Islands.
CIAF’s three ticketed fashion performances will be enjoyed by festivalgoers in the atmospheric round of Tank 3, Tanks Arts Centre on Thursday 13 July and Friday 14 July 2023. Tickets go on sale at the end of April.
Background
In 2023 CIAF will celebrate a decade of showcasing Queensland’s vibrant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fashion industry with ‘Woven’ – a series of three, ticketed performances in the atmospheric round of Tank 3, Tanks Arts Centre on Thursday 13, and Friday 14 July 2023.
Showcasing Queensland’s contemporary Indigenous wearable art, elaborate adornments (head dress neck & body adornments) and accessories the collections of 15 designers will be exhibited by models in a creative and culturally rich choreographed performance.
Since the inaugural ‘Ufla Upla’ Textile Conference and performance in 2013, CIAF has built a legacy for Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to pioneer and participate in Australia’s vibrant and burgeoning Indigenous fashion movement.
For 10 of CIAF’s 14-year history the fashion performance has evolved and shone brightly in the annual program alongside a rich and culturally imbued array of events and activities including exhibitions, workshops, markets, music and dance, awards, and social gatherings.
The purpose of CIAF’s annual and iconic fashion performance is to promote Queensland’s contemporary Indigenous design, diversity, and inclusion while also empowering Indigenous youth through representation of who they are and where they come from.
CIAF respectfully acknowledges the First Peoples’ and Custodians of the lands, waters and seas on which we work and live. We honour their Elders, past and present.
