Indigenous Art Centre Alliance

30/04/2026

📦✨ BIG NEWS! ✨📦

IACA is on the move! 🚚💼

From the 5th of May 2026, you’ll find us at our new location:

📍 Suite 6 / 345 Sheridan Street (upstairs), Cairns North, QLD 4870

Our phone numbers and postal address remain the same.

We’re excited about our new digs and can’t wait to welcome members, stakeholders and friends into our new space! 🤝💙

Stay tuned for more updates — see you there! 🎉

01/04/2026

APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!

Applications are now open for 'Elevate 2026 - IACA's Indigenous Artworker Program (IIAP)'.

ABOUT:

Entering its 7th year, IACA’s Indigenous Artwork Program develops the professional skills, industry networks and career pathways of First Nations Artworkers from IACA Member Art Centres across Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait.

The program delivers tailored, hands-on training, professional development and mentoring through practical workshops and activities delivered in partnership with major cultural institutions and industry experts.

Delivered in the second half of 2026, the program will include:

- Art Fair support;
- Cairns Artworker Conference;
- Canberra Field Trip; and,
- Graduation Presentation + Ceremony.

APPLY NOW:

Online applications are to be completed and submitted by COB on Thursday, 30th April.

Applicants must be a First Nations Artworker currently working at an IACA Member Art Centre, who is seeking to elevate their knowledge, skills and career opportunities.

If you require further information or would like a link to the online application form, please email: [email protected].

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Australian Government's Indigenous Visual Art Industry Support (IVAIS) Program.

Image Captions:

[Left] 2025 IACA Artworker Program visit to the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra . Pictured (l-r) are Adam Ford (Associate Curator, First Nations Art) and program participants Sandra Ase (Wei'Num Arts + Craft), Romena Edwards (Pormpuraaw Art + Culture Centre), Daphne de Jersey (Wei'Num Arts + Craft) and Amber Wilson (Mornington Island Art).

[Middle] 2025 Artworker Program participant Gladys Doolah (Erub Arts) during the Cairns Conference.

[Right] 2025 Artworker Program visit to NorthSite Contemporary Arts during the Cairns Conference . Pictured (l-r) are program participants Romena Edwards (Pormpuraaw Art + Culture Centre) and Petrina Bassani (Yarrabah Arts and Cultural Precinct).

Image Credits: Dion Teasdale .

01/04/2026

APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!

Applications are now open for 'Elevate 2026 - IACA's Indigenous Artworker Program (IIAP)'.

ABOUT:

Entering its 7th year, IACA’s Indigenous Artwork Program develops the professional skills, industry networks and career pathways of First Nations Artworkers from IACA Member Art Centres across Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait.

The program delivers tailored, hands-on training, professional development and mentoring through practical workshops and activities delivered in partnership with major cultural institutions and industry experts.

Delivered in the second half of 2026, the program will include:

- Art Fair support;
- Cairns Artworker Conference;
- Canberra Field Trip; and,
- Graduation Presentation + Ceremony.

APPLY NOW:

Online applications are to be completed and submitted by COB on Thursday, 30th April.

Applicants must be a First Nations Artworker currently working at an IACA Member Art Centre, who is seeking to elevate their knowledge, skills and career opportunities.

If you require further information or would like a link to the online application form, please email: [email protected].

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Australian Government's Indigenous Visual Art Industry Support (IVAIS) Program.

Image Caption: 2025 IACA Artworker Program visit to the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra nationalgalleryaus. Pictured (from l - r) are Adam Ford (Associate Curator, First Nations Art), and program participants Sandra Ase (Wei'Num Arts + Craft), Romena Edwards (Pormpuraaw Art + Culture Centre), Daphne de Jersey (Wei'Num Arts + Craft) and Amber Wilson (Mornington Island Art).

Image Credit: Dion Teasdale .

18/03/2026

https://earth.nullschool.net/ /wind/surface/level/orthographic=-214.82,-18.76,1300

18/03/2026

The BoM's Cyclone Narelle tracker.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle has intensified into a category four system, due to make landfall tomorrow. Follow live

18/03/2026

Cyclone Narelle – Update

IACA members across Cape York are actively preparing for Tropical Cyclone Narelle. Art centres are implementing their Emergency Plans, securing buildings, and removing outdoor items to reduce potential damage.

Tropical Cyclone Narelle has formed in the Coral Sea off the Far North Queensland coast and is expected to bring damaging winds and heavy rainfall. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the system is forecast to cross the Queensland coast over Cape York, then move across the Gulf of Carpentaria and into the Northern Territory.

Residents are being urged to prepare for a significant weather event, with the cyclone potentially reaching Category 4 or 5 intensity at landfall. Forecasts indicate winds of up to 200 km/h and rainfall totals of around 450 mm, raising concerns about widespread flooding and damage.

We have received updates from member art centres anticipating severe impacts. In response, they are taking all necessary precautions to protect their communities, staff and facilities.

As Melanie Gibson from Hopevale Art Centre shared:
“It’s not our first rodeo — we’ve got this, and we are prepared.”

We acknowledge the strength, experience and preparedness of our members and will continue to provide updates as the situation develops.

Stay safe everyone.

#

14/03/2026

This is a Mornington Island headdress 🙌

It was made by Lardil artist and storyteller, Dick Roughsey (Goobalathaldin) OBE.

Roughsey is widely recognised as being instrumental in the revival of Lardil (Mornington Island) cultural practices.

Many of his paintings depict scenes from traditional life, including headdresses and body painting designs for rituals that Roughsey himself was responsible for reviving.

12/03/2026

Archer River Country: Janet Koongotema

28 February - 2 April 2026

Congratulations to Janet Koongotema on her remarkable solo exhibition, Archer River Country, now showing at D’Lan Contemporary in Melbourne.

Running from 28 February to 2 April 2026, this major exhibition—presented in collaboration with Wik & Kugu Art Centre, Aurukun—celebrates Janet’s exquisite paintings inspired by her ancestral homelands.

"Koongotema not only depicts Country; she constructs it, using the same structural order that has shaped the woven objects, made and shared between clans of the Aurukun region". Vanessa Merlino, Curator

Catalogue: https://dlangalleries.com/exhibition/janet-koongotema-melbourne/

Exhibition Essay: https://dlangalleries.com/on-the-archer-river-with-janet-koongotema

Address:
D'Lan Contemporary
40 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, VIC
Open:
Tues–Frid 10am–5pm
Sat 11am–4pm.
T +61 3 9008 7212

Artwork:
Janet Koongotema
Moun.aw - Archer River story place, 2024
synthetic polymer paint on linen. 151cm × 152cm

Images:
Janet Koongotema painting on Country | Photograph: Gus Davidson.

Janet Koongotema's exhibition at D'Lan Contemporary Melbourne.

Images courtesy D'Lan Contemporary

12/03/2026

IACA congratulates artist Paula Savage on her new exhibition The Grass Tides, now showing at gallery 🌾✨

Presented in the Main Gallery, the exhibition brings together a powerful selection of woven works and works on paper, marking Savage’s second exhibition with onespace following her 2022 presentation.

Growing up on Moa Island, Savage spent her early years working on lugger boats with her father and brothers. With little time to sit with the old Akas (Aunties), she taught herself the ‘one twist’ weaving method through close observation rather than direct instruction. This technique continues to anchor her practice today, with these lived experiences forming the foundation of her distinctive creative voice.

The Grass Tides showcases a suite of prints and weavings that highlight Savage’s evolution as a senior artist at Moa Arts and affirm her standing as a leading creative force in the Torres Strait.

Details
The Grass Tides
Paula Savage

6 March - 11 April 2026

📍 onespace
Main Gallery
25A Bouquet Street
South Brisbane QLD




 

Image: Paula Savage with her monumental woven piece Anchor. Courtesy Moa Arts. Photo: James Muller.

04/03/2026

We love AACHWA's animation promoting their annual REVEALED event. Congratulations to all the amazing emerging artists selected for the exhibition. Best wishes to AACHWA and WA Art Centres for the opening and market.