So, we’re talking a total of $10.2m spread across two First Nations art fairs and one potential court case settlement involving the APYACC.
The good news is that both the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (DAAF) and the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) just broke sales records this year with the 19th edition of DAAF achieving sales of $5.1 million in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art – a milestone in the event’s history. Indeed, its impact report for 2025 suggests that the Fair stimulated the Northern Territory economy by a whopping $14.99m.
The 2025 sales continues a five-year running streak from 2021-2025 of topping the $4 million mark, 100% of which is returned to the 1800 artists showing and the 78 attending art centres.
For a number of years, DAAF has successfully operated as a hybrid event in which 813 artworks were sold online and 6160 in person. 13,130 attended the hybrid fair online, while 15,538 made it to Darwin in person, 92% of whom that they intend to return to Darwin for another DAAF in the future. Ironically, attendance seems to be down from from 33,353 in 2022.
Over the past ten years (2016-2025), DAAF has generated over $34.2 million for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual art sector as well as stimulating the First Nations fashion industry.
Meanwhile, at CIAF 2025, 30+ Art Fair exhibitors and 48 Artisan Showcase stallholders attended, all of them Queensland-based, as did c400 visual and performing artists from across the State. 20 artist-led talks took place and 14,909 spectators were counted across the four day event. $697,735.88 (precisely) was received in total art sales with the Art Fair showcase accounted for $417,000. However, only $240,228.72 went back to artists as CIAF has to cover its costs.
It is estimated that Cairns generally hit $4.46 million in direct and incremental expenditure while the region benefited from $6.19 million gross economic stimulus. CIAF’s digital presence was also strong in 2025, with more than 1.8 million views and 30,000 followers across platforms, which is just on par with a 2018 hybrid attendance of 45,000. No mention in reports of the sales achieved online.
In its ninth year, the CIAF Art Awards shared $60,000 across six categories. The Premier’s Award for Excellence went to Bernard Singleton (Yakal Creatives) for his wood carving Offering, while the People’s Choice Award went to Dylan Sarra for Native Police Spears.
Not resting on their laurels, CIAF has unveiled its 2026 curatorial theme and dates, with its 17th anniversary to be staged from 9–12 July 2026, again at the Tanks Arts Centre in Cairns. The theme announced by Artist Director (and artist) Teho Ropeyarn is ‘Reclamation and Regeneration’. “Reclamation is a powerful act of cultural resurgence… regeneration breathes new life into it — a dynamic force rooted in ancestral knowledge yet reaching boldly into the future,” he said.
Beaming out for a moment, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade last year announced an Indigenous Arts Hub was in train to enhance the online selling of First Nations work around the world. No sign of it this year, though – which might explain a slump in online sales.
Less certain news emanating from the APY Lands is that the APY Art Centre Collective – remember them? – has issued a writ of defamation against News Ltd (The Australian) for its series of articles alleging ‘White Hands on Black Art’ that began back in April 2023. They are seeking $4.4m according to Gabriella Coslovich in the Saturday Paper. Coslovich is the journalist who first took up cudgels for the APYACC in February last year and seems to be the only news outlet who has access to this story.
The sum being sought is calculated partly on the lost sale of a major collection to the National Gallery (NGA), which had intended to buy all 28 paintings for its Ngura Pulka exhibition for a total of $1,397,000 but withdrew from the commitment following the publication of journalist Greg Bearup’s articles. It also cancelled the show, set up an enquiry (which cleared the artists) but has now rescheduled it for next year.
The collective is also claiming damages from lost income, with its sales figures suggesting a drop of $84,257 a month for thje first six months, representing a total loss of $505,542. And then there were state and federal funding cuts estimated at a total of $1.07 million. These followed the decision of the Federal government, plus South Australia and the NT to order a second enquiry into the allegations, which, mysteriously (it’s claimed) never produced a report, but suggested that two legal bodies enquire further. Neither found strictly legal breaches by the APYACC.
As a result of this continuing uncertainty, the collective suffered cancellation of international exhibitions, lost contracts with the private sector, was briefly barred from the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair and had its membership of the Indigenous Art Code revoked. But, according to its website, APYACC continues to employ nine full-time staff and two interns.
Now, the APYACC is gambling on the law to recover those lost funds and reputation without further damaging the marketing organisation with its three city galleries. CEO Skye O’Meara told the Saturday Paper, “We have come to an agreement with our solicitors and barristers … who are passionate about this issue and who are working with us to make it happen. We will not be drawing on government funds, nor do we have a private backer to fund litigation”.
