Winners of the 2025 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) Art Awards were announced Friday, recognising excellence across Queensland's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual arts sector.

With six major prizes and a total prize pool of $60,000, the awards honour and celebrate both established and emerging artists whose work exemplifies innovation, cultural strength, and creative merit.

Now in its ninth year, the CIAF Art Awards celebrate the best of the best—from senior practitioners to bold new voices—whose work is featured in this year's Art Fair Showcase.

Awarded in response to this year's powerful theme, CIAF's 2025 honour roll spotlights artists whose practices challenge, inspire, and document the evolving stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

This year's theme is a call for reflection, resistance, and future-focused cultural storytelling in the wake of the 2023 Voice Referendum.

From hundreds of artworks exhibited in CIAF's Art Fair Showcase, six artists and collectives were selected by an esteemed judging panel comprising Jack Wilkie-Jans, Sebastian Goldspink, and Rebecca Ray.

This year's top honour, the Premier's Award for Excellence, was awarded to Djabugay/Yirrgay artist Bernard Singleton (Yakal Creatives) for his commanding wood carving Offering (2025), a work praised by judges for its technical mastery, cultural grounding, and robust response to CIAF's theme Pay Attention!

In their official statement, the judging panel said it "found Offering (2025) to demonstrate a mastery in traditional carving technique, producing an arresting and commanding work that audiences pay attention to".

"The innovative qualities of the work push the boundaries of First Nations' aesthetics and visuality, and to an impressive scale for the artist's practice. The piece is rooted in Djabugay/Yirrgay knowledge, which speaks to Singleton's upbringing and inter-generational storytelling," the judges said.

"The work highlights reciprocal responsibility and the crucial role that relationships play in caring for Country, for one another, our futures, and both the tangible and intangible aspects of the world. The Hairy Men (known by many names) have a presence across Singleton's and Tropical North Queensland's forests as protectors of Country, their associated and diverse Lore also connects knowledge from across First Nations Australia and globally.

"Through techniques rooted in both traditional and contemporary experimentation, Singleton embodies CIAF's 2025 theme, "Pay Attention!": Truth-telling through creativity. Singleton's contribution stands as both protest and invitation–urging people to pay attention to what is often unseen and unheard and to challenge them to reckon with the legacies and futures of Indigenous Sovereignty."

CIAF's Artistic Director, Teho Ropeyarn, extended warm congratulations to all this year's winners.

"These awards are not just about recognising great art - they're about honouring our ancestors, amplifying our voices, and ensuring that future generations can see their stories and sovereignty reflected on canvas, in sculpture, and across every form of creative expression," Mr Ropeyarn said.

Queensland Minister for Education and the Arts John-Paul Langbroek thanked CIAF for showcasing the work of talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in Queensland.

"Congratulations to Bernard Singleton on winning the prestigious Premier's Award for Excellence – a richly deserved honour that recognises outstanding talent and cultural contribution," Mr Langbroek said.

"I would like to congratulate all nominees and winners of this year's Art Awards, whose remarkable and inspiring works are well deserving of this recognition."

The Award Winners announced Friday:

Premier's Award for Excellence (Queensland Government, $25,000)

Awarded to Bernard Singleton (Yakal Creatives), Offering (2025)

Art Centre Award (Cairns Regional Council, $10,000)

Awarded to Hopevale Arts & Culture Centre

Innovation Award (Terri Janke and Company, $10,000)

Awarded to Alick Tipoti, Mawaw Danaka (2025)

3D Design, Sculpture and Installation Award (Ports North, $5,000)

Awarded to Kyra Mancktelow (awarded for full body of work, represented by N. Smith Gallery)

Emerging Art Award (Acquisitive) (Energy Queensland, $5,000)

Awarded to Roy Gray (Bunda Art) for Syricarpia Gloulifera (Turpentine/Gulumbi) (2025). This work has been created in collaboration with Jo Ann Beikoff 'Milba'.

The People's Choice Award (sponsored by Torres Strait Regional Authority, $5,000) will be announced during CIAF's closing ceremony on Sunday, 13 July, following the close of public voting.

The CIAF Art Awards are open to all exhibiting artists participating in CIAF's curated Art Fair Showcase. All works are judged against the thematic and cultural criteria set by CIAF's annual theme, with an emphasis on artistic integrity, innovation, and community relevance.

The judging panel consisted of Jack Wilkie-Jans – Waanyi, Teppathiggi and Tjungundji man; artist and Aboriginal affairs advocate; Sebastian Goldspink – Burramattagal man; independent curator and 2022 Adelaide Biennial curator; and Rebecca Ray – Meriam woman; Curator, First Nations Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.

Tickets and complete program details available at: www.ciaf.com.au. To find out more about CIAF 2025, visit www.ciaf.com.au.