Entertainment
4 July, 2026
Three art galleries open for one special night
THE Cairns Art Gallery Precinct will open all three of its gallery spaces after hours for the first time on Wednesday 8 July as part of a free celebration of Queensland First Nations art, music and culture.
On the ‘Lawn and Live’ will coincide with the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair and feature five First Nations exhibitions across the Public Curator’s Building, Mulgrave Building and Court House Building, alongside live entertainment, food and special guests on the Mulgrave building lawn.
Gallery director Angela Goddard said the event marked a milestone for the gallery.
“On the Lawn and Live is a genuine first for Cairns Art Gallery. It’s the first time we’ve activated our entire precinct simultaneously – and the first time our program has come alive in quite this way after dark. What better occasion than five exhibitions celebrating the depth and vitality of Queensland First Nations art, coinciding with CIAF,” she said.
“We’re inviting the whole community to come and experience something really special on 8 July. This is the gallery at its most alive.”
The Public Curator’s Building will present ‘Brush: Women Painters’, curated by Shonae Hobson, bringing together works by eight women artists from Far North Queensland and the Gulf of Carpentaria Region, including Janet Koongotema and Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori.
The Court House Building will showcase Sam Harrison: Kin’O’Centrism, Babim, Muudjum, Djanguul by Gunggandji artist Philomena Yeatman and ‘Woven Together: Undivided We Rise’, featuring woven works by Kim Ah Sam, Clare Jaque Vasquez, Jaeda Lenoy, Erica Muriata, Aunty Rosalind Sailor and Michona Warria.
The Mulgrave Building will feature ‘Spirits in the Ink’, curated by Aven Noah Jr, highlighting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander printmaking.
The event runs from 5pm to 8pm on Wednesday 8 July. Entry is free.
