Cairns Art Gallery

12/10/2026

Congratulations to the Cairns Potters Club for their 2026 Melting Pot National Ceramics Exhibition! 📣

Friday's opening event and awards ceremony was a wonderful evening and celebration of the many talented ceramicists we have here in Cairns.

Congratulations again to all of the prize winners and exhibiting artists!

Thanks to all of the prize sponsors for their kind donations, thanks to Chris Harford for judging the competition and thanks to Mayor Amy Eden and Potters Club President Lone White for their opening speeches.

Cairns Potters Club: Melting Pot National Ceramics Exhibition runs untll 6 Dec 2026 in the P***c Curators Building.

12/10/2026

11/10/2026

The Cairns Art Gallery Foundation invites you to raise a glass and join us for an evening of fundraising with Tracey Moffatt AO 🥂

We will be proudly serving w**es selected by The W**e Tradition NQ. Independently and locally owned and operated, The W**e Tradition NQ has thirty years of experience in w**e curation.

The w**e will be paired with an artisan menu by Nu Nu. The evening will also feature an address from celebrated artist Tracey Moffatt AO, music and a silent auction to raise funds for the Cairns Art Gallery Foundation.

Saturday 24 October, 6.30–10pm
$220 per ticket or $2200 per table of 10
Purchase tickets online via our website


https://www.cairnsartgallery.com.au/whats-on/programs-events/2026AnnualDinner?utm_name=sked&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=sked_6abe0a436f62170a424922c1

10/10/2026

Something exciting has just opened at Cairns Art Gallery 👀 We are thrilled to be showcasing Zhang Xu Zhan’s Compound eyes of tropical 🐊 This dizzying stop motion video portrays the Southeast Asian folk tale ‘Mouse Deer and Crocodile’ featuring a half-mouse deer and half-fox shaman puppet dancers.

Exhibition runs from 10 Oct 2026 – 14 Mar 2027 in the Public Curators Building

📷 IMAGE: Zhang Xu ZHAN, Compound eyes of tropical (still) 2022, single channel video, colour, sound, courtesy of © Zhang Xu Zhan and Zhan Zhan Xi Qi Studio



https://www.cairnsartgallery.com.au/whats-on/exhibitions/zhang-xu-zhan?utm_name=sked&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=sked_6ac720e0f397aac5d04bf635

09/10/2026

Only 20 tickets for the Cairns Art Gallery Foundation Annual Dinner!

Join the Foundation and Tracey Moffatt AO for an exclusive evening of art, food and community and assist in raising funds to support the Foundation's legacy.

Set within the historic Court House Building in the colourful world of Craig & Karl: Double Vision, Nu Nu will be serving a specially crafted menu, paired with w**es selected by The W**e Tradition NQ.

Expand your original art collection by placing a bid in the silent auction, which will take place later in the evening.

$220 per person
$2200 / table of 10*

Purchase tickets online via our website

https://www.cairnsartgallery.com.au/whats-on/programs-events/2026AnnualDinner

09/10/2026

Ready to relax, unwind and return to yourself? 🧘‍♀️ Join Liza Soenario from Flow with Nature Yoga & Qigong and Joy Zahner from Musique Funtastique for a very special Sound Healing.

Lay down or be seated on a chair and be surrounded by the angelic and soothing sounds of harp, voice, crystal singing bowls, and gentle melodic chimes that will transport you to another realm.

Liza and Joy are professional musicians, singers and music educators with over 50 years of combined experience. Join them on Sunday 25 October for a magical, soothing experience.

Sunday 25 Oct, 10.30–11.45am
$35 Members / $45 Non-Members

Book online now!

https://www.cairnsartgallery.com.au/whats-on/programs-events/qiflowscape

08/10/2026

Jennifer Valmadre’s practice is driven by a deep curiosity about materials and what they can become. Her works encourage viewers to embrace the unexpected while inspiring curiosity about how such results were achieved.

Valmadre embraces the gamut of the states of experimentation and uncertainty and pursues unprescribed accidental, and incidental creations. The paradox lies in the transformation of rejected items into a rich source of material–simultaneously worthless and valuable.

She states:

'Potting bench brings the hidden roots of weeds up to eye level, shifting our attention from the familiar surface of the garden to the usually unseen world beneath it. By presenting these roots as something to be examined, the work gives value and presence to what is normally overlooked or discarded'.

Join Jennifer and fellow exhibiting artists Julie Poulsen and Barbara Dover for a floor talk about The Paradox of Things and the launch of the accompanying exhibition catalogue on Thurs 15 Oct from 5 – 8pm. Free event. RSVP online.

The Paradox of Things is supported through the Double R Arts Foundation.

📷 Portrait of Jennifer Valmadre in her studio, September 2026

Jennifer Valmadre, Potting Bench 2026, found objects, wire, paper, thread tape, courtesy of the artist, photograph: Michael Marzik

https://www.cairnsartgallery.com.au/whats-on/exhibitions/paradox-of-things?utm_name=sked&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=sked_6ab5e94d547c31206e3afaaf

07/10/2026

Calling all jewellery lovers! We are honoured to have the works of Julie Blyfield–one of Australia's most revered metalsmiths–on display at Cairns Art Gallery.

JamFactory ICON, Julie Blyfield: Chasing a Passion showcases jewellery and meticulously crafted metal works inspired by Blyfield's experience of visiting the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.

JamFactory ICON, Julie Blyfield: Chasing a Passion is a JamFactory touring exhibition and runs until 22 Nov 2026 in the Public Curators Building

📷 JamFactory ICON: Julie Blyfield – Chasing a Passion, installation at Cairns Art Gallery, September 2026

https://www.cairnsartgallery.com.au/whats-on/exhibitions/julieblyfield?utm_name=sked&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=sked_6ac5ee0a9b5611acd85e2a2e

07/10/2026

Did you spot the artists from the Paradox of Things on the front page of the Cairns Post?! 👀

Join exhibiting artists Barbara Dover, Julie Poulsen and Jennifer Valmadre for a floor talk about their exhibition on Thursday 15 Oct at 5pm!

Happy Friday, FNQ ☀️Here's what's making headlines this morning. Subscribers can read their digital copy of the paper here: https://bit.ly/41tGPEF or on the Cairns Post app
(🍎Apple: https://apple.co/4ig5z97 🤖Android: https://bit.ly/41rrHX7)

06/10/2026

We are thrilled to be welcoming Tracey Moffatt AO as a special guest to the Cairns Art Gallery Foundation Dinner! Moffatt is one of Australia’s most significant contemporary artists and is renowned both nationally and internationally.

Working primarily in film and photographic media, Moffatt has held around 100 solo exhibitions of her work worldwide, and represented Australia at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017. She is best known for her use of powerful storytelling and artifice, often edged with both pain and humour.

Join Tracey Moffatt and the Cairns Art Gallery Foundation for the Annual Dinner on Saturday 24 October 2026 from 6.30pm to late.

$220 per person
$2200 / table of 10*

Book online

📸 Portrait of Tracey Moffatt, 2023. Photographer: Randal Arvilla


https://www.cairnsartgallery.com.au/whats-on/programs-events/2026AnnualDinner?utm_name=sked&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=sked_6abe093b6f62170a42491a53