Creative Victoria is proud to introduce the Victorian First Peoples Art and Design Fair – a major new biennial event for Victoria to take place from 2025.
The fair will showcase, celebrate, and build the market for the extraordinary work of First Peoples artists and designers from Victoria. It will also enable networking, support artists and designers to expand their business practices, platform new ideas and bold new works, and strengthen the First Peoples creative industries here in Victoria.
An initiative of the Creative State 2025 strategy and driven by the Creative Victoria First Peoples Directions Circle, the Victorian First Peoples Art and Design Fair aims to promote and build the market for Victoria’s First People creatives across Australia and overseas.
The event will shine a light on the diverse and rich creative practices and culture of First Peoples throughout Victoria, while engaging the broader Victorian community and delivering economic benefits to First Peoples creatives.
To bring the Victorian First Peoples Art and Design Fair to life, Creative Victoria has appointed Janina Harding as Senior Project Manager.
We welcome Janina back to Naarm, her birthplace, to take on this important role. A strong Meriam woman from the Torres Strait Islands, Janina brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, most recently as artistic director of the Cairns Art Fair for 8 years. She has also been a champion for First Peoples Creative Industries here in Victoria, having spent 13 years in programming arts and cultural events for the City of Melbourne.
Over the coming year Janina and her small team at Creative Victoria will spend their time building the capacity of artists and designers by ensuring they have culturally safe spaces to create, workshop ideas, upskill and produce museum standard work.
Creative Victoria would like to thank members of the First Peoples Directions Circle for bringing their vision and determination to this game-changing initiative, highlighting the need for the Victorian First Peoples Art and Design Fair and the opportunities it will create.
Continue to check this page for updates about the fair as it develops