A new Children's Health Queensland Arts in Health exhibition opening next month will highlight how the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair's On Country VIP Program is increasingly shaping public and institutional collecting of Aboriginal and Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait Islander art.

The exhibition set to open at 10 am on Thursday, 12 March, showcases recently acquired works for the Children's Health Queensland collection. The exhibition will be displayed in the Queensland Children's Hospital's Community Gallery on Level 2, Queensland Children's Hospital, 501 Stanley Street, South Brisbane.

The artworks were acquired over the past three years through Children's Health Queensland's Arts in Health program, following staff's participation in CIAF's On Country VIP Program.

CIAF Artistic Director Teho Ropeyarn said the acquisition demonstrates how CIAF is expanding its impact from a marketplace to a national cultural infrastructure and role as a pipeline between Aboriginal and Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait Islander artists, Country and enduring public collections.

"CIAF has always been about more than sales across four days in July. Rather, it is about relationships, education, and pathways that keep growing year after year," Mr Ropeyarn said.

"The On Country VIP Program was designed precisely for moments like this, where curators and collectors don't just see art, they experience the cultural context that gives it meaning.

"When that leads to acquisitions in public institutions like Children's Health Queensland, the benefits flow back to artists, communities, and audiences for generations."

CIAF's On Country VIP Program offers invited guests, including museum professionals, philanthropists, and institutional buyers, curated experiences with artists, Elders, and communities alongside the Art Fair.

CIAF said the program has become "a key mechanism for deepening cultural understanding, strengthening ethical collecting practices, and building enduring partnerships between Aboriginal and Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait Islander artists and public institutions".

Children's Health Queensland's Arts in Health Strategic Lead Lynne Seear said the program was instrumental in shaping her approach to curating the hospital's collection.

"Being on Country with CIAF transformed how I encountered these works, not just as objects for a collection, but as living expressions of culture, place and care," Ms Seear said.

"For Children's Health Queensland, acquiring First Nations art is about creating healing environments for children and families, while also ensuring that contemporary First Nations artists are meaningfully represented in public collections that will be seen by thousands of people each year."

The newly acquired works will form part of Children's Health Queensland's ongoing commitment to integrating Aboriginal and Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait Islander art into clinical and communal spaces, recognising the role of culture in wellbeing.

Over 40 artworks from more than 30 artists/art centre collaborations will be featured in the exhibition, including works by: Bernard Lee Singleton, Teneille Nuggins, Melanie Gibson, Gertie Deeral and Wanda Gibson (Hopevale Arts Centre), Erica Muriata, Nancy Beeron, Ninney Murray, George Beeron Snr, Charlotte Beeron (Girringun Arts Centre), Susan Peters Nampitjin (Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts), Sonya Creek, Cathy Snow, Selma Marrbarmarnya Hoosan, Phillip Denham, Daniel Beeron, Dylan Sarra (Mitchell Fine Art), Sam Harrison, Darren Blackman, Teho Ropeyarn and Brian Robinson (Onespace), Aidan Rowlingson, KS Savage, Netta Loogatha, Ivy Minniecon and Lara Fuji (Northsite Contemporary Arts), Melanie Hava, Libby Harward, Mylene Holroyd, Kim Ah Sam, Lex Namponan (Aurukun Arts Centre), and Paula Savage (Moa Arts).

Most recently, Cairns Airport unveiled a sculptural work by Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait Islander artist, Toby Cedar. The artist's large-scale contemporary outrigger canoe installation, which now serves as a cultural centrepiece of the airport's redevelopment, is seen by millions of visitors annually.

CIAF said the Cairns Airport acquisition underscores a broader trend: the Foundation is "increasingly catalysing high-profile, publicly accessible Aboriginal and Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait Islander artworks that travel far beyond the fair".

'Celebrating First Nations artworks in the Children's Health Queensland collection' will be officially opened at10am on Thursday, 12 March 2026, at the Community Gallery, Level 2, Queensland Children's Hospital, 501 Stanley Street, South Brisbane.