Pop up shop puts First Nations artists front and centre of Mount Isa Rodeo

Posted: Tuesday 8 August 2023

First Nations artists from across the North West will be front and centre of the Mount Isa Rodeo as a pop up shop opens at a major tourism facility.

The Outback at Isa will host the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists Pop Up Shop from 1 to 26 August, with an official opening slated for 8 August.

The annual event showcases local artists and the rich cultural heritage of the North West Queensland region to the thousands of people who visit Mount Isa during rodeo week.

This year, rodeo-goers will have a chance to buy pieces from about 20 artists, including local sister collaboration Cungelella Art, who have a growing national and international profile.

The pop up shop has been developed in consultation with local artists and the Local Decision Making Body, a Queensland Government initiative that embraces self-determination and moves decision making closer to communities.

The shop is funded by the Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities, and the Arts to support First Nations artist business development and opportunities in North West Queensland.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists Pop Up Shop is open at Outback at Isa, 19 Marian St, The Gap, from 9.30am to 2.30pm Monday to Friday.

Quotes attributable to Jaunita Doyle from Cungelella Art:

“This is our fourth year showing at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists Pop Up Shop. We love entering and showcasing our work – there are no art centres or Indigenous-run art companies in Mount Isa and nowhere to keep promoting our art.

“Country and family are our inspiration. This year we will be presenting the following paintings: Kalkadoon Country, Jumbin Cungella Arts, Spinifex Crowns, New Season, Antbed burial, Kalkatungu Country, Kalkatungu Country 2.”

Quotes attributable to Cleavon Davis, Kalkadoon Traditional Owner and Local Decision Making Body member:

“The Local Decision Making Body (LDMB) is about addressing First Nations local voice, and what better way to do this than for local talent to express a voice through art and acknowledgement through their skills that have been practised for centuries.

“First Nations art expresses stories; stories of memories from a path of generations, which is moulded in a cultural perspective. The talent comes from our ancestry, a storytelling process which is linked to memories from our own family Elders and Elders we have looked up to in life.

“The pop up shop showcases the local talent in the North West Queensland region. It recognises that culture is still practised, acknowledges and respects each individual artist, provides inspiration for up-and-coming artists, and is healing for both the artists and the audience.

“The income from art sales will contribute to reducing the high cost of living and could influence behavioural change or lead to other opportunities for business growth in the arts sector.”

[ENDS] Media contact: media@dsdsatsip.qld.gov.au