Roy McIvor “I love my country” (detail) 2009 | Private Collection, Sydney
Our Shared Vision
The partnership between the Cairns Art Gallery and the Double R Arts Foundation that began in 2023 is unique. It is based on shared visions and goals and an enduring passion to enrich people’s lives through experiencing the power and wonderment of art.
Maljah Cathy Snow “BARRLIN – We ground” exhibition installation, Cairns Art Gallery, 2025
Shared project priority areas
Bring the best of Australian and international art to the region and take the region’s unique culture to the world.
Bring great art and artists to the region to inspire audiences, encourage critical dialogues and develop talent and ideas leadership.
Deliver outcomes of excellence for artists who live or work in, or who have cultural connection to the region, through exhibitions, acquisitions, commissions, artist-in-residencies, publications, and public engagement and professional development opportunities.
Support the professional development of art curators, writers, researchers and artworkers in the region.
“Skinship: Collection in Focus” exhibition installation, Cairns Art Gallery, 2025
Our support
Since 2023, the Double R Arts Foundation has supported local Queensland artists including Heather Koowootha, Jason Wegger, Maljah Cathy Snow and Christopher Bassi. These artists have received financial support from the Foundation to secure studio spaces, undertake research and travel, and learn new creative techniques leading to the creation of new works for public exhibition at the Cairns Art Gallery.
The artists
2024|2025
Maljah
Cathy Snow
Maljah Cathy Snow lives and works in Normanton. She is a self-taught artist whose works depict contemporary interpretations of her mother’s traditional stories.
Christopher
Bassi
Christopher Bassi is a Meriam and Yupungathi man with cultural ties to the Torres Strait and North Queensland. His works explore complex narratives of the histories of his family, as well as collective experiences of First Nations people in Queensland.
2023|2024
Heather
Koowootha
Heather is an established artist whose work speaks to the heart and has captured the imagination of audiences around Australia.
Jason
Wegger
Jason is an adventurous and imaginative artist who works across a range of media to explore notions of black identity in today’s contemporary world.