• Indigenous art pioneer dies
• Art Fair Director pays tribute

Cairns Indigenous Art Fair Artistic Director Avril Quaill said the passing of Elder, artist and stateswomen Tapich Gloria Fletcher AO was a sad day for the Australian arts community.

“I and many Indigenous artists of my generation were deeply inspired by her – not only by her art, but by her courage and great joy of life,” Ms Quaill.

“She continued to be an inspiration for younger generations through her educational courses on traditional culture and her commitment to pass on the old ways foods through dance, storytelling and art.

“In keeping with tradition, there will be a restriction on the speaking of her Aboriginal name, which translated, means flower of the wattle.

“We were incredibly lucky to have Tapich Gloria Fletcher as a patron for the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair in 2009 and 2010. Her presence at both these events made a huge difference for everyone.”

In the 1970s, while still under the jurisdiction of the  Queensland Aboriginal Protection Act, Tapich Gloria Fletcher was one of the first Aboriginal artists to travel from her ancestral country, a very remote community near Weipa, to enrol at, East Sydney Technical College. 

“She then went on to become totally engaged in the arts through advocacy and through her own work as a ceramicist,” said Ms Quaill. “Indeed she is one of Australia’s most awarded artists.” 

Establishing a pottery at Trinity Beach north of Cairns, Tapich Gloria Fletcher travelled extensively in Australia and abroad including Mexico, Canada and the USA.  She conducted regular art workshops and community camps for children visiting her ancestral lands, near Weipa in Cape York, teaching about her beloved country.

In later years she worked tirelessly with her agent to complete a dictionary of her beloved Thaynakwith language.

“Her major public art sculptures were recently unveiled at the entrance to the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, and in Queensland at the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal,” Ms Quaill said.

Tapich Gloria Fletcher was awarded an Order of Australia in 2005 and named a Queensland Great in 2008, acknowledging the significant role she played in the history and development of Queensland.

Ms Quaill said Tapich Gloria Fletcher’s memory will be cherished with the 2011 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair an opportunity to continue her commitment to the sharing of culture.

“It is apt that the 2011 event will be held at the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal, the location for one of her last pieces of artwork, the magical bronze sphere, lyndhik the moon and wini’henh the star, The Lovers.”

Tapich Gloria Fletcher was born in Napranum, near Weipa on the Western Cape York Peninsula, in 1937.

Images courtesy of urban art projects – www.uapstudio.com