UMI Arts
UMI Arts is the peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and cultural organisation for Far North Queensland, an area that extends north of Cairns to include the Torres Strait Islands, south to Cardwell, west to Camooweal and includes the Gulf and Mt Isa regions.
UMI Arts is a not-for-profit company managed by an all-Indigenous Board of Directors and is based in Cairns Queensland.
Established in 2005, its mission is to operate an Indigenous organisation that assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to participate in the maintenance, preservation and protection of cultural identity.
It also operates as the Cairns Indigenous Art Centre in order to provide support for Indigenous artists who live and work in Cairns.
UMI Arts’ goal is to strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural practices, including visual arts and crafts, dance, ceremony, storytelling and music.
UMI is a Creole word that means ‘You and Me’ – for UMI Arts this is significant as we believe that we need to work together to keep our culture strong.