UMI Arts - Freshwater Saltwater 2026

Freshwater Saltwater, UMI Arts’ signature annual exhibition, celebrates the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artistic practice across Far North Queensland. 

In 2026, the exhibition brings together fifteen senior and established artists whose works explore the interconnected relationships between freshwater and saltwater as cultural, environmental and lived systems. Featuring thirty-five works across a wide range of media, the exhibition reflects the diversity and vitality of traditional and contemporary First Nations artistic practice in the region.

The exhibition title reflects the connection of mainland Aboriginal custodians to freshwater systems and Torres Strait Islander peoples to saltwater  environments. Like rivers flowing toward the sea, Freshwater Saltwater becomes a metaphor for the meeting of stories, cultures and experiences across rainforest, desert and island landscapes.

Through a broad range of artistic practices — including acrylic painting, monotypes, mixed media works, woven dilly bags, Torres Strait Islander headdresses and contemporary reinterpretations of ceremonial masks — the exhibition presents perspectives that move between inherited traditions and contemporary expression. FWSW2026 embraces the fluid relationship between tradition and innovation, revealing First Nations cultures as living, adaptive and continually evolving. Like water itself, culture flows across 
generations, carrying stories, knowledge and enduring connections to Country and Sea Country.