Cairns Art Gallery

The 1936 Public Curators Building — terrazzo floors, stained glass, polished local timber — took 15 years of civic lobbying and $2 million to convert into Cairns' main public gallery, opening in 1995. Free entry. The programming leans into what's genuinely local: the art and living cultures of Far North Queensland, with dedicated collections in First Nations fibre, textiles and land.