“Much of the work that’s made in the Territory is very inspired by place, culture, community and landscape,” says Darwin Festival director Kate Fell. She is speaking in relation to Kathryn Dwyer’s exhibition, Colour Conference, at the city’s Tactile Arts gallery—paintings defined by their colourful detail and exuberant depictions of the Northern Territory environment. “[Her] paintings look at light, colour and the birdlife up here, and very much have a sense of nature and place.”
Dwyer’s show is one among many gallery exhibitions part of this year’s festival, which, as ever, has a strong emphasis on the breadth of contemporary Indigenous art. “We work with all the galleries in Darwin, who curate their own exhibitions and become part of the festival,” says Fell, who notes that this year the focus is on pushing aesthetic form. “For example, Wurrandan Marawili at Outstation Gallery is using discarded road signs.”
Further standout shows include Yindjibarndi artist Wendy Hubert’s exhibition at Tactile, Ngurra Goonmardi; Matt Sav’s multidisciplinary exploration of masculinity in Deep Heat at UNTiTLED gallery+studio; and Rita & Julie at Coconut Studios, a collaborative show from painters Rita Kemarr Beasley and Julie Pwerl Beasley, who depict Country through inventive use of pointillism and playfully expressive brushwork.
A number of established events remain firmly in place. The Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAAs) are at the heart of the festival, while the SALON des Refusés at Darwin Waterfront, now in its 12th year, is another key showcase for First Nations art. A further much-loved annual event is the Tiwi exhibition Ngini Ngawula Pikaryingini (Our Stories).
Also central to the festival program is Untold, a series of “talks, events and First Nations-led conversations”, says Fell, that examine critical Indigenous issues and experiences, in both the Top End and beyond.
Darwin Festival
Various Darwin locations and galleries
8—25 August
This article was originally published in the July/August 2024 print edition of Art Guide Australia.
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