Darwin Festival 2019 Annual Review

2019 ANNUAL REVIEW

DARWINFESTIVAL.ORG.AU

01.

Festival Park Connor Askham

CONTENTS 2019 AT A GLANCE

4

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS

6

OUR AUDIENCE

8

OUR STORY

10

40 YEARS OF DARWIN FESTIVAL

13

FESTIVAL PARK & THE VICTORIA SPIEGELTENT

14

FIRST NATIONS

16

INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT

19

NT ARTISTS

20

THEATRE & DANCE

22

MUSIC

24

CABARET & COMEDY

27

VISUAL ARTS

28

FREE, FAMILY & FILM

29

EDUCATION PROGRAM

30

MARKETING & MEDIA

32

PARTNERS

36

FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL

41

VOLUNTEERS

42

SECTOR ENGAGEMENT

43

ECONOMIC IMPACT

46

SOCIAL IMPACT

47

ACCESSIBILITY

48

SUSTAINABILITY

49

FESTIVAL TEAM

50

Darwin Festival takes place on the land of the Larrakia people. We wish to pay our respects to the traditional owners of this Country and to their ancestors. As the Festival welcomes contemporary artists and art from around the world, we also celebrate the continuing culture of the Larrakia.

CONTENTS

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

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2019 AT A GLANCE

18

107 65%

ticketed shows sold out

219 50,545 33

out of 165 ticketed shows

$37.93 average ticket price

performances across

venues

total sold out performances

tickets sold

2018 44,191

2017 36,669

148,045 attendances

(^42,867 attendances on 2018 with a 41% increase)

609 ARTISTS Darwin Festival was delivered by

112 126 employees

volunteers

50%

306 participants Northern Territory

42%

254 participants Interstate

8%

49 participants International

80

corporate partners, foundations and funders

Net Promoter Score

34,937 visitor nights generated

85.3

$14M

total economic impact estimated total direct and indirect spend for 2019

01.

Festival Park Elise Derwin

2019 AT A GLANCE

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a performance index out of 100.

5

CELEBRATING 40 FABULOUS YEARS This year we invited audiences to join us in a special celebration of Darwin Festival’s 40th anniversary. With thanks to the strong support of our community, we proudly presented a third consecutive record-breaking Darwin Festival, with the 2019 Festival the most successful in our 40-year history.

More than 148,000 people attended the 2019 Darwin Festival to celebrate our city. An incredible 107 of 165 ticketed shows sold out and new box office records were set with 50,545 tickets sold, smashing the previous record of 44,191 tickets sold in 2018. Our loyal Friends of the Festival showered us with love this year, with a record 463 members enjoying the ultimate Friendly festival experience.

With support from the Northern Territory Government through Turbocharging Tourism 2, we extended the duration of our national digital marketing campaign.

This year’s campaign resulted in 25,220,534 impressions, 121,159 click-throughs to the Darwin Festival website and 993 direct ticket bookings from interstate and international visitors planning their journey to the Festival. One in five visitors originated from outside the Territory, with local and visiting audiences generating $14 million for the Darwin economy and 34,937 bed nights.

We proudly continue to innovate our services to the community. We introduced a new user-friendly website and ticketing system allowing patrons to book their tickets instantly with ease. We increased our focus on audience and artist accessibility, forging new community connections to strengthen our accessibility activities. And we introduced keep-cups at bars and a four-bin recycling system, including food scraps composting, in collaboration with our sustainability partners Sterling NT and Organic AG to support our move towards a greener event.

Winner Best Major Festivals & Events 2018 Darwin Festival

Finalist Best Major Festivals & Events 2018 Darwin Festival

Darwin Festival continued to provide career development opportunities and platforms for Territory artists, with 306 NT artists featured in this year’s program. Our sector development program, Front Row, returned for a second successful year, delivering critical engagement workshops for a new cohort of Territory arts practitioners. The 2019 NT Artists Expressions of Interest Program generated a record 43 submissions, resulting in 11 projects presented in this year’s Festival.

We strive to achieve a bigger, better and brighter Festival for our community every year, to attract interstate and international visitors and to shine brightly on the national events calendar. We are only able to do so with the support of our partners.

We would like to thank our Principal Partner, the Northern Territory Government, and our Local Government Partner, the City of Darwin.

To our 80 corporate, foundation and funding partners – you make Darwin Festival possible. Thank you for your investment and belief in us, with thanks in particular to our Partner in Excellence Darwin International Airport.

Thank you to our 126 volunteers proudly supported

by Power and Water. It was a pleasure to see your smiling faces shine in lime this year! Thank you to our vendors and suppliers, and thank you to the artists who delighted, shocked, enthralled and amazed us night after hot August night under the northern stars.

Thank you to our chair, Ian Kew, and the Board for their advocacy and support.

And thank you to our 112 full-time and seasonal staff. Thank you for your teamwork and talent. Our ongoing success is a credit to your passion, vision and commitment. You make the magic happen.

Here’s to 40 more.

Emily Mann CEO

Felix Preval Artistic Director

Winner 2019 Best Live Event in the NT Darwin Festival

01.

Yummy Elise Derwin

CELEBRATING 40 FABULOUS YEARS

“This year’s program was exceptional with a great focus on Indigenous works but with a good mix of other cultures.

The content made me laugh, cry, think, feel and gave me heaps to talk about.”

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OUR AUDIENCE

AUDIENCE ORIGIN

63%

7%

Palmerston

20%

6%

Darwin Rural Area

Darwin

1%

From another Australian State or ACT

2%

Elsewhere in the NT

From another Country

*Rounding to nearest whole number has been applied

76%

GENDER

1%

Women

23%

Gender Diverse

Men

DARWIN FESTIVAL ATTENDANCE BREAKDOWN BY AGE 15-24

4%

25-34

20%

35-44

19%

45-54

21%

55-64

23%

65-74

10%

75+

2%

Prefer not to say

1%

72% TOP 3 REASONS FOR ATTENDING DARWIN FESTIVAL

of Festival-goers have been to Darwin Festival in prior years

1

To see acts that don’t usually come to Darwin

AVERAGE VISITOR ATTENDED 4.8 DAYS

14%

2

are long term Festival supporters having attended prior to 2003

To spend quality time with family members and friends

3

To relax or escape

Darwin

76% LOCAL 63% Darwin 7% Palmerston 6% Darwin rural area

5 DAYS Local The % of local audiences who have lived in the Northern Territory more than 10 years

The % of local audiences who want to see spectacular high quality events that do not otherwise come to Darwin The % of local audiences who attended to see acts that do not usually come to Darwin

45% 61% 75%

VS.

AVERAGE DAYS ATTENDED

CONNECTION TO NORTHERN TERRITORY

MOTIVATION

23% VISITING 20% Interstate 2% Overseas 1% Intra-Territory

4.4 DAYS Interstate 2.6 DAYS Overseas 3.1 DAYS Intra-Territory

4% 61% 35%

The % of visiting audiences who have lived in the Northern Territory previously

The % of interstate audiences who want to see Indigenous/First Nations events The % of interstate audiences who attended to learn about or celebrate cultural heritage

8.8 days Average time visiting audiences spent in Darwin for the Festival 8.9 DAYS Interstate 10.3 DAYS Overseas 6.6 DAYS Intra-Territory

13%

01.

Festival Park Connor Askham

OUR AUDIENCE

of visiting audiences extended their stay for an average of 5.3 days so they could attend Darwin Festival

9

OUR STORY Darwin Festival, Australia’s most northern and only tropical arts festival, was born out of the devastation of Cyclone Tracy, which tore through Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974 destroying more than 70% of Darwin’s buildings.

As rebuilding progressed, in 1977 the Northern Territory Director of Health Dr Charles Gurd suggested celebrating the town’s revival with a festival that would draw the community together and reflect the optimism of those determined to rebuild. The inaugural Bougainvillea Festival was held 40 years ago in July 1979, on the first anniversary of the granting of self-government for the Northern Territory.

In the early years, the Bougainvillea Festival featured events such as the Bougainvillea Queen of Quests competition, home garden contests, a Grand Parade with floats and decorated bikes, sporting events, birdman rally and a mardi gras.

In the 1990s, the Festival changed focus with a greater emphasis on community arts and cultural performances. In recognition of Darwin’s

distinctive multicultural population, Indigenous communities and Asia Pacific cultural groups were encouraged to become more involved.

In 1996, the annual celebration changed its name to the Festival of Darwin before evolving once again in 2003 to Darwin Festival, to better reflect its growing local and national status. Darwin Festival established itself as a multi-arts festival presenting a variety of works that reflected Darwin’s unique cultural mix.

In 2004, Darwin Festival was invited to join the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals, engaging in closer dialogue with the other major Australian multi-arts festivals and commencing presentation of international works.

2009 saw significant changes and new initiatives within the Festival, including the expansion of events into the city centre through the establishment of the now much-loved Festival Park precinct, the creation of The Lighthouse – the Festival’s own unique purpose-built venue – and the introduction of an annual call-out for Northern Territory artists to submit proposals for consideration in the Festival program, an unusual initiative for a curated arts festival.

01.

Increasing in size and scale, in 2019 the Festival recorded its biggest year ever for its 40th anniversary celebrations, attracting 148,045 attendances and $14 million to the Northern Territory economy.

A vibrant arts and cultural event with a broad, dynamic and innovative program, the Festival is presented in spectacular outdoor venues that take advantage of Darwin’s blissful dry season weather.

The Festival reflects Darwin’s position at the Top End of Australia, its unique Indigenous and multicultural population, and its close proximity to Asia, while at the same time showcasing some of Australia’s finest performers.

OUR STORY

01.

Festival Park Elise Derwin 02.

Archie Roach Elise Derwin 02.

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03.

01.

Drumming Up the Storm Connor Askham

02.

Festival Park Elise Derwin

03.

Bougainvillea Festival Graeme Cheater and Gaynor Lovett Collections courtesy of Northern Territory Library

01.

40 YEARS OF DARWIN FESTIVAL MARKING TIME, MAKING PLACE Darwin Festival burst into August taking audiences on a wildly colourful 18-day celebration of 40 years of artistic adventure and community resilience. More than 148,000 attendees enjoyed the stellar line-up of events that acknowledged the history of the Festival and the spirit of community strength that remains its heart.

The tone for a grand celebration was set from the start as Northern Territory music icons Yothu Yindi lit up the Santos Opening Night Concert with their much-loved mix of traditional culture and blistering Aussie rock. Supporting artists Adrian Eagle and Caiti Baker got young and old up on their feet and made the night one to remember for another 40 years.

The Festival closing celebration, Drumming Up the Storm, was a truly memorable event and beautifully embodied the spirit of community strength and resilience at the heart of Darwin Festival. In the months leading up to the Festival, 40 Pacific-style log drums were carved from African Mahogany trees felled in 2018 by Cyclone Marcus – the most devastating cyclone to hit Darwin since Cyclone Tracy near decimated the city in 1974. Led by master drummer and long-time Darwin resident Airileke Ingram, the project saw 40 local drummers learn and perform the mass drumming extravaganza, an act made particularly special by the many young participants and the inter-generational transmission of cultural knowledge.

Across four decades Darwin audiences have surrendered themselves to a wonderful voyage, and the 2019 Festival has become an important milestone on that trip, creating memories that will last long after the season ceases. Here’s to 40 more!

40 YEARS OF DARWIN FESTIVAL

With the hyper-coloured cheeky lime green and hot pink Bougainvillea seasonal branding – honouring our origins as the Bougainvillea Festival – 1979 was never far from Festival-goers mind. This nod to the early years was best encapsulated by local artist Huni Bolliger’s nostalgic animated film work Parade Days, commissioned

by Darwin Festival and celebrating the Bougainvillea Festival’s Grand Parade. Using archival images from the NT Library and NT News collections, as well as from

contributions made by the community, the film brought new life to old images and captured the spirit of those early years in all their anarchic glory. Long-time Darwin residents took great pleasure in spotting themselves and friends in the work each night at Festival Park.

02.

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FESTIVAL PARK

THE HEART OF THE FESTIVAL Our biggest year ever drew huge crowds to our Festival hub. Patrons engaged with dozens of different performances and art installations – both free and ticketed – and ate, drank and shared their experiences with one another amidst the buzzing excitement and sparkling festoon.

RIMFIRE ENERGY BAMBOO BANDSTAND

Opened with a Welcome to Country with Aunty Bilawara Lee, Festival Park offered international cuisine from some of Darwin’s best culinary experts and drinks from the Coopers Garden Bar. Festival vendor Trampoline Gelato created two special flavours fit for our 40th celebration. The Lighthouse was transformed again with a stunning mural by Larrakia artist Shaun Lee and adorned by an animated ode to the Festival’s origins with Parade Days. Plus, our mini festival for mini humans - emBARK! - captivated the young people.

Emma Rowe

A slew of local bands and musical ensembles took to the Park’s free music stage, the Rimfire Energy Bamboo Bandstand, while community dance groups brought life, laughter and more than a little audience participation to the Park on weekends at sunset with Dancing in the Park.

From the thrilling acrobatic antics of Formosa Circus Arts’ Puzzle 拼圖, to the enchantingly surreal inflatable installation work Blue Air, and a bold program of comedy, cabaret, theatre and music in The Lighthouse, Brown’s Mart Theatre and Happy Yess: the city centre sparkled, keeping Festival audiences enthralled each night.

Alice Strings BB Sabina Bridey Rose Crystal Melodies

Katharina Fehringer Kolors Kyle Maher Mango Unchained Patsy Coleman Rachel Rachel Swing Dry Taiwan in the Park Topology World Mix Band

DANCING IN THE PARK Arpaka Dance Team Formosa Dance Studio Sing Song Signers Tiwi Strong Women's Choir

OUR 2019 TRADERS Bamboo Lounge Cucina Sotto Le Stelle Damasquino CafĂŠ & Restaurant 04.

Hanuman Jerry’s Smokehouse Little Miss Korea Needle In A Haystack Trampoline

03.

THE VICTORIA SPIEGELTENT Sold-out performances were standard fare at the glamorous Victoria Spiegeltent on The Esplanade with the show-stopping, cork-popping Blanc de Blanc Encore presented by Strut & Fret Production House in association with Darwin Festival.

02.

Victoria Spiegeltent Elise Derwin

03.

Hanuman Elise Derwin

04.

Needle in a Haystack Elise Derwin

The site, just a short walk from Festival Park, featuring Korean-inspired delights by Little Miss Korea and a dedicated G.H Mumm champagne bar, teemed with life each night as record-breaking crowds made merry of the cool dry season evenings.

FESTIVAL PARK & THE VICTORIA SPIEGELTENT

01.

Festival Park Elise Derwin

Increased seating capacity within the new tent was matched by an eager audience with a demand for highquality entertainment delivered with Festival flair! More than 12,600 ticket holders dived head-first into a party of Gatsby-esque proportions across the 22-show run.

01.

02.

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FIRST NATIONS CELEBRATING CULTURE

Diverse, powerful and engaging, with performances across almost every genre of the program, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists gave voice to brave ideas, staked claim to space, identity and culture, and invited conversation with patience and heart.

Two thrilling solo theatre works, Ghenoa Gela’s My Urrwai and Jacob Boehme’s Blood On The Dance Floor, combined traditional and contemporary dance with personal storytelling to incredible effect, unpacking complex contemporary Indigenous identity, stigma and racism. Pre-eminent dance theatre company Bangarra celebrated their own milestone year with 30 Years of Sixty Five Thousand to a sold-out crowd in the Playhouse Theatre at Darwin Entertainment Centre.

Pressing issues facing Australian Indigenous communities framed two further headline theatre pieces. Declan Furber Gillick’s Bighouse Dreaming tackled youth incarceration in Australia head-on, leaving audiences breathless and on their feet with applause.

The delicate and devastating subject of youth suicide in Indigenous communities played out on stage with Legs On The Wall’s physical theatre performance Man With The Iron Neck. Darwin Festival secured special funds in 2019 to ensure 100 free tickets and subsidised community-price tickets could be allocated to local community groups to see this landmark production.

Powerful female Indigenous music stars Mojo Juju and Kaiit bookended The Lighthouse music program, and national icon Archie Roach gifted an intimate evening of story and song that will long be treasured.

Local Indigenous music acts Tjungu, Mambali and Yothu Yindi enjoyed capacity crowds and showcased the strength of cultural practice in the Northern Territory.

Alongside cornerstone events the National Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Awards, the National Indigenous Music Awards and Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Darwin Festival remains a proud leader in the presentation of work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, a programming focus that reflects the centrality of Aboriginal culture to life in the Northern Territory and that shapes the identity of the Festival itself.

Darwin Festival curated work by First Nations artists from New Zealand, Taiwan and Canada. Māori music chameleon Troy Kingi brought his latest project with a deep ‘70s reggae sound to The Lighthouse, eager to engage with both the political message of his newest album and the unique Kiwi flavour of the groove. Taiwan In the Park showcased the work of three First Nations Taiwanese artists in a joyous takeover of Festival Park that had the night buzzing with life and culture, and support from the Canada High Commission enabled a diverse program of Canadian arts and performance.

First Nations Exchange residency artist Leela Gilday wrote a soaring new folk ballad in three languages with Groote Eylandt-born singer Emily Wurramara, together winning hearts in their Sunday evening concert in The Lighthouse. Film work Indian Horse proved powerful and informative, while VR work Biidaaban: First Light gave a spine-tingling glimpse at a post-climate apocalypse Toronto re-occupied by First Peoples.

INTERNATIONAL FIRST NATIONS Aulu Tjibulangan (DANCE, TAIWAN) Puzzle

(CIRCUS, TAIWAN)

Indian Horse (FILM, CANADA) Kacalisian - Taiwan in the Park (MUSIC, TAIWAN) Leela Gilday (MUSIC, CANADA) Sorong Samarai (MUSIC, PNG AND WEST PAPUA) Suming - Taiwan in the Park (MUSIC, TAIWAN) Troy Kingi (MUSIC, NZ)

01.

02.

AUSTRALIAN FIRST NATIONS 36th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (VISUAL ARTS) Aborigi-LOL (COMEDY) Ali Mills (MUSIC) Archie Roach (MUSIC) Arpaka Dance Team (DANCE) Bangarra Dance Theatre (DANCE) Bighouse Dreaming (THEATRE) Bilawara Lee (MUSIC) Blood on the Dancefloor (THEATRE/DANCE) Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (VISUAL ARTS) Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair - From Country to Couture (VISUAL ARTS) Dhambit Mununggurr (VISUAL ARTS) Emily Wurramara (MUSIC) Kaiit (MUSIC) Lena Kellie (MUSIC) Mambali (MUSIC) Man With The Iron Neck (THEATRE) Mojo Juju (MUSIC) My Urrwai (THEATRE) Myrtle Pennington: Witamin (VISUAL ARTS) National Indigenous Music Awards (MUSIC) Patsy Coleman (MUSIC) Pupuni Jilmara Nginingwula (VISUAL ARTS) Refugia (VISUAL ARTS) Rikina! (VISUAL ARTS) Selected: Men from Spinifex Country (VISUAL ARTS) Shaun Lee (VISUAL ARTS) Sunday at CDU (WORDS & IDEAS) Tiwi Strong Women's Choir (MUSIC) Tjungu (MUSIC)

01.

Santos Opening Night Concert Elise Derwin

02.

Santos Opening Night Concert Elise Derwin

FIRST NATIONS

Yothu Yindi (MUSIC)

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INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT BRIDGING WORLDS

With the generous support of the Playking Foundation and Jetstar Asia, Phare, The Cambodian Circus, made their way to the Top End for the first time with their acrobatic extravaganza Eclipse. Heart-warming, hilarious and edge-of-your-seat entertaining, the 17 members of Phare won new fans aplenty. Rounding out the performances hailing from Cambodia over the opening weekend, Khmer folk-rock pioneers Kampot Playboys had Darwin Railway Club pumping with their unique fusion of traditional instruments and rock ‘n’ roll swagger.

Taiwan’s leading contemporary circus company Formosa Circus Art popped up across the city with free family friendly performances. Puzzle 拼圖 proved hugely popular, with hundreds flocking to Festival Park, Mindil Beach Markets and Casuarina Square to watch the boys bound and balance atop their teetering tower of metal cubes. Their performance at Festival Park was complemented by an evening of free music and dance from visiting First Nations Taiwanese artists, including Taiwanese superstar Suming, Kacalisian and local Taiwanese dancers in the all-night Festival Park takeover Taiwan in the Park.

With thanks to the Goethe Institut, the world’s best hand drummer, Iranian musician Mohammad Reza Mortazavi, enthralled audiences in The Lighthouse.

Mexico’s Gabriela Muñoz had Happy Yess audiences

01.

Perhaps, Perhaps… Quizás Andrea Lopez

02.

Phare Circus Elise Derwin

in stitches with her heart-wrenching yet hilarious clown piece Perhaps, Perhaps… Quizás, supported

by Embassy of Mexico in Australia, and one of Ireland’s most exciting emerging theatre companies, Malaprop Theatre, questioned what happens when the machines we love so much start to love us back in LOVE+.

Aulu Tjibulangan (TAIWAN) Biidaaban: First Light (CANADA) Blanc de Blanc Encore (VARIOUS) Eclipse (CAMBODIA) Puzzle

(TAIWAN)

Guru of Chai (NZ) Kacalisian - Taiwan in the Park (TAIWAN) Kampot Playboys (CAMBODIA) Leela Gilday (CANADA) LOVE+ (IRELAND) Mohammad Reza Mortazavi (IRAN) Perhaps, Perhaps… Quizás (MEXICO) Sorong Samarai (INDONESIA, PNG, WEST PAPUA) Suming - Taiwan in the Park (TAIWAN) Troy Kingi (NZ)

03.

Sorong Samarai Elise Derwin

04.

Taiwan in the Park Connor Askham

INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT

A vibrant international program saw artists from Cambodia, Canada, Iran, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan and West Papua bring music, stories and passion to enthusiastic Darwin Festival audiences.

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01.

NORTHERN TERRITORY ARTISTS INNOVATION AND INSPIRATION Darwin Festival proudly provides a high-profile national platform for Northern Territory artists to showcase their talent alongside the best in national and international touring work. With 306 Northern Territory artists and performers featured in the 2019 program, it is clear artistic practice is thriving in the Territory.

Innovation and inspiration marked the local works in this year’s program. Story Projects presented Festival favourite SPUN: Entwined, supported by Carers NT, once again proving essential viewing for those wishing to hear Territory stories told live and true, and a new audio-theatre work Birds Eye View: Prison Stories that took audiences into the lives of women behind bars, the moving content underscored by the experiential setting of the historic Fannie Bay Gaol.

Local innovation in storytelling was perhaps most apparent in Darwin-based artist Caro MacDonald’s Storm Dog – a 360-degree film for VR headset. This novel work provided the catalyst for the Festival to present a suite of 360/VR film works curated around the themes of climate change and First Nations

01.

Birds Eye View Nichole Taylor

02.

Amy Hetherington Elise Derwin

perspectives. The program Shifting Realities proved immensely popular with curious crowds of every age, eager to take up the new technology.

Two of the Festival’s major dance works came from Territory companies. Darwin’s Tracks Dance presented their latest large-scale, site-specific work, Global Positioning – a raucous romp through local history, taking over various sites in the CBD. New Alice Springs-based contemporary dance ensemble GUTS Dance brought their major work The Perception Experiment to Darwin for the first time. Innovative and aesthetically bold, GUTS prove dance in the Territory is on the pulse.

Music remains the strongest genre for local participation with talent from every corner of the Territory. Local Indigenous artists took centre stage from Festival openers Yothu Yindi to rising stars of Numbulwar, Mambali. Cross-cultural project Tjungu: All In One, Joined Together saw former Warumpi bandmates reunite for an evening of song and story. Local musos took over The Lighthouse with an epic ode to Tarantino’s classic in the sold-out Parap Fiction. The local all-star lineup had the crowd up and dancing from the first riff.

03.

Parap Ficton Elise Derwin 03.

Ali Mills

Mambali

Alice Strings

Mango Unchained

Amy Hetherington: Where They Hide The Crazy

Panic Bruss

BB Sabina

Parade Days: Huni Bolliger

Ben Evolent

Parap Fiction

Bighouse Dreaming

Patsy Coleman

Birds Eye View: Prison Stories

Rachel Rachel

Bridey Rose City of Darwin Teddy Bears’ Picnic

Santos Opening Night Concert: Caiti Baker, Yothu Yindi

Club Awi: Groove is in the Heat (‘90s Night)

Serina Pech

Club Awi: Sweet Sissi

Spun: Entwined

Club Awi: Tropidelica

Stevie Jean

Corrugated Iron Youth Arts

Team Fun

Crystal Melodies

Thai Kids Club

Dancing in the Park: Formosa Dance Studio

The Dukes: Darwin Ukelele Kollective

Dancing in the Park: Sing Song Signers

The Epicphannys

Dancing in the Park: Tiwi Strong Women's Choir

The Perception Experiment, GUTS Dance

Drumming Up The Storm

Topology

DSO: 30th Anniversary Gala

Transforming the Lighthouse: Shaun Lee

emBARK!

Welcome to Country: Bilawara Lee

Emma Rowe

World Mix Band

Fairy Jill Global Positioning, Tracks Dance Company Hot n Cold Band Hyper the Clown Jigsaw Collective Katharina Fehringer Kolors Kyle Maher Lena Kellie Lilla Wellington

NORTHERN TERRITORY ARTISTS

Lisa Pellegrino

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FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

THEATRE & DANCE World-premiere productions led by Northern Territory artists alongside national and international presentations kept audiences enraptured till the curtains closed.

In the Studio Theatre at Darwin Entertainment Centre, audiences were transported to modern-day India with a one-man show adapting a classic Indian fairytale to the mad bustle of modernity in Guru of Chai. Arena Theatre Co’s Air Race, based on and coinciding with the 100-year anniversary of the famous Air Race from London to Darwin, enjoyed a popular run with its unique ability to connect history, aviation and music, delivered in an engaging, modern and clever theatre work.

In every Festival-goers favourite theatre, Brown’s Mart, intimate works Blood on the Dance Floor, My Urrwai and Bighouse Dreaming confronted audiences with real themes and personal experiences, ultimately uplifting us with life-affirming storytelling. Last Great Hunt’s New Owner appealed to both adults and children alike with its tale of loss, friendship and new beginnings, topped off with real puppies available for soothing cuddles from supporting partner RSPCA following the matinee performance.

THEATRE

DANCE

Air Race, Arena Theatre Co Bighouse Dreaming, A Declan Furber Gillick Yarn

30 Years of Sixty Five Thousand, Bangarra Dance Theatre

Birds Eye View: Prison Stories, StoryProjects

Aulu Tjibulangan

Guru of Chai, Indian Ink Theatre

Blood on the Dancefloor, Jacob Boehme

LOVE+, Malaprop Theatre

Dancing in the Park: Arpaka Dance Team

Man With The Iron Neck, Legs On The Wall

Dancing in the Park: Formosa Dance Studio

My Urrwai, Ghenoa Gela

Dancing in the Park: Sing Song Signers

New Owner, Last Great Hunt

Dancing in the Park: Tiwi Strong Women's Choir

Perhaps, Perhaps… Quizás, Gabriela Muñoz

Global Positioning, Tracks Dance Company The Perception Experiment, GUTS Dance

01.

Man With The Iron Neck Elise Derwin

02.

The Perception Experiment Elise Derwin

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03.

Guru of Chai Elise Derwin

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

03.

04.

My Urrwai David Charles Collins

01.

04.

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FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

MUSIC In 2019 Darwin Festival presented a diverse and engaging music program that bridged genres, shifted expectations and got the party started night after night.

Classical music lovers had much to celebrate as the Festival opened with Opera Australia’s sumptuous production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, with a chorus of local students delighting all who attended. Darwin Symphony Orchestra marked their 30th Anniversary in grand style celebrating our Territory home with the truly stunning new commission Yuwani by Lachlan Skipworth and Don Nunggarrgalu. From the epic to the intimate, Persian classical percussionist extraordinaire Mohammad Reza Mortazavi kept a sold-out Lighthouse crowd entranced with his two hands alone.

Rock, hip hop, R&B, indie, folk, reggae, electronic, soul, pop – the eclectic range of genres across the contemporary music program spoke to the diversity and vibrancy of the line-up. Melbourne indie-rock upstarts Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever had Darwin up and dancing, while Alice Springs electro duo No Mono left a strong impression with their heavy beats and soaring voices. Cash Savage and the Last Drinks showed that Aussie rock is far from dead, while Emily Wurramara and Leela Gilday graced audiences with heartfelt folk in three languages. Darwin Festival rocked out across the final weekend to classic soul and surf rock with Parap Fiction, Kaiit’s unique and deeply groovy brand of neo-soul, and finally to the thumping urban beats of Papua New Guinea and West Papua with Sorong Samarai – a gig that left the final Festival audience staggering into the night buzzing with delight and already awaiting the 2020 program.

01.

Mambali Elise Derwin

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Sorong Samarai Elise Derwin

01.

Alice Strings (NT)

MANE & Stevie Jean (AUS/NT)

Archie Roach (AUS)

Mango Unchained (NT)

BB Sabina (NT)

Mohammad Reza Mortazavi (IRAN)

Bridey Rose (NT)

Mojo Juju (AUS)

Cash Savage and the Last Drinks (AUS)

National Indigenous Music Awards (AUS)

Club Awi: Grind Finale (AUS)

No Mono (AUS)

Club Awi: Groove is in the Heat (‘90s Night) (NT)

Parap Fiction (NT)

Club Awi: Sweet Sissi (AUS)

Patsy Coleman (NT)

Club Awi: The Firestarter (AUS)

Rachel Rachel (NT)

Club Awi: Awi (Everyone) with Soju Gang (AUS)

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (AUS)

Club Awi: Tropidelica (NT)

Santos Opening Night Concert: Adrian

Crystal Melodies (NT)

Eagle, Caiti Baker, Yothu Yindi (AUS)

Drumming Up The Storm (NT)

Sorong Samarai (AUS, PNG, WEST PAPUA)

DSO: 30th Anniversary Gala (NT)

Swing Dry (NT)

Emma Rowe (NT)

Taiwan in the Park: Etan Pavavalung

Greta Stanley & Serina Pech (AUS/NT)

& Suming (TAIWAN)

Kaiit (AUS)

TEK TEK & Panic Bruss (AUS/NT)

Kampot Playboys & The Epicphannys (AUS/NT)

The Goon Sax & Ben Evolent (AUS/NT)

Katharina Fehringer (NT)

Tjungu (NT)

Kolors (NT)

Topology (AUS)

Kyle Maher (NT)

Troy Kingi (NZ)

Leela Gilday & Emily Wurramara (CANADA/NT)

Ukulele Death Squad & Jigsaw Collective (AUS/NT)

Madama Butterfly (AUS)

World Mix Band (NT)

02.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Mambali (NT)

25

01.

02.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

CABARET, COMEDY & CIRCUS 01.

Meow Meow Elise Derwin

Audiences filled venue after venue clamouring to see the very best Australian and international comedy, cabaret and circus. Be they naughty or nice, quirky or outrageous, each artist found an audience at the Festival ready to be entertained.

02.

Neon Connor Askham 03.

Blanc de Blanc Encore Elise Derwin

Australian comedy legends Wil Anderson, Tom Gleeson and Nazeem Hussain had audiences rolling in the aisles, as did Cal Wilson with her quirky riffs on modern life and Damien Power with his philosophical musings on manhood. Rising stars of Aboriginal comedy Dane Simpson and Matt Ford brought belly laughs to many, and local comedy legend Amy Hetherington was so popular two additional shows were added.

The Victoria Spiegeltent, with its old-world glamour, was a fitting venue for the Festival’s headline cabaret season of Blanc de Blanc Encore. This sizzling sequel picked up where 2017’s Blanc de Blanc left off, and Darwin Festival audiences were all too happy to climb back on board the whirling, sparkling, sizzling ode to everything that bubbles. The stellar international cast of cabaret and circus stars drew 12,600 audience members across the 22-show run.

International queen of cabaret Meow Meow made a triumphant return to the Festival, while new-kidson-the-block YUMMY made such an impression with their non-stop mashup of drag, cabaret, circus and voguing that an extra late-night show had to be added to keep up with demand. Fringe Wives Club delivered fiercely funny sex-positive feminist cabaret in The Lighthouse with their show Glittery Clittery: A CONsensual Party and Leah Shelton’s Bitch on Heat was as provocative as its title suggests.

COMEDY

CABARET & CIRCUS

Aborigi-LOL (AUS)

Blanc de Blanc Encore (VARIOUS)

Amy Hetherington: Where They Hide The Crazy (NT)

Glittery Clittery: A CONsensual Party (AUS)

Damien Power: Man Puts His Dreams In A Sock (AUS) Jude Perl: I Have A Face (AUS) Nazeem Hussain: Basic Idiot (AUS) Tom Gleeson: Joy (AUS) Wil Anderson: Wilegal (AUS)

03.

Meow Meow (AUS) YUMMY (AUS) Bitch on Heat (AUS) Eclipse (CAMBODIA) Puzzle

(TAIWAN)

NEON, Circus Oz (AUS)

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Cal Wilson: Gifted Underachiever (AUS)

27

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

01.

02.

VISUAL ARTS The 2019 Darwin Festival visual arts program was a thriving mix of Northern Territory art, Indigenous work from art centres and exciting public exhibitions.

36th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory Behind the Wire, Fannie Bay Gaol

Salon Art Projects presented six curated exhibitions across Darwin galleries, including the sixth Salon des Refusés exhibiting works submitted to, but not accepted for, the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. Now in its 36th year, the NATSIAAs again placed the Northern Territory at the centre of the national conversation about First Nations arts practice.

Biidaaban: First Light, Charles Darwin University Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Darwin Convention Centre Marvel at the Moon and Stars with MAGNT, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory Old Darwin, Mayfair Gallery Pupuni Jilmara Nginingwula (Our Beautiful Paintings), Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Esplanade Darwin

Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair built on the previous years’ success with record attendees at the Fair and two fashion shows, From Country to Couture.

This year, Melbourne fashion label Gorman collaborated with Mangkaja Arts Collection to showcase 40 looks featuring the artwork of artists from Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia.

Refugia, Nan Giese Gallery Rod Moss: White Man You Are Surrounded, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art Shifting Realities, Festival Park

Blue Air, a vibrant collection of giant inflatables, exploded with colour in Festival Park, drawing Festival Park attendees in for an unmissable selfie opportunity.

Still Lives - A Beautiful Science, CDU Gallery Foyer Thinking in Nature, Darwin Visual Arts Association Transforming the Lighthouse, Shaun Lee

SALON ART PROJECTS Dhambit Mununggurr, Project Space Myrtle Pennington: Witamin, Tactile Arts Naminapu Maymuru-White: River of Stars, Project Space Rikina!, Paul Johnstone Gallery Salon Des Refusés 19, CDU Art Gallery SELECTED: Men from Spinifex Country, Outstation Gallery 04.

FREE, FAMILY & FILM

Complementing Darwin Festival’s 165 ticketed shows, the 2019 program included 58 free performances and special events accessible to our diverse community.

The Santos Opening Night Concert drew huge crowds with headliners Yothu Yindi and the free fun continued with the ever-popular ABC Radio Darwin’s Happy Hour in The Victoria Spiegeltent.

The closing Saturday saw huge crowds getting up close and personal to see the spectacular mass log drumming in Drumming Up the Storm. Two family favourites returned – the City of Darwin Teddy Bears’ Picnic, with Team Fun leading a kids’ takeover of The Victoria Spiegeltent for a Big Ted birthday bash disco party, and our mini festival for mini humans, emBARK!.

The Festival partnered with Deckchair Cinema to present A Sporting Chance on Film with The Ground We Won and Indian Horse, two powerful and captivating films that harness the thrilling energy of sport to tell very human stories.

03.

FREE ABC Radio Darwin Happy Hour in The Victoria Spiegeltent (VARIOUS) Biidaaban: First Light (CANADA) Blue Air (AUS) Puzzle 拼圖 (TAIWAN) It's Festival Season at NT Library (VARIOUS) Parade Days (NT) Rimfire Energy Bamboo Bandstand (VARIOUS) Santos Opening Night Concert (NT/AUS) Sunday at CDU (VARIOUS) Taiwan in the Park (TAIWAN) Takeaway Fridays (VARIOUS) Transforming the Lighthouse (NT) Welcome to Country (NT)

FAMILY Air Race (AUS) City of Darwin Teddy Bears Picnic (NT/AUS) emBARK! (NT) New Owner (AUS)

FILM 01.

Salon des Refusés 19 Connor Askham

02.

Puzzle Connor Askham

A Sporting Chance On Film: The Ground We Won (NZ)

03.

Salon des Refusés 19 Connor Askham

04.

Drumming Up the Storm Connor Askham

A Sporting Chance On Film: Indian Horse (CANADA)

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Team Fun (NT)

29

01.

EDUCATION PROGRAM Thought-provoking and inspiring performances stimulate creative conversations and leave lasting impressions on young minds.

In 2019, Darwin Festival offered local school-aged students two ways to engage with Festival artists and programming: through school matinee performances, and through our Artists In Schools program, delivered in partnership with Northern Territory Government Department of Education and The Smith Family.

SCHOOLS PROGRAM In 2019, we introduced a Schools Advisory Committee, a small group of teachers from primary, middle and high schools in Darwin to assist in the development of the Schools Program and the curriculum resources.

The assistance in aligning our Schools Program with the Northern Territory curriculum was invaluable and we aim to increase the representation on the committee in 2020. Schools matinee performances were offered for five shows: Eclipse, Air Race, The Perception Experiment, Guru of Chai and New Owner. Schools also booked tickets to the National Indigenous Music Awards.

ARTISTS IN SCHOOLS With the help of Darwin Festival’s supporting partner The Smith Family, the Artists In Schools Program successfully brought arts to at-risk children and children of low-income families.

Four Artists in Schools workshops in four different primary and secondary schools saw 85 students participate in the artist-led workshops.

In addition, funding received for the Great Air Race Centenary from Northern Territory Major Events Company enabled us to deliver two 90-minute school workshops with 45 students at Darwin Middle School and Darwin High School, led

by Air Race playwright Dan Giovannoni.

Perhaps, Perhaps… Quizás, Gabriela Muñoz (MEXICO) My Urrwai, Ghenoa Gela (AUS) Jude Perl (AUS) Eclipse, Phare Circus (CAMBODIA)

01.

Phare Circus Elise Derwin

02.

New Owner Elise Derwin

03.

Air Race Elise Derwin

03.

02.

p

er

5

es

schools

formanc

709 TICKETS SOLD

23

SCHOOLS

IN ATTENDANCE

35 bo

okings

EDUCATION PROGRAM

school

31

MARKETING & MEDIA

DIGITAL

23,504 945,000+

Facebook followers (^14% on 2018)

5,047 59,700+

Instagram followers (^27% on 2018)

Facebook reach*

Instagram reach*

*During Festival campaign May 9 - August 26

*During Festival campaign May 9 - August 26

eDM Open Rate

eDM Click Rate

13,417

Darwin Festival

34.02%

5.64%

email subscribers

Entertainment and Events Industry average*

20.41%

2.19%

*Average email campaign stats of Mailchimp customers by industry - updated March 2018

www

darwinfestival.org.au

TICKET SALES ACCOUNTED FOR

76%

OF REVENUE GENERATED

2018 64% 2017 59%

113,868 2.56 557,205 minutes 193,941

AVERAGE ONSITE DURATION

unique users with

total page views over

sessions*

*During Festival campaign May 9 - August 26

AVERAGE NUMBER OF PAGES VIEWED PER SESSION

2.87

PUBLICITY

1,155

media clippings reached cumulative potential audience of

318,376,502

9

National Media outlets attended

53% $3,968,157 of media clippings in national publications

worth of digital media coverage

107

Media interviews

MARKETING OVERVIEW Darwin Festival’s extensive marketing campaign broadcast to Darwin locals and potential visitors far and wide that a huge celebration was imminent. Australia’s hottest international winter arts festival was turning 40!

A vibrant bougainvillea seasonal identity was developed to mark this momentous year, an ode to the Festival’s grassroots origin as the Bougainvillea Festival. Featuring the Festival’s hallmark corporate colour palette and bold bougainvillea graphics, this seasonal identity cemented the Festival’s marketing cut-through in the local, national and international marketplaces.

Direct marketing assistance funding from Northern Territory Government cemented the Festival’s long-lead campaign objectives to drive national visitation and international awareness among Festival Fanatics and NT travel intenders. A 21-week national and international campaign saw the Festival in market from April with awareness and conversion-raising digital promotions across TripAdvisor, ArtsHub and programmatic display channels.

This activity was underpinned by a widespread local campaign across all mainstream channels: print, radio, TV and outdoor including cinema and bus campaigns.

From 6 June to 19 June, Darwin Festival launched an innovative disruptor campaign targeting Dark Mofo attendees, leveraging off their event attendance (captive Festival Fanatic audience) with contextual advert placements (geo-fencing based on phone locations) and creatives that echoed the Dark Mofo branding.

This campaign then retargeted people upon their return home (20 June to 21 July) with specific messaging and adverts. The campaign resulted in 83 ticket bookings, particularly from Melbourne.

Darwin Festival’s 40th anniversary program was unveiled from 20 June with the official Program Launch event, widespread PR and Program Guide insertion in the NT News. The extensive ‘on sale’ campaign roll-out quickly followed with vibrant displays of Festival marketing and activations across the city and strong community engagement and outreach.

MARKETING & MEDIA

A new Darwin Festival website was launched in May with fully integrated ticketing functionality, affording users greater check-out efficiencies and intuitive content flow, not to mention a comprehensive Discover Darwin portal to guide visitors in the planning/consideration phase.

This website launch coincided with the Festival’s largest early release announcement ever with 12 shows on sale, which proved compelling for advance ticket-buyers and supported the Festival’s efforts to drive interstate visitation with the knowledge that interstate Festival-goers plan their trip three to six months ahead of time.

33

MARKETING & MEDIA

LOCAL MARKETING PROGRAM GUIDE

CINEMA A 7 week cinema advertising campaign from late June to August across two cinemas (Casuarina and Palmerston).

Total audience reach of

44,472

DARWIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

72%

audiences use Program Guide as main information source

60,000 distributed throughout Northern Territory including greater Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs.

Extensive advertising activations across the domestic and international terminals, with 29 adverts on digital media walls, screens, baggage carousels, window and ground decals, outdoor billboards and more.

Potential reach of

550,000 passengers

VOLGREN OPTIMUS 2014 MB O500LE

8

GO TRANSIT BUS CAMPAIGN A 10-week bus campaign from June until the end of August saw large-format Festival decals displayed including dedicated promotions of Blanc de Blanc Encore and Santos Opening Night Concert.

buses

16 hours per day

DARWINFESTIVAL.ORG.AU

27,000km covered across Darwin & Palmerston

ACTIVATIONS Activations across the city saw Darwin Festival advertising and branding at Tourism Top End, Casuarina Square, The Galleria in Smith Street Mall, Thrifty and on Australia Post vans and letterboxes, and Thomas Maxwell’s V8 supercar in the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown.

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL MARKETING DIGITAL PROMOTIONS

MARKET SEGME GET NT R TA

Defined as 25-60 years, travel for festivals and attend arts events, people planning a trip to NT/Darwin

FEST IVAL FANATICS

121,159

25,220,534 impressions

clickthroughs to Darwin Festival website

993 ticket booking confirmations (991 interstate + 2 international)

PRINT PROMOTIONS

I NSI DE R GU I DE S C HONGQI NG • DARW I N • H YDE RABAD • PE NANG • PH NOM PE NH • YANGON

Silkwinds JULY 2019

A JOY TO FLY WITH SILKAIR

THE INFLIGHT MAGAZINE OF SILKAIR W W W. S I N G A P O R E A I R . C O M / S I L K A I R

A lost world, found

An expedition to Vietnam’s recently discovered Son Doong, the largest cave in the world

+

How batik and selfies are saving Semarang’s mangrove forests

JU LY 20 1 9

00_R2 COVER 2 July 2019_v3_Lighter.indd 1

THE REGIONAL WING OF SINGAPORE AIRLINES

Silkwinds June19 SEET

11/6/19 11:50 AM

GROWTH IN TICKET SALES BY STATE 2019 VS. 2018

41%

to NSW ticket buyers

to QLD ticket buyers

29%

25%

to VIC ticket buyers

to SA ticket buyers

20% of Darwin Festival visitors came from interstate, an increase of 3% on 2018

MARKETING & MEDIA

46%

35

01.

PARTNERS This year we enjoyed the support of 71 corporate, one foundation and eight funding partners who were all integral in making our 40th year the biggest on record.

Providing invaluable cash and in-kind support, Darwin Festival welcomed 13 new corporate partners including Hidden Valley Ford, BMD, Helping People Achieve and Mindil Beach Casino & Resort.

Together with our partners, we strive to deliver tailored alignments that go beyond the traditional sponsorship models, aiming to enhance our patrons’ experience of the Festival and transform the future prosperity of our community.

01.

Festival Park Elise Derwin

02.

The Victoria Spiegeltent Elise Derwin

03.

KWP! Darwin George Fragopoulos 04.

Parap Fiction Airport Activation Helen Orr

05.

Power and Water Elise Derwin

02.

KWP! With the combined resources of both organisations, our collaborative efforts have achieved consistent national long-lead marketing that has led to an increase in interstate visitors.

The vivid corporate and seasonal branding resonate widely, establishing Darwin Festival as Australia’s hottest winter arts festival.

In addition to creating a new seasonal brand celebrating our 40th anniversary, in 2019 KWP! delivered key marketing collateral pieces such as the Program Guide, corporate hospitality and Commissioning Circle collateral alongside adverts, signage, posters, flyers, merchandise and more.

03.

DARWIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Each year, our combined strategic efforts with our Partner in Excellence continue to reach new heights. Leveraging The Green Room’s prime positioning in the domestic departure lounge at the airport, a preview of Parap Fiction entertained the many travellers passing through the terminal.

04.

Darwin Festival activations were again hard to miss across the airport including a feature on a new digital outdoor billboard, Festival logo projection on the airport’s water tower, large-scale indoor banners and digital media wall displays, ensuring Darwin Festival was at the forefront of every travellers’ awareness.

POWER AND WATER For the fourth consecutive year, Power and Water proudly sponsored our Volunteers Program.

With a record 126 volunteers participating – including 59 first-time volunteers – we were able to deliver our most successful Festival ever.

05.

PARTNERS

Power and Water provided co-branded reusable water bottles for all volunteers and staff, helping create a more sustainable future for the Festival.

37

HIDDEN VALLEY FORD Our official Vehicle Partner Hidden Valley Ford provided four seasonal co-branded wrapped vehicles across the Festival. Strategic positioning at the Program Launch and Festival Park ensured Hidden Valley Ford received optimum brand exposure.

01.

RIMFIRE ENERGY

02.

The Rimfire Energy Bamboo Bandstand in the festooned wonderland of Festival Park remained a popular destination to enjoy food and drink while catching free performances from local dance groups and some of the best local musicians in the Territory. In 2019, Festival Park saw record-breaking attendance with more than 41,000 visitors coming together over 18 days. Rimfire Group’s collaborative three-year partnership ensures we can deliver live and local performances in our Festival hub.

FESTIVAL HOSPITALITY Festival Hospitality packages gave our corporate partners and local businesses an exciting opportunity to entertain clients, guests or social groups in our unique outdoor venues. 31 functions entertained close to 1,000 guests of which 840 went on to attend performances.

Our corporate partner Helping People Achieve created an inviting and comfortable event space with their diverse range of furniture, all custommade by people with disabilities empowered to achieve their full potential through the opportunities provided by the organisation.

“The event space was unique, the Darwin Festival hosts were fantastic, our 80 clients and staff enjoyed the VIP experience and show. The whole night exceeded our expectations.”

MICHAEL SITZLER – DIRECTOR, SITZLER 01.

Hidden Valley Ford Activation Elise Derwin

02.

Rimfire Energy Bamboo Bandstand Connor Askham

03.

Corporate Hospitality Elise Derwin

03.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PARTNER

PARTNER IN EXCELLENCE

MAJOR PARTNERS

DISTINGUISHED PARTNERS

AIRLINE PARTNER

VEHICLE PARTNER

BRAND STRATEGY PARTNER

PRODUCTION PARTNER

FOUNDATION PARTNER

MEDIA PARTNERS

STAR PARTNERS

ntretail.com.au

Retail echnology Point of Sale Solutions & Support

SUPPORTERS ARCHIE ROSE DISTILLING CO. | ARNHEM NURSERY | AUSTRALIA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT MAJOR FESTIVALS INITIATIVE | CANADIAN GOVERNMENT | CARERS NT EMBASSY OF MEXICO IN AUSTRALIA | EXPRESS SIGNS | GOETHE INSTITUT | HELPING PEOPLE ACHIEVE | INSPIRING NT JETSTAR | MANTRA | NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK | NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK | OFF THE LEASH | RESIDENT MAGAZINE RSPCA | SKINNYFISH MUSIC | THE SMITH FAMILY | TERRITORY EVENTS HIRE | TRAMPOLINE | WORMALD

2019 PARTNERS

2019 PARTNERS

PRINCIPAL PARTNER

39

“Plan to do so much more next year… 19 shows this time only gave me a taste of things to come. Great effort to all!”

01.

Dining in Festival Park Elise Derwin

463

FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL If we thought 2018 was a big year for Friends, 2019 was huge! A record 463 Friends signed up, a phenomenal increase of 62% on the previous years’ membership numbers, of which 172 were returning members.

Friends remain our greatest ambassadors and ticket buyers, purchasing an average of 14 tickets each. This year, Friends took advantage of new improvements to the website allowing them to redeem their free Friends’ show online, resulting in 771 free tickets being booked.

Membership provides perks such as discounted tickets, free shows, behind-the-scenes access, priority venue entry and discounted drinks during Snappy Hour from 5-6pm on Tuesdays to Sundays across the Festival.

FRIENDS

1,363

BOOKINGS

6,251

TICKETS PURCHASED

14

AVERAGE NUMBER TICKETS PURCHASED

$201,003

02.

Friends of the Festival Elise Derwin

FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL

TOTAL SPEND

41

01.

“I loved meeting Festivalgoers - so many very interesting people visit our city. I love the camaraderie of the vollies”.

VOLUNTEERS Our army of dedicated and generous volunteers, proudly sponsored by Power and Water, were yet again our greatest ambassadors on the ground at our Festival venues and across the city.

This year 126 volunteers - a growth of 5% on 2018 numbers and including 59 first-time Darwin Festival volunteers - were integral in enabling us to deliver our biggest year on record. Collectively, our volunteers contributed 1,391 hours to the Festival.

Gathering market research, promoting the Festival at local markets, talking up the program to family, friends and strangers, assisting with front of house and helping our patrons to dispose of their waste effectively with a new waste disposal system, our volunteers were hard to miss in their vibrant green 40th anniversary t-shirts.

To thank them for their invaluable contribution, a celebration was hosted at Festival Park with Festival patron The Administrator of the Northern Territory, Her Honour the Honourable Vicki O’Halloran AM.

126

59

volunteers

2018 2017

new volunteers in 2019 of ages for 78 16 spread volunteers

120 volunteers

youngest

102 volunteers

1,391

oldest

96%

HOURS WORKED

NT ORIGIN

VALUED AT

$57,462

*

*$41.31 per hour x 1,391. Average weekly earning figure taken from 2017/18 Volunteering SA NT Annual Report.

79%

Women

21% Men

02.

01.

Volunteer Elise Derwin

02.

The Lighthouse Elise Derwin

03.

Libby Lynch, Staff Elise Derwin

SECTOR ENGAGEMENT DARWIN FESTIVAL EMPLOYMENT

including 108 from the Territory. Of these applicants, 55 Territorians and 56 interstate applicants were appointed to roles across the Festival’s operations including marketing, ticketing, bars, production, development, programming, volunteers management and administration.

Darwin Festival is a leading cultural sector employer that contributes to the skills development of professional cultural sector workers in the Northern Territory. We continually strive to uphold an inclusive and respectful workplace culture and a healthy organisation that attracts and retains staff.

Of the 112 staff members employed this year, 50% originated from the Territory. In terms of wage distribution, 67% of wages were received by Territory employees with 33% of wages received by interstate employees. An equal opportunity employer, 59% of staff employed identified as female and 41% as male.

In 2019, Darwin Festival employed 112 staff members in a range of full-time, seasonal and casual roles.

Employment opportunities were advertised nationally and attracted 347 applications in 2019,

Through our activities, Darwin Festival connects Northern Territory cultural workers and technicians with visiting artists and technicians to foster greater collaboration and skills development.

EMPLOYEE ORIGIN

WAGES EXPENDITURE

33%

50%

67%

NT

50% Interstate

NT

Interstate

EMPLOYEE GENDER

59% Females

EMPLOYEE RETURN RATE

53% New

41% Males

47% Returning

LIBBY LYNCH, DARWIN FESTIVAL STAFF

Libby’s employment experience has provided her with a diverse skill set and strong industry contacts that have been beneficial in her contribution to Darwin Festival and have enabled her to extend herself professionally at other major festivals and arts organisations.

With the support of Darwin Festival, she has developed indepth knowledge of creative practice and presentation within a festival context. “I’ve learnt an enormous amount about the arts and festivals industry in Australia, particularly about the beautiful art created and showcased in the Northern Territory. I’m excited to keep learning and developing my skills with the opportunities Darwin Festival provides, continuing to support both local and international artists and advancing in my career in this tropical arts community.”

03.

VOLUNTEERS // SECTOR ENGAGEMENT

Libby started with Darwin Festival as a seasonal member of the ticketing team, manning Box Offices across Darwin in 2015 before progressing in the role of Volunteers Coordinator in 2018 then joining the Programming Department full-time in 2019 as Program Administrator.

43

SECTOR ENGAGEMENT

NT ARTISTS EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST PROGRAM

Storm Dog Caro Macdonald Virtual reality film, Festival Park

Parap Fiction

Northern Territory artists are at the heart of the Darwin Festival program and are presented alongside events by highly regarded national and international artists. For the 10th consecutive year, we invited creative proposals from Territory artists for fresh and innovative ideas and works in development.

Music, The Lighthouse

This year we had an increase in applications received with 43 in total, up from 32 on the previous year. Eleven of these were carried through to the final program.

Swing Dry

Birds Eye View StoryProjects Words & Ideas, Fannie Bay Gaol

Tiwi Strong Women’s Choir Sunday at CDU & Dancing in the Park, Music Hot n Cold Band Music, Rimfire Energy Bamboo Bandstand

Alice Strings Music, Rimfire Energy Bamboo Bandstand and City of Darwin Teddy Bears’ Picnic

BB Sabina Music, Rimfire Energy Bamboo Bandstand

Emma Rowe Music, Rimfire Energy Bamboo Bandstand

Crystal Melodies Music, Rimfire Energy Bamboo Bandstand

Katharina Fehringer Music, Rimfire Energy Bamboo Bandstand

Charlie Powling Music, Deckchair Cinema

CARO MACDONALD, DARWIN FESTIVAL ARTIST Darwin-based filmmaker and visual artist Caro Macdonald’s work has focused on human-interest films and environmental works. Her films have been broadcast and screened at a number of acclaimed festivals and, in 2019, Caro’s new work Storm Dog was the centrepiece of our VR series Shifting Realities at Festival Park. Exploring the devastating effects of climate change close-up, Storm Dog tells the tale of a young girl who has lost her dog in a climatechange affected Darwin in 2050.

Darwin Festival is thrilled to have provided Caro and other local emerging and established artists in the 2019 program a national platform to showcase their work.

01.

Caro Macdonald Supplied

02.

Blood on the Dance Floor Elise Derwin

01.

FRONT ROW In 2019 Darwin Festival ran the second year of its successful sector development program, Front Row, in partnership with Brown’s Mart Theatre. Six local artists and writers were selected from 18 applications through an expression of interest process to take part in the program.

Participants saw a curated program of nine events across the Festival, attended three workshops and engaged in seven formal post-show conversations reflecting on the work seen throughout the Festival. The program was facilitated by Sean Pardy (Executive Director, Browns Mart Theatre) and Sarah Reuben (Front Row participant, 2018).

During the Festival, the participants had to complete one short form critical response to either My Urrwai or Bitch on Heat and at the completion of the Festival participants submitted a longer critical response to one of the shows they had seen.

POST-SHOW TALKS This year we delivered four public post-show talks with arts makers facilitated by local artists as part of our commitment to sector development and furthering our audience’s appreciation and understanding of performance works.

Air Race Q&A with cast, writer Dan Giovannoni and director Christian Leavesley Bighouse Dreaming Q&A with creator and performer Declan Furber Gillick and director Mark Wilson, facilitated by Aunty Bilawara Lee Blood on the Dance Floor Q&A with creator and performer Jacob Boehme, facilitated by Ben Graetz My Urrwai Q&A with creator and performer Ghenoa Gela, facilitated by Alethea Beetson.

Through the program, participants had the opportunity to make important industry connections and met with Collette Brennan (CEO, Abbotsford Convent), Claire O’Reilly (Director, Love+ by Malaprop Theatre), Gabriela Muñoz (Artist, Perhaps, Perhaps… Quizás), and Tim Watts and Rachel Woodward (Artists, New Owner).

All participants reported that the program was extremely valuable in developing their critical thinking skills and knowledge of the Australian arts sector. The program will return in 2020 with a new cohort of local arts sector participants.

2019 PARTICIPANTS

“Taking part in Front Row 2019 was a very inspiring experience for me as an arts writer.

It gave me access to a range of shows offered by Darwin Festival and allowed me to engage with artists engaging in different performative practices. I particularly enjoyed participating in the post-show conversation circles with fellow Front Row participants as it inspired the reviews which I subsequently wrote.”

VARUNIKA RUWANPURA

02.

SECTOR ENGAGEMENT

CJ Fraser-Bell Mx. Sly Nicky Fearn Rachael Chisholm Scott Gooding Varunika Ruwanpura

45

ECONOMIC IMPACT

28%

REVENUE

Funding

A not-for-profit organisation with an annual turnover of $7.5 million, the 2019 Darwin Festival injected $14 million into the Northern Territory economy.

Our total economic impact figure accounts for Darwin residents who visited Darwin Festival ($3.65M), as well as intrastate, interstate and overseas visitors who came to Darwin citing the Festival as one of the ‘main reasons’ for their visit ($5.5M). Indirect spend was also included for visitors from outside the Northern Territory who cited the Festival as a the ‘main reason’ for their visit ($4.85M). Indirect spend is calculated by using a multiplier developed by Tourism Research Australia (TRA) in the State Tourism Satellite Account.

Darwin Festival contributes directly to the local economy through the engagement of local artist, employees, suppliers, contractors and venues, and generates cash revenue from multiple sources including funding, corporate sponsorship and box office takings.

10%

Corporate & Foundation Partners Cash

25%

2019 REVENUE SOURCES

25%

Gross Box Office

12%

Corporate & Funding In-kind

Other Cash

CORPORATE & FOUNDATION PARTNERS

CASH INVESTMENT

ORIGIN

84% NT origin 87% NT origin 15% Interstate origin 13% Interstate origin 1% International origin FUNDING

BOX OFFICE CUSTOMER ORIGIN

ORIGIN

86.5% NT origin 12.5% Interstate origin 1% International origin

CASH INVESTMENT

ORIGIN

50% NT origin 97% NT origin 25% Federal origin 2.5% Federal origin 25% International origin 0.5% International origin

BUY LOCAL REVENUE TO NT ARTS ORGANISATIONS

SUPPLIERS PROCURED FOR 2019

ORIGIN

64% NT origin 36% Interstate &

International origin

EXPENDITURE

55% NT origin 45% Interstate &

International origin

Darwin Festival undertakes procurement in line with the Northern Territory Government’s ‘Buy Local Guidelines’ regarding the engagement of a minimum of 30% local suppliers annually.

27

arts organisations in the 2019 program

$349,158 Representing

19%

revenue directed back into the local arts sector* of gross box office

*Box office takings and additional venue costs.

Excludes fees paid by Darwin Festival to NT artists.

Using internationally recognised metrics, the report scores the Festival’s place, social and cultural impact on our community.

Dimension scores provided by survey respondents demonstrate that Festival audiences feel that Darwin Festival has an important role in Darwin and the Northern Territory, with 89% of respondents agreeing it plays an important role in the cultural life of the Territory and 92% agree it is important that is happens.

Average scores across dimension questions Average scores across dimension questions Average scores across dimension questionsQUESTIONS Average scores across dimension questions AVERAGE SCORES ACROSS DIMENSION PUBLIC SURVEY TICKET BUYERS PUBLIC SURVEY PUBLIC SURVEY

PUBLIC SURVEY

Average scores across dimension questions Authenticity Authenticity Authenticity Authenticity 84% Darwin Festival has a connection to Festvial has aa connection to 84% Darwin 84% 84% Darwin Festvial a connection to the Darwin Festvial hashas connection to the the agree

Average scores across dimension questions Value Value Value Value Authenticity 89% Darwin Festival plays an important role in Darwin Festival plays an role 84% in 89% Darwin 89% 89% Darwin Festival Festival plays Darwin Festvial has a important connection to the plays an important an important role in the role in the the agree

PUBLIC SURVEY

PUBLIC SURVEY

Average scores across dimension questions Content Content Authenticity Content Content 86% Darwin Festival a broad 86% Darwin Festival reflected broad and 86% 84% 86% Festvial hasreflected aaaconnection to the Darwin Festival reflected a broad Darwin Festival reflected broad andand agree

Average scores across dimension questions Showcase Showcase Value Showcase Showcase Content Authenticity 83% Darwin Festival showcases Darwin’s arts Festival showcases 86% 83% Darwin 83% 84% 89% arts and 83% Darwin Darwin Festival plays Festival Darwin showcases Festival anDarwin’s reflected Festvial has a connection to the aimportant broad and showcases Darwin’s role Darwin’s inand arts the arts and agree

PUBLIC SURVEY

PUBLIC SURVEY

Average scores across dimension questions Belonging Belonging Content Belonging Authenticity Belonging 82% Darwin Festival mepart feel part 82% Darwin 86% Festival 82% helped me feel part 84% 82% Darwin Festival reflected a feel broad and helped me Darwin Festvial hashelped a connection to the Festival helped me feel part agree

Average scores across dimension questions Place Place Showcase Place Value Place Content Belonging Authenticity 87% Darwin Festival made me feel Festival 82% 87% 86% 83% Darwin made 87% me feel proud of my 84% 89% 87% Darwin Darwin Festival showcases Festival Darwin made Festival reflected helped part aimportant plays broad and made me Darwin’s an Festvial has a connection to the feel my me proud feel arts of proud role ofproud inand my the agree

PUBLIC SURVEY

PUBLIC SURVEY

Average scores across dimension questions Local Impact Belonging Content Authenticity Local Impact 92% Local Impact Local Impact It’s important thata it’s 92% 92% 82% 86% 84% 92% helped meahappening feel part Darwin Festival broad and Festvial reflected has connection to the agree

Average scores across dimension questions Unique Unique Place Unique Showcase Unique Value Belonging Content Authenticity 87% Local Impact Darwin Festival helped me appreciate 92% 87% Festival 82% 87% helped 86% 83% Darwin appreciate NT’s 84% 89% 87% Darwin Darwin Festival me Festival made appreciate helped helped part me showcases helped Darwin feel Festival reflected aimportant me proud plays broad and Darwin’s appreciate an of Festvial has ame connection tothe the my the arts NT’s the NT’s role inand the agree

PUBLIC SURVEY

PUBLIC SURVEY

89%

Va Da cul

83% 89%

Va Sh Da cul

87% 83% 89%

Sh Pla Va Da loc cul

87% 83% 89%

Un Pla Sh Va Da un loc cul

Unique Place Showcase Value The Northern Territory Government should Belonging TheQuality Northern Territory Government should Content Authenticity 93% Local Impact should continue to invest funding in 92% 87% 93% continue 93% 82% to invest funding in events like 86% 83% 84% 89% 93% Darwin helped Darwin delivers high quality continue cultural to invest made funding appreciate in events continue helped toFestival invest funding Festival part me inme showcases like feel the reflected aevents proud plays broad and NT’s Darwin’s an of Festvial has a connection to like the my important arts role inand the agree

93% 87% 83% 89%

Un Pla Sh The Va Da con un loc Dar cul

Unique Place Quality The Northern Territory Government should Showcase Belonging Content Local Impact continue delivers to invest funding high events helped quality DarwinFestival cultural me Festival made appreciate helped part me showcases Darwin feel the reflected ain proud broad andlike NT’s Darwin’s of myand arts It’s important that it’s happening in Darwin unique characteristics local experiences Darwin for of thevoices Festival people of Northern Territory depth ofcultural the area community inclusive range

93% 87% 83%

Un Pla The Sh con Da un loc Dar cul

Quality Belonging 83% Belonging Belonging Belonging 83% ItBelonging 83% Local Impact 83% 92% 87% 82% agree me feel part of community Darwin delivers high quality helped feel part cultural agree agree It helped me part ofme the community It helped helped meFestival feelfeel part of the the community agree

Place Unique Place Quality The Northern Territory Government should Belonging Place 84% Place Belonging Place 83% 84% 84% Local Impact 84% 92% 93% 82% 87% agree ItIt made me feel proud of my local area Darwin Darwin continue delivers to funding high in events helped quality like cultural Festival made appreciate helped part me feel proud ofthe myNT’s agree It made agree made me feel me feel meFestival It helped part the community proud feelinvest proud ofme my ofof local my agree local areaarea

84% 93% 87% agree

VOLUNTEERS

VOLUNTEERS

Un Pla The Pla Dam con It un loc Dar

84% 87% 93% agree

Un The Pla Dam con It un Dar

78% 84% agree 93% agree

Pla The Pla It m con It m Dar

Place Belonging Place Belonging made me ItIthelped me feel feel proud part ofofthe mycommunity local area made me ItIthelped me feel feel proud part ofofthe mycommunity local area

78% 84% agree agree

Pla Pla It m It m

Place Belonging Place Belonging made me ItIthelped me feel feel proud part ofofthe mycommunity local area made me ItIthelped me feel feel proud part ofofthe mycommunity local area

78% 84% agree 47

Pla Pla It m It m

agree agree agree

agree agree agree

agree agree agree

the State/Country we live in State/Country we in State/Country we State/Country we live livelive in in

andrange inclusive inclusive of State/Country we live inof voices inclusive range ofrange voices inclusive range of voices voices

of community ofthe the community inclusive range we of voices of community State/Country of the the live in community

It’s that it’s in agree It’s important it’s happening in Darwin agree It’s important important thatthat it’s happening happening in Darwin Darwin agree inthe Darwin of community inclusive range we of voices State/Country live in

Quality Quality

Quality Quality Belonging Content Authenticity 87% Local Impact Darwin Festival high 92% 87% Darwin 87% Festival 82% delivers cultural 86% 84% 87% Darwin Festival delivers high quality Darwin cultural Festival delivers helped me feel part high quality cultural reflected aquality broad and Festvial hasdelivers ahigh connection toquality the agree agree agree agree

It’s important that it’s happening inTerritory Darwin experiences for the people of Northern cultural experiences people experiences forwe the people of the Northern experiences Territory of the community for the people offor Northern Territory inclusive range of voices State/Country live in

agree agree agree

agree agree agree

agree agree agree

agree agree agree

agree

Quality Belonging Content Local Impact delivers high quality helped me part Darwin Festival reflected a feel broad andcultural It’s important that it’s happening in Darwin experiences for of thevoices people of Northern Territory of the community inclusive range

VOLUNTEERS VOLUNTEERS VOLUNTEERS VOLUNTEERS

agree

It’s important that happening in Darwin It helped me feelit’s part of the community experiences for the people of Northern Territory of the community

cultural anddepth cultural cultural life cultural of depth depth the depth Territory inclusive range of voices State/Country we live in

local ofarea myarea local local cultural depth local area life ofarea inclusive of range the community the of voices Territory State/Country we live in

It’s important that it’s happening in Darwin unique characteristics the NT’s unique characteristics local unique area unique characteristics cultural characteristics depth of the community life of the inclusive range of voices Territory State/Country we live in

The Northern Territory Government The Northern Territory Government should

agree agree agree

of Northern Territory

92% 87% 82% 86%

the cultural of the cultural life Territory cultural cultural life oflife life of the of the Territory State/Country we live in Territory the Territory

92% 93% 82% 87% 86% 83% agree

It’s important that it’s Festival happening in Darwin Darwin Festival events like unique characteristics local area experiences for thevoices people cultural depth Darwin Festival of the community Darwin Festival life ofDarwin inclusive range the of Territory State/Country we live in of Northern Territory

Darwin quality cultural It helpedFestival me feeldelivers part of high the community for the people of Northern Territory FRIENDS OFexperiences THE FESTIVAL agree agree

VOLUNTEERS 71% 83% agree agree

Belonging Belonging It helped me feel part of the community It helped me feel part of the community

FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS 71% 83% agree agree

Belonging Belonging It helped me feel part of the community It helped me feel part of the community

agree

agree

agree

agree

agree

VOLUNTEERS

agree

It’sIt important that happening Darwin made me feelit’s proud of myinlocal area unique characteristics experiences Darwin for the people of Northern Territory Festival oflocal the area community

Unique Quality Quality The Northern Territory Government should Place Belonging Belonging 84% 83% 83% Local Impact Local Impact 92% 87% 92% 87% 93% Darwin Festival Darwin Darwin Festival Festival continue delivers delivers to funding high high inappreciate events helped quality cultural quality like cultural the NT’s agree agree It made me feel proud It It helped helped me meinvest feel feel part part of the the community community ofme my localinarea agree agree It’s important that it’s happening in Darwin It’s important that it’s of happening Darwin FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL unique characteristics experiences experiences for the people of Northern Territory FRIENDS OFDarwin for the people of Northern Territory Festival FRIENDS OFOF THE FESTIVAL THE FESTIVAL FRIENDS THE FESTIVAL FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS VOLUNTEERS

Belonging 71% Belonging Belonging 71% ItBelonging 71% Quality 71% Belonging 83% agree me part of the community agree agree 87% ItIt helped me feel part of the community agree It helped helped me feel feel part ofpart the community helped me feel of the community

agree

Place Place 78% Place Belonging 71% ItPlace 78% 78% Quality The Northern Territory Government should 78% Place Belonging 84% 83% agree me proud of my local area agree agree made It made made me feel me 87% 93% feel me feel ItItIthelped part community proud feel proud agree ofthe my ofof local my area area local area made me feel proud of my local

Darwin continue to funding incommunity events quality like cultural madeFestival me feel proud ItIthelped meinvest feeldelivers part ofofhigh the my local area experiences for the people of Northern Territory FRIENDS OFDarwin THEFestival FESTIVAL agree agree

VOLUNTEERS 78% 71% 84% 83% agree agree

FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS 78% 71% 84% 83% agree agree

agree

ECONOMIC IMPACT // SOCIAL IMPACT

SOCIAL IMPACT

This year Darwin Festival engaged Culture Counts to measure the more intangible cultural and social benefits the Festival brings the Northern Territory.

agree

agree

agree

ACCESSIBILITY We’re committed to making our events as accessible as possible for everyone to enjoy. In 2019, we introduced an Access & Inclusion Policy and new initiatives, made possible with the support of our Accessibility Partner Northcrest.

This year we engaged Deaf NT to enable the Deaf community in Darwin to select their preferred performances for Auslan interpretation (Aborigi-LOL and Air Race). We also delivered a Relaxed Performance of New Owner for young families and children with neurodiversity.

For vision-impaired patrons, the program guide was formatted in large-print and made available for download from the website. All patrons were able to register their access needs in advance of performances, allowing Darwin Festival to make arrangements and meet patrons on arrival.

Consultation and engagement with City of Darwin’s DiversAbility Committee, the NDS Advocacy Committee (a group of Darwin people with a lived experience of disability) and APM, who facilitate the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Darwin, informed our Access & Inclusion Policy.

To ensure all members of our community can access works, community priced tickets were available for Man With the Iron Neck, Mambali and the National Indigenous Music Awards, and a flat-rate $15 ticket was available to school students as part of our Schools Program.

01.

02.

165 vs 58

ACCESSIBLE EVENTS

ticketed shows free events ACCESSIBLE TICKET PRICES

$37.93

average ticket price

$15 SCHOOLS $15 ticket price

community tickets

Auslan interpreters

TWO

different shows

ONE WHEELCHAIR 31 RELAXED performance

accessible venues

03.

SUSTAINABILITY We aim to be a leader in sustainability practice in the Northern Territory events landscape. This year we took significant steps in identifying ways to minimise the negative and maximise the positive environmental impact of our event, which makes the most of our enviable Top End outdoor lifestyle.

Consultations with our waste management partner Sterling NT laid the groundwork for a multi-year waste management plan, which this year saw the installation of purpose-built bin stations at Festival Park and The Victoria Spiegeltent, and a strategic marketing campaign around the use of the stations at Festival Park and a strategic marketing campaign around the use

of the stations. The four-bin system improved waste sorting and integrated with a composting program in association with local company Organic AG to process organic waste. Working with our partners, we reduced our 2019 total landfill by one tonne.

In addition to service ware and wine cups again being 100% biodegradable, we introduced Darwin Festival branded cups as merchandise, encouraging patrons to collect the full set and re-use them across the 2019 season and for years to come.

Thanks to our partner Power and Water, all volunteers and staff received stainless steel re-usable water bottles.

Power and Water also ensured public water refill stations were again readily available across our key venues.

t

01.

Aborigi-LOL Elise Derwin

02.

Sing Song Signers Elise Derwin

“Darwin Festival has embraced the notion ‘zero waste’ and have worked with us to try and reduce the overall footprint. Darwin Festival has offered an opportunity to refine what this means and improve. In this space, in the NT, few other organisations have embraced this opportunity to showcase the potential for eliminating waste.”

STERLING NT

ACCESSIBILITY // SUSTAINABILITY

03.

Festival Park Elise Derwin

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FESTIVAL TEAM The 2019 Festival was delivered by 112 Darwin Festival staff, 126 volunteers and many other support staff including contractors. A massive thank you to everyone who worked together to make the 2019 Festival possible.

PATRON

AMBASSADOR

DARWIN FESTIVAL BOARD

Her Honour the Honourable Vicki O’Halloran AM Administrator of the Northern Territory

Hon Michael Gunner MLA Chief Minister of the Northern Territory

Ian Kew (Chair), Karen Green, Avril Baynes, Mark Hunt, Mark Grose, Katie Woolf

01.

01.

2019 Darwin Festival team Duane Preston

DARWIN FESTIVAL STAFF

Executive

Emily Mann

Chief Executive Officer

Felix Preval

Artistic Director

Programming

Vanessa Wright

Program Producer

Libby Lynch

Program Administrator

Erica McCalman

Special Events Producer

James Mangohig

Producer Club Awi

Anne Wiberg

Music Programmer

Administration

Renee Allchurch

Finance & HR Manager

Miriam Scapin

Festival Administrator

David Walker

Administrative Assistant

Kate Johnston

Volunteer Coordinator

Development

Kay Crozier

Development Manager

Lisa Parris

Development Coordinator

Marketing & Communications

Kate Napper

Marketing & Communications Manager

Natasha Woodcock

Regional Marketing Manager

Melissa White

Marketing Special Projects

Andi Lawson-Moore

Publications Editor

Original Spin

Publicist

SEE YOU NEXT FESTIVAL Level 2, Harbour View Plaza 8 McMinn Street Darwin NT 0801 GPO Box 570 Darwin NT 0801 (+61) 08 8943 4200 hello@darwinfestival.org.au ABN 15 616 936 371

Ticketing Nic van Essen

Ticketing Manager

Erin Garman

Ticketing Assistant Manager

Mathew McHugh

Production Manager

Nathan Da Cunha

Technical Manager

Rachal Van Wyk

Production Administrator

Andy Aiken

Production Coordinator: Festival Park

Kat Waterman

Production Coordinator: Special Events

Mark Holman

Production Coordinator: DEC

Geoffrey Tonks

Production Coordinator: Spiegeltent

Matthew Wildy

Logistics Coordinator

Techy Masero

Design Associate FESTIVAL TEAM

Production

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