The Darwin Fringe is an open-access festival that supports the development of the arts community, providing opportunities for all artists to emerge, experiment, and showcase new and diverse works to local and national audiences in various locations across Northern Territory’s capital city. This year’s program offers a range of art-related activities, from music performances, theatre, cabaret, comedy, magic, burlesque, film screenings, a zine and digital art fair, and a roller disco, from 14 to 23 July.
Visual art highlights include an exhibition of ceramic sculptures at Raw Cloth by David Kerr, who explores areas of vases that are usually not seen as relevant (the base and the rim), and experiments with their decorative and sculptural aspects to enhance their complete forms. All that Glitters . . . poetics of the Barkly presented by Coconut Studios and Barkly Regional Arts showcases paintings and sculptures by leading artists from the Barkly region, alongside photography by Jesse Marlow, celebrating poetic and enchanting expressions of the intimate with the power and tenacity of tradition. And the Rapid Creek Artists Collective Open Studio Art Trail invites us into the home studios of local artists Allison Dowell, Katie Bradley, Aly de Groot, Russel Mead and Catherine Miles, whose passion for Top End’s people, plants, places and creatures is expressed through textiles, painting, drawing, ceramics, printmaking and jewellery.
And finally, slip into the Wagait Arts Festival – a festival within a festival – where artists and creatives from Wagait Beach and Belyuen come together for a community art exhibition accompanied by music, performance, workshops, markets and kids’ circus. This year’s theme is ‘Growing’.
David Kerr, Sweeping Space, high-fired terracotta with pebble inlay Courtesy the artist and Darwin Fringe Festival, Northern Territory
