ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
10-27 AUGUST 2023
Darwin Festival takes place on what has always been Larrakia land. 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 Australia and around the world, we also celebrate the continuing culture of the Larrakia people.
2
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
Credit: Helen Orr
Darwin in August is magical. There is no better word that describes the feeling of this beautiful place that we are lucky to call home. Darwin Festival embraces this place and community, and creates magical moments over 18 balmy nights in August for locals and visitors alike. Darwin Festival is an invitation to immerse yourself in an experience you can only have in Darwin in the tropical winter – outdoors under the bamboo and twinkling lights, witnessing awe-inspiring artists from the Northern Territory, Australia and the world, and coming together as a community to celebrate the uniqueness of arts and culture in the Top End. The success of a festival can be told in numbers and we are proud to say that this festival we sold more tickets than ever before. But it is also the stories and feedback from people that it connects with and the passion and love that people have for Darwin Festival, and their pride in how Darwin comes together to create a major event. It is the laughter, joy, and all the big emotions that audiences feel as they connect through a shared love of arts and culture. Darwin Festival is made with love for the people of Darwin and for the many visitors to this special place. It takes place on what has always been Larrakia land. The Festival began through the resilience of the Darwin community after the devastation of Cyclone Tracy, and this spirit still continues today. Darwin Festival has a long history and deep connection to the place and communities of Darwin. It is a festival with deep roots and our roles as leaders of this special festival is to continue the story and embrace all that people love about the festival, while doing what a festival does so well which is to surprise, delight, and expand. 2023 saw a refresh of the jewel of our festival – Festival Park – with new ways to interact with the site as well as a focus on the incredible food representing Darwin’s rich cultural heritage.
It also saw on expansion of the Festival Precinct with the new Festival Lawn, and the successful return of The Spiegeltent and the new Maho Magic Bar and also extending the festival into September for the first time. This festival is made possible because of the support from our community and those that believe in the power of arts and culture to connect communities. Our deepest thanks and gratitude to all of our partners: the Northern Territory Government, NT Major Events, City of Darwin, our Major Partners and all of our corporate and venue partners and supporters. We acknowledge our dedicated Board, incredible staff and wonderful team of volunteers who contribute so much to the success of the festival. This year we were thrilled to welcome more Friends of the Festival than ever before as well as launching our new Giving program. Our Friends, Donors, and Foundation Partners ensure that we can continue to create magical moments, be inspired by Territory stories, and make deeper community connections for many years to come. James Gough CEO
Kate Fell Artistic Director
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
3
Credit: Helen Orr
2023 SNAPSHOT ENGAGEMENT Net Promoter Score Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a performance index out of 100
PROGRAM
79
10,700
unique visitors attracted to the NT
39,291
858 total artists
performances
58% Northern Territory artists
estimated total direct and indirect spend for 2023
610
4
133 employees
64
total Friends, Young Friends and Besties
corporate partners, venue partners foundations & funders
2,577
90
donations ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
30 venues
71
free performances
Delivered by
total economic impact
tickets sold out
323
visitor nights generated
$20.7m
56%
volunteers
AWARDS National Live Music Awards 2023, Best Live Event 2022 Brolga Northern Territory Tourism Awards – Winner – Major Festivals and Events Australian Tourism Awards 2022 – Gold – Major Festivals and Events
2022 Gold
TICKETS & AUDIENCE
160,532
attendances
73% LOCAL
59 9% 5%
%
55,255
Darwin Palmerston Darwin Rural Area
VS.
27%
VISITING 24% Interstate 1.5% Intra-Territory 1.5% International
Darwin Festival attendance breakdown by age
tickets sold
$39.65 average ticket price
$2.7m total box office value
15-24
3%
25-34
14%
35-44
21%
45-54
20%
55-64
23%
65-74
14%
75+
4%
unk.
1%
REACH
*During Festival campaign 6 June – 27 August 2023
839,291+
1,821
Facebook reach*
media clippings
681,626+
680m
Instagram reach*
reach to cumulative potential audience
darwinfestival.org.au
225,151 sessions*
125,439 total users
15,412+
41.3%
LinkedIn reach*
coverage secured in national and interstate publications
32,618
$7.9m
email subscribers
worth of advertising value
611,109 total page views
Credit: Helen Orr
MAGICAL MOMENTS Festival Park is the jewel of our festival – a place to connect and a feast of food, art and culture, jam-packed with cabaret, comedy, music, circus and family shows at INPEX Sunset Stage. Audiences danced the night away with Soweto Gospel Choir and DJ Groove Terminator in History of House; were in awe of the physical feats of Gravity and Other Myths acrobats in A Simple Space; were mesmerized by the soulful sounds of rising star Yirrmal and R&B sensation Budjerah – and that was just the opening weekend! The fun spilled out of Festival Park as we expanded our footprint to Festival Lawn. In front of Parliament House, Festival Lawn was full of mischief, magic, and mayhem. The Spiegeltent, supported by Sitzler, returned to Darwin with Blanc de Blanc Encore, a decadent cabaret experience that was full of risqué humour, spectacular aerials and big dance numbers. Maho Magic Bar, supported by Endeavour Group, was a Tokyo neon-lit night of magic, amazement, cocktails and laughter.
Credit: Helen Orr
The opening week of Darwin Festival featured events presented by cultural partners who together created a showcase of the richness and diversity of First Nations arts and culture. Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair showcased the work of over 1500 artists and designers; MAGNT presented the 40th year of the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards; the National Indigenous Music Awards presented by Music NT featured a stellar line-up of First Nations music acts; Salon Arts Projects delivered a stunning schedule of exhibitions; and much more. We celebrated the unique place that is Darwin encouraging people to experience the festival in 30 venues across the city. Our closing weekend featured two special concerts, supported by Landbridge, at the iconic Darwin Ski Club as the sun set over the Arafura Sea. Katie Noonan performed Joni Mitchell’s Blue in a spine-tingling concert and The Whitlams Black Stump Band saw Tim Freedman joined by an A-Team of roots musos.
Credit: George Fragopoulos
“As a born and bred Territorian, I have been to many Darwin Festivals, but this year was a whole new level of amazing and you have really outdone yourselves. From the vibe the minute you walk in, the amazing variety of delicious foods, the extremely friendly and helpful volunteers, the noise, the sights, the lights. It was such an amazing experience, so much we cancelled dinner plans and just enjoyed two nights in a row at festival park!” Darwin Festival 2023 Attendee
Credit: Helen Orr
“A three-week extravaganza that makes the most of the weather, brings people together, draws tourists to the region and generally celebrates Darwin, its people, it’s recent and ancient history, its status as an important centre and a cultural hub.” Sally Pryor, Features Editor, Canberra Times Credit: Mark Dickson
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
7
Credit: Helen Orr
TERRITORY STORIES Darwin Festival is the place to experience the diversity of Territory stories and be blown away by the talent of NT artists. Through the Spotlight Fund, supported by Power and Water and Festival donors, seven new Territory shows were created and presented at Darwin Festival. Over 500 NT artists were presented as part of the festival. Gary Lang NT Dance Company presented the world premiere of The Other Side of Me - a powerful and compelling new dance work that packed an emotional punch from the first to last moments of the show. The choreography, music, story, projections, and performances all seamlessly combined to give audiences an insight and perspective on the stolen generations. The story of Marranunggu/Marrathiel elder and human rights advocate Frank Spry and his family was beautifully brought to life by Frank and his son David Spry through music, poetry, prose and images in the powerful and heart-warming world premiere of Kingadong.
The strength of NT music was on show this year with local artists performing each night at the Power and Water Bamboo Bandstand in Festival Park. Premiere performances across Festival venues included Yarnumamalya Ayangkidarrba-langwa which featured Aboriginal women from Groote Eylandt together with Dr Shellie Morris celebrating language, music and culture; David Garnham & The Reasons to Live and the launch of Stuart Highway Part 2; Kuya James in the Asian psychedelic rock album Jeepney Rock; and super catchy rock songs of Western Arnhem Land’s Ripple Effect Band.
Amy Hetherington and friends premiered the hilarious variety show Secret Life of Territorians, celebrating the secret talents of people you know in Darwin. The Darwin Botanic Gardens saw a beautiful outdoor exhibition by local artists, presented by Salon Arts Projects, inspired by the diversity of birds in the Top End. Arafura Music Collective created a musical meditation on the exhibition in the ultimate sensory experience. Credit: Helen Orr
8
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
Credit: Paz Tassone
“ I think the Darwin Festival is a ‘sleeping giant’ and will continue to excite and grow. The Festival provides something for everybody and must retain its quality and diversity.” Darwin Festival 2023 attendee
“Particularly loved the variety this year and the large amount of local and Indigenous content. Many thanks to the Festival AD and organisers - we had a marvellous time!” Darwin Festival 2023 attendee
Credit: George Fragopoulos
“Darwin Festival is a rare opportunity to experience the best of Territory culture alongside curated cultural highlights from across the nation.” Richard Watts, Deputy Editor, ArtsHub
Credit: Helen Orr
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
9
Credit: Helen Orr
COMMUNITY CONNECT Darwin Festival opened with a special performance by world class acrobats from Gravity and Other Myths joining forces with talented young performers from Corrugated Iron Youth Arts and students from Ludmilla Primary performing seemingly impossible physical interactions in the premiere of Life/Time. It was driven by a new electronic score by hip hop artist Jimblah inspired by the sounds of community and country. Darwin Festival was about immersing yourself in arts and culture. A number of the shows involved community members as participants in mainstage shows and exhibitions as part of the Festival. I’m With Her featured real-life tales of heroic resistance of eight extraordinary Australians in a staged reading by eight equally as extraordinary Darwin women.
City of Darwin’s Teddy Bears Picnic had a special focus on recycling with a special performance by musical misfits Junklandia, and all ages loved the new feature of Festival Park with the Kolsen Twilight Playground where you could explore a space of light, wonder and play with two interactive installations.
Stunt Double had over 20 people each night as part of the show, cast as ‘extra’s on the film set. Flowers Underwater showcased a new collection of art and wearable art by Darwin artist Ilma Ali, and featured a diverse range of models from Darwin’s migrant community and was supported by Melaleuca Australia. Darwin Festival was for everyone. We wanted our youngest members of our community to be part of the action. We presented shows for all ages and some special family events including The Listies in a brand-new musical comedy show Make Some Noise, and a partnership with MAGNT to present a special National Science Week experience of Patch Theatre’s Sea of Light.
Credit: Helen Orr
10
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
Credit: Helen Orr
“I think it’s wonderful that Festival Park is open to all the community as not everyone can afford to see several shows.” Darwin Festival 2023 attendee
“Darwin Festival is a wonderful event that provides a happy space for family and friends to enjoy time and entertainment together.” Darwin Festival 2023 attendee
Credit: Charlie Bliss
“It’s such a diverse, high quality festival. We love events like 27 Club and the Maho Magic Bar that offer family friendly entertainment (but not just for little ones) that I can take my kids and my parents to enjoy together.” Darwin Festival 2023 attendee
Credit: Helen Orr
ECONOMIC IMPACT Darwin Festival attracts visitors to Darwin City and surrounding areas, stimulating spending and economic activity that would not have occurred otherwise.
IMPACT
$20.7m
Darwin Festival contributes directly to the local economy through the engagement of local artists, employees, suppliers, contractors and venues and generates cash revenue from multiple sources including funding, corporate sponsorship and box office takings.
total expenditure generated estimated total direct and indirect spend for 2023
Collaborations FESTIVAL PARK FOOD VENDORS Darwin Festival’s 100% local food offering in Festival Park featured 9 NT local businesses. Vendors were supplied with custom-built, co-branded food huts to elevate the food on offer to the 55,000 hungry patrons that flowed through Festival Park.
11k Visitors attracted to the NT
TOP END VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE
Darwin Festival partnered with Hospitality NT to produce the Darwin Festival Inspired campaign – supporting local businesses to get involved with Darwin Festival. The program was designed to be open and flexible and encourage creativity – many businesses responded with Darwin Festival inspired cocktails, drinks, and food offerings.
“As a visitor from interstate I would plan my holidays to coincide with Darwin Festival - fabulous setting for some fabulous events!” Darwin Festival 2023 attendee
12
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
LOCAL
VISITING
59% Darwin 9% Palmerston 5% Darwin Rural Area
24% Interstate 1.5% Intra-Territory 1.5% Overseas
39,291
2023 marks three years of Darwin Festival’s partnership with Top End Visitor Information Centre as our primary box office outside of Festival Park. We’re proud to promote the centre as ‘the destination’ to book tickets and Top End Experiences. HOSPITALITY NT
27%
73%
visitor nights generated
501 NT artists engaged
133 staff employed by the Festival
SOCIAL & COMMUNITY IMPACT Darwin Festival engaged Culture Counts to measure the Festival’s place, social and cultural impact on our community. We are committed to bringing positive cultural and social influence to audiences, artists and the broader Darwin community.
92%
LOCAL IMPACT It’s important that it’s happening in Darwin
87%
VALUE Darwin Festival plays an important role in the cultural life of the Territory
90
UNIQUE Darwin Festival helped me appreciate the NT’s unique characteristics
85
QUALITY Darwin Festival delivers high quality cultural experiences for the people of Northern Territory
87%
PLACE Darwin Festival makes me feel proud of my local area
85%
CONTENT Darwin Festival reflects a broad and inclusive range of voices
agree
%
agree
agree
agree
%
agree
agree
Community Engagement SCHOOLS
SECTOR ENGAGEMENT
We curated a schools program that saw nearly a thousand young people across eighteen schools have positive and enriching engagement with the arts. Engagement also included workshops in schools, artist talks, and professional development for teachers.
We launched a new program - Industry Connect which is aimed at artists across all art forms and those producing behind the scenes.
“A big thanks to the Smith Family for donating tickets to our class to attend Silence at the Darwin Festival! We all thoroughly enjoyed the performance- it was unique, engaging and unlike anything we had experienced before.”– Primary School teacher
“Such a privilege to see artists working in a more informal space and added so much for me when I saw the performance.” – Industry Connect participant FREE AND AFFORDABLE To ensure all members of our community can access works, 20% of our performances were free. Our dazzling Festival Park Opening Night welcomed the whole community to the Festival with a range of free events and experiences for the whole family.
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
13
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT & SUSTAINABILITY Darwin Festival acknowledges our environmental responsibility and strives to be a catalyst for environmental change. We are committed to actioning initiatives that protect our natural environments and benchmark our environmental impact.
HOW WE ARE MINIMISING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT • 100% reusable cups at our two Festival Hubs – Festival Park and Festival Lawn. • Reduced solid waste output by 92,506L since 2019 through our food waste and composting efforts. • Since 2021, we have crushed spirit and wine bottles into 6.25 tonnes of material for construction projects. • Setting our sights on a 100% carbon neutral Festival – we engage independent experts to accurately measure waste and emissions data, informing our future reductions targets for 2024 and beyond. • We provide all staff and volunteers with reusable water bottles sponsored by Jacana Energy with Power and Water providing water stations at our Festival hubs.
Credit: Helen Orr
• New LED screens in Festival Park displaying sustainability messaging proudly supported by NAB Foundation.
FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS Volunteers Darwin Festival would like to thank the 90 wonderful people who volunteered their time and energy towards making the 2023 Festival a success. These volunteers contributed over 986 hours of service over 18 days in August.
90 Volunteers
“It is a thrill and pleasure to be part of our Darwin Festival...and all staff seem to LOVE their jobs! The joy of the event is palpable for everyone to experience! Thanks for another winning August” Darwin Festival 2023 volunteer
14
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
Credit: Charlie Bliss
986 Hours worked
FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL
Credit: Helen Orr
Friends of the Festival This year we welcomed more Friends of the Festival than ever before. We reimagined our Friends of the Festival membership program, including the introduction of a new ‘Young Friends of the Festival’ tier, open to anyone 18 years and younger, to engage the younger members of our community in the Darwin Festival experience. A record 610 Friends signed up in 2023, a phenomenal 64% increase on the 2022 membership number. Our Friends continue to be our greatest ambassadors and ticket buyers.
Besties VIP treatment Our 117 Best Friends are our biggest supporters, with a whopping average of 26 tickets per customer in 2023. We look after our Besties, with exclusive event invitations, premium seat reservations and more.
TOTAL FRIENDS
610
64%
increase on 2022
493
117
Friends
Best Friends
87%
96%
agree that their membership is value for money
agree that their membership is value for money
752 338 BF tables booked
BF premium seating booked
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
15
Credit: Helen Orr
DARWIN FESTIVAL 2023 SEASONAL BRAND Darwin Festival teamed up with brand strategy experts kwpx to craft a vibrant new seasonal brand. Its flowing lines, tropical shapes, vivid colours, and texture brought a bright, fun boldness to our identity, reflecting the incredible program of events and embodying the spirit of our festival.
Credit: Charlie Bliss
Credit: Helen Orr
Food vendor signage
Branded drinks
Credit: Helen Orr
Kids tees and Darwin Festival cap 16
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
Credit: Charlie Bliss
Darwin Festival gin
Credit: Helen Orr
Program Launch event
Street flags
Festival screens Pop up performances and branding at Darwin International Airport
Credit: Helen Orr
Darwin Festival branded fans
Credit: Helen Orr
Darwin Festival & Hidden Valley Ford branded cars
Credit: Helen Orr
Branded Serpentine Wall
MARKETING PUBLICITY & MEDIA COVERAGE EARNED MEDIA TOTAL MEDIA MENTIONS
TOTAL MEDIA VALUE
$7.91m
1,821
AVE (Advertising Value Equivalency)
CHANNELS
CUMULATIVE POTENTIAL AUDIENCE
680m
39 415 41 1,326 TV
Digital
Radio
MEDIA DELIVERY
% % 56.5 30.9 ‘No’ to smaller councils: Kon Tuesday September 12, 2023
NT News
Northern Territory
NEWS 03
10.4%
2.2%
Interstate
National
International
Lord Mayor says return to regional model would ‘make things worse’ Camden Smith Local Government Association NT president and Darwin’s Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis says a return to a community council-style regional shire model would make existing problems in remote Northern Territory worse. He said the proposal put by the Country Liberal Party as an alternative to a constitutional Voice to Parliament would bring back concerning conditions across the Territory. The CLP is consulting in
communities about changing the July 2008 local government reforms which saw about 60 community councils shrunk into eight regional shires. But Mr Vatskalis said a return to pre-2008 would entrench old problems back into the system. “The amalgamations occurred due to the insolvency of the majority of the community government councils and punctuated by nepotism and governance issues,” he said. “Simply, 61 councils over 17 per cent of the nation, with
“
This is a facepalm to local government, Jeff McLaughlin Barkly Shire mayor
only 200,000 people was not a sustainable model.” Mr Vatskalis rejected that having more councils would create more jobs in remote communities. He said during the days of community councils, much of
the work generated at local government level was funded by the commonwealth through the Community Development Employment Program. He said employing people under the current eight shire structure is already difficult. “Right now, the Central Desert Regional Council in Central Australia employs over 200 people but has 76 vacancies,” he said. “There is no doubt that many still feel a loss of the ability to make local decisions for and with their local communi-
ties. While the current system is perhaps imperfect, it does provide a mechanism for direct input into local government council decision-making.” During its one-term tenure from 2012, the CLP introduced community-driven regional authorities within the larger regional shire structure to bring people closer to shires. Regional authority members aren’t paid. Barkly Shire mayor Jeff McLaughlin also opposes a return to regional shires. “This is a facepalm to local government,” he said.
“I believe in local decisionmaking as much as anybody, but how are they going to pay for it?” He said regional shires in the Territory already have a tiny rate-base compared to elsewhere nationally and smaller shires would make funding availability worse. He said while rates make up 12 per cent of Barkly’s approximately $32m budget – meaning it relies on a “drip-feed” of grants – local government areas interstate earn as much as 90 per cent of revenue from rates.
DARWIN FESTIVAL MARKS 50 000+ TICKET SALES
SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2023
ntnews.com.au
$4.00 incl GST freight extra
SATURDAY
Annabel Bowles More than 50,000 tickets were sold across Darwin Festival’s array of 81 different events this year, marking the festival’s most successful run in history. The arts, culture and entertainment extravaganza, which ran across several weeks this August and September, welcomed 858 artists – 501 of which were from the Territory – who collectively put on 323 performances across 30 venues. Darwin Festival chief executive James Gough said the numbers were a “monumental achievement”. “Our decision to expand our footprint into Festival Lawn was met with great delight and the extension of the festival dates into September with hits like Blanc de Blanc Encore and Maho Magic Bar was all due to the public’s response,” he said. “This wouldn’t be possible without our amazing team, artists, volunteers, partners and of course, the audiences who make it all worthwhile.” Artistic Director Kate Fell
Thursday August 10, 2023
OFFICIAL TEAM PARTNER
ALL THE ART P7 AWARD WINNER
Darwin Festival 2023 was a huge success. Pictures: Helen Orr
said crowds of both locals and visitors responded to the program with “boundless enthusiasm”. “The festival’s triumph is evident with a remarkable number of sold-out shows; half the ticketed performances sold out, with 126 performances that completely booked out,” she said. “The diverse range of
performances, spanning heart-stopping cabaret acts, immersive theatre, live music, mesmerising magic, sidesplitting comedy, and captivating contemporary dance, all played a pivotal role in weaving the vibrant tapestry of Darwin Festival 2023.” Next year’s Darwin Festival is set to be held from August 8 to 25.
TERRITORY PREMIERE
NEWS 07
NT News
‘More party, more champagne’ Blanc de Blanc back for D’Fest V1 - NTNE01Z01MA
FEMALES TO THE FRONT
CUNNINGHAM COLUMN P11 NT GOVT’S GREEN DREAM IN TATTERS Reverend Vicki Aitken is one of the talents bringing to life the powerful women’s stories told in the Darwin Festival play I’m With Her. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin
Local talent will be on show in one of the most thoughtprovoking plays on offer at Darwin Festival. PAGE 5
Sierra Haigh For hula hoop artist Jess Mews, travelling with an international circus troupe to perform for buzzing crowds across Australia is “not your average nineto-five”. Having trained in circus artistry for 15 years, Ms Mews will perform in Blanc de Blanc Encore’s risque comedy and highflying cabaret. “(I’ve) been doing the show for quite a few years but it takes at least two weeks, if you’re brand new, to learn all the choreography,” she said. “It’s a two-hour show, it’s a lot to learn.” Blanc de Blanc Encore marks the troupe’s first return to Darwin since 2019 and is best described as “episode two” of the world-famous cabaret show. “You never know what to expect,” she said. “If you saw the original show, get ready for more party, more champagne and more fun.”
18
Police investigate as one killed, woman hospitalised
MAN DIES ON CITY ROAD
A man has been killed and a woman has been hospitalised after both were hit by a car while crossing one of Darwin’s busiest roads. NT Police Northern Watch Commander Greg Lamb said the pair was leaving a traffic island in the middle of the multi-lane road when they were hit. PAGE 5
Cast members from Blanc de Blanc Encore in The Spiegeltent (from left) Melanie Hawkins, Skylar Benton, Spencer Craig and Emma Phillips; (right) Ukrainian contortionist Misha Makarov. Pictures: Zak Simmonds (main), Sierra Haigh.
Ukrainian contortionist Misha Makarov said it was an honour to perform in Australia alongside elite performers from Mexico City, Montreal, Los Angeles and London. He said working on a major production such as Blanc de Blanc Encore was “very fun”
and an emotional experience in some cases. Mr Makarov said it was his first time visiting Darwin. “I love it, there’s a lot of crocodiles and nice people,” he said. Darwin Festival artistic director Kate Fell said performers in the Blanc de Blanc
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
Encore act were among 850 artists in this year’s Darwin Festival line-up. She said this year’s festival would be full of joy, connection and a “beautiful sense of optimism”. With artists from the NT as well as a pool of global talent
flying to Darwin to entertain, Ms Fell said she was thrilled to have created a festival that was just as much “about this place” as it was for it. “It’s a celebration and everyone who lives here in this place knows how special it is,” she said. “There’s so many people that
come here as well – they come for the festival, we saw that last night at Country to Couture, you will see that in the Aboriginal Art Fair over the weekend, and then the music awards. “People are coming from all around Australia to experience Darwin at its absolute best.”
“Top notch Festival fun in the Top End… Tropical Darwin’s lively arty buzz captivates.” Stephen Scourfield, The Sunday Times
DIGITAL SOCIAL MEDIA
*Social Media Insights 6 June – 27 August 2023
839,291
681,626
166
445
Facebook reach*
Instagram reach*
published posts
published posts
15,412
TOTAL REACH
Linkedin reach*
1,536,329
25
636
published posts
total published posts
32,618
Darwin Festival
49.3%
7.76%
52
Entertainment & Events Industry Average
20.51%
2.36%
eDM Subscribers during the Festival period
eDM Open rate
eDM Click rate
eDMs sent *Average email campaign stats of MailChimp customers by industry – updated October 2019
WEBSITE
darwinfestival.org.au
611,109 total page views
125,439 total users
225,151 *Google Analytics Insights 31 May – 27 August 2023
TOTAL WEB TICKET SALES
90% of Box Office
sessions* ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
19
Credit: Helen Orr
PARTNERS This year we enjoyed the support of 64 corporate, venue, foundation and funding partners who were all integral in the success of this year’s Festival. We collaborate with our partners to develop bespoke and unique alignments, with the aim of enhancing our audiences’ experience and shining a spotlight on the cultural and tourism offering of Darwin and the Northern Territory. INPEX For the third consecutive year, Major Partner INPEX supported the festival’s signature venue the INPEX Sunset Stage and local artist project Transforming the INPEX Sunset Stage. This year’s mural, Gwadbarrwanigi – Milky Way, was painted by Jason and Trent Lee and sculpted by Techy Masero, Jason and Nadine Lee. The mural saw a stunning sculptural Rainbow Serpent and Milky Way story stretch the entire length of the stage and told the rich and ancient narrative of the Milky Way that has been passed down through generations.
With the support of INPEX, everyone’s favorite venue received an upgrade with a new PA system and stage expansion. A staggering 19,500 audience members packed into the INPEX Sunset Stage across the festival period to experience the best local, national and international acts. The open-air stage was home to a range of sold-out shows, including History of House, a collaboration between three-time Grammy-winners Soweto Gospel Choir and ARIAnominated DJ Groove Terminator, and The 27 Club, a mind-blowing celebration of rock legends who will forever be 27, and a huge final closing Saturday night with party starters Haiku Hands.
JACANA ENERGY This year, we were delighted to welcome new partner Jacana Energy to support our Volunteer Program. 90 volunteers worked an incredible 986 hours across festival venues and sites to help deliver our most successful festival to date!
Credit: Charlie Bliss
Jacana Energy provided co-branded reusable water bottles for all volunteers and staff, helping create a more sustainable Festival.
AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT GROUP Each year, our combined strategic efforts with our Partner in Excellence continue to reach new heights. Darwin Festival activations were again hard to miss across the Airport including large-scale indoor banners and digital media ensuring Darwin Festival was at the forefront of every travelers’ conscious. This year we took the festival fun to Darwin International Airport arrivals. Interstate and international travelers were treated to exclusive pop-up performances from the three- time Grammy Award winning Soweto Gospel Choir, acrobats from contemporary circus company Gravity and Other Myths and local legends The NEO Marching Band. For the second year we delivered another successful interstate marketing competition with Travel Gateway, inviting people from all over the country to win the ultimate Darwin Festival 2024 VIP experience.
Credit: Kat Traill
ENDEAVOUR GROUP New partner Endeavour Group joined us to support the expansion of our Festival Park precinct with Maho Magic Bar on the new Festival Lawn. Audience members were invited to step into a Tokyo night of magic and wonder in the dazzling neon-lit venue. Our collaboration also brought the new BWS Low & No Alcohol Bar to Festival Park. The market for nonalcoholic drinks has exploded in recent years and we were delighted to provide this exciting offering to festival patrons. Credit: Helen Orr
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
21
Credit: Charlie Bliss
POWER AND WATER Northern Territory artists are at the heart of our program and are presented alongside highly regarded national and international artists. For the second year, Power & Water supported Territory Talent on the Power & Water Bamboo Bandstand in the heart of the Festival hub – Festival Park. A record breaking 55,000 patrons’ enjoyed nightly entertainment from 24 acts and community groups on the locals only stage. Power and Water plays an essential role in the Territory community and together we shine a spotlight on the incredible talent we have here in the Territory. Power & Water proudly contribute $10,000 to the Spotlight Fund which directly supports NT artists to develop new works to premiere on Darwin Festival stages.
Credit: Charlie Bliss
KOLSEN This year, Kolsen celebrated 5 years of partnership with Darwin Festival, with the opening of the new Kolsen Twilight Playground in Festival Park! People of all ages and abilities were invited to interact with installations HEXADECA, an architecturallydesigned music-making playground where sensor technology triggers sound and light as people move around the playground - and MIRROR MIRROR, an intimate, dazzling dome where every surface is a gleaming mirror.
Credit: Helen Orr
22
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
Credit: Helen Orr
FESTIVAL HOSPITALITY Our Festival Hospitality packages give our corporate partners and local businesses the opportunity to entertain business clients, guests and employees in our unique outdoor venues. We unveiled two new purpose-built VIP spaces this year along with tailored menu options from local catering company Pony & Sid. Guests enjoyed a magical Hot August Night under the stars in the new Moonlight Lounge in Festival Park or Festival Lawn VIP area prior to being escorted into a Darwin Festival show with premium reserved seating.
Credit: Helen Orr
“The Moonlight Lounge was the perfect outdoor venue to host our members networking event – stylish and welcoming. Everyone couldn’t stop talking about the fantastic atmosphere, and 27 Club was a definite festival favourite. We’ll be back!” Credit: Charlie Bliss
Stephanie Berlin, CEO Energy Club NT
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
23
THANK YOU TO OUR 2023 PARTNERS
PRINCIPAL PARTNER
LOCAL GOVERNMENT PARTNER
MAJOR PARTNERS
PARTNER IN EXCELLENCE
DISTINGUISHED PARTNERS
AIRLINE PARTNER
BRAND STRATEGY PARTNER
PRODUCTION PARTNER
SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERS
STAR PARTNERS
SUPPORTERS
BOLTZ ELECTRICAL | EXPRESS SIGNS | JACKADDA INTERNATIONAL | PONY & SID | ROMA BAR | TERRITORY EVENTS HIRE TRAMPOLINE | WILLING DISTILLERY | WORMALD
FUNDING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following organisations and productions acknowledge the support of these government bodies: Brown’s Mart, Corrugated Iron Youth Arts, Country to Couture, 17th Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation, Darwin Symphony Orchestra, DVA, Gumurr’manydji Manapanmirr Djäma, Kingadong, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, National Indigenous Fashion Awards, National Indigenous Music Awards, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, NT Dance Company, SPUN, Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Tracks Dance Company The Barber of Seville, Batshit, BlakDance, Camp Culture, Coil, Corrugated Iron Youth Arts, Counterpilot, Darwin Symphony Orchestra, Deejay x Dancer, The Farm, Gravity & Other Myths, Hexadeca, Junklandia, The Listies, Make Some Noise!, Mirror Mirror, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art. Opera Australia, The Other Side of Me, Patch Theatre, Pulsing Heart, Reckōning, Red Room Poetry, Sea of Light, SILENCE, A Simple Space, Stunt Double FOUNDATION PARTNERS
Playking Foundation has supported the development of new collaborations between artists from the Northern Territory and Asia. Visit darwinfestival.org.au for more information on these works-in-development.
VENUE PARTNERS
DONOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FESTIVAL SUPERHERO
FESTIVAL LOVER
Ian & Jill Kew Jeffrey Pinkerton OAM & Marilyn Pinkerton Anonymous x 1
John & Susan Warburton Eithne Donlon & Jurgen Schaub Mary Reed N & K Blake Nicholas Anstey Sarah Lazarus Hilly Alcock Belinda MacQueen & Jason Rowe Amanda Skelton Carol Hardwick Lauren Hill Mia Fileman
FESTIVAL ANGEL Claire Fell Kate Fell Kezia Purick James Gough & Abbie Northwood Peter & Debbie Savoff Paul & Susan Walsh Anonymous
Karyn Johnson Shanthini Naidoo Leigh Phillips-Brown Kathryn Jacobsen Helen Kolawole Anonymous x 3
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
25
Credit: Helen Orr
26
ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
Credit: Helen Orr
STAFF PATRON
AMBASSADOR
DARWIN FESTIVAL BOARD
His Honour Professor the Honourable Hugh Heggie PSM Administrator of the Northern Territory
Hon Natasha Fyles MLA Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
Chris Osborne (Chair), Lauren Ganley, Ian Kew OAM, Matthew Moss, Peter Savoff, Cathryn Tilmouth Huge thanks to outgoing Chair Ian Kew for his invaluable contribution to Darwin Festival.
Team MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
EXECUTIVE James Gough Kate Fell
Chief Executive Officer Artistic Director
PROGRAMMING Simonne Johansen Emma Corrick Sarah Reuben Kat Traill Gaia Osborne James Mangohig
Associate Producer Producer Creative Producer Special Events Producer Producer Music Producer Club Awi
OPERATIONS Renee Allchurch Lorraine Phelan Danielle Kartinyeri Mathilde Mercadier
Finance & Human Resource Manager Bar Operations Manager Business Administrator Volunteers Coordinator
DEVELOPMENT Kay Crozier Brianna Major
Development Manager Development Coordinator
Hilly Alcock Miriam Scapin Holly Fenwick Charlotte Longden Andi Lawson-Moore Kate Dinning Original Spin
Head of Marketing & Communications Communications & Engagement Manager Campaign Manager Marketing Coordinator Publications Editor Social Media Coordinator Festival Publicity
TICKETING Ticketing & Customer Service Manager Emilie Sell Ticketing Logistics Coordinator Brianna Footer Ticketing Stakeholder Coordinator Erin Garman
PRODUCTION Mathew McHugh Leisa Gosling Mark Holman Techy Masero Agentur
Head of Production Production Manager Technical Manager Design Associate Food Curator ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
27
10-27 AUGUST 2023