Darwin is front and centre for Kate Fell. She’s seizing the opportunity to showcase Darwin and the Northern Territory itself alongside the Darwin Festival, with her standout programme for the dry-season gathering that is well known for drawing crowds from all over Australia and beyond.
Fell moved to Darwin from Brisbane two years ago. She grew up there, received her BA in Drama from the Queensland University of Technology, and having started out managing Australian contemporary Circus at Circa for years, she became the Creative Director of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth games Arts Festival, then the
Needless to say she knew Brisbane pretty well, but she’s relished the move. As she told Irresistible when we asked her how she feels about Darwin now, “I absolutely love it!”
She’s proud that 60% of the artists at this years Festival are from the Northern Territory. “I love bringing the world to Darwin and Darwin to the world,” she said. “And I really want everyone to see Darwin in a different light, even if they live here, by making sure our performances are held in new venues in new corners of the city that might not have been used before. I want to make sure everyone has a really exiting and positive experience.”
Fell has really honed in on sustainability at Darwin Festival. They have a whole programme managing all aspects from recycling to the sourcing of materials and Fell credits the Festival’s “Green Angels” as key. “The Green Angels really make it all happen. They are dealing with the rubbish all through the festival and making sure we’re dealing with every piece as responsibly as possible.”
Equally Fell is driving through inclusion and accessibility, from outreach and educational programmes and workshops, to community tickets, and subsidies where they can make a difference. “It’s important that everyone is here,” she said.
The other piece for Fell about taking the job is the opportunity to enjoy the environment; the dramatic seasons, the water, the beauty of the Territory, even in the city. She loves getting out on Country and into nature, and she’s getting to know the city better and as time goes on, and even the locals.
“There are people that have been here for generations, and then there’s a transient community, who come here for a job, maybe even for a festival, possibly only for a few months, and then they move on. It’s such a melting pot and everyone brings so much to the table,” she said. “There’s a really strong sense of community. They say about Darwin and the NT, ‘if you love it, you really love it.’ Most people I meet really love it, and I do too. Absolutely.”
Kate Fell’s Top Darwin Tips.
Favourite restaurants: The food in Darwin is great and I have been very keen to showcase some of our best eateries at the Festival Park. The restaurants who have a pop up at the festival are all my favourites!
Drinks: Darwin Sailing Club for the sunset and Baraki for laters.
Take it home: Big earrings! Darwin artisans make a lot of large fabulous earrings. For the first time I’m thinking about getting my ears pierced!
Best view: East Point Reserve. Picture perfect.
