The Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Belongs On Your Bucket List
- Words by Peppermint
Fancy a chance to thaw those frigid digits while mingling with the big guns of Australian Indigenous art? If a Top End escape is on the cards, we suggest you time that sun-soaked break for the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair. Running from 6 to 11 August 2024, this annual event brings together the work of more than 1500 artists and designers, plus industry buyers and enthusiasts of all stripes.
Of course, there are workshops to get stuck into, plus painting demos, dance performances and panel discussions. Held on Larrakia Country, at the Darwin Convention Centre, the fair drew a crowd of almost 16,000 last year (plus more than 13,000 people shopped the goods online). And did we mention that entry is free?
Every dollar made from art sales goes directly to the remote community-owned art centres. And with more than 70 centres attending – representing makers from the desert to the coast – you’ll be blown away by the diversity of the work. Expect prints, carvings and canvas paintings, plus fibre art, textiles and clothing.
top JOY GARLBIN, BABBARRA WOMEN’S CENTRE; FABRIC DESIGN BY KAREN SHUAN, YALANJI ARTS (PHOTO BY ALISON GEORGE, CATSEYE PRODUCTIONS); REGINA WILSON, DURRMU ARTS (PHOTO BY LEICOLHN MCKELLAR) THE RED FLAG DANCERS middle DAPHNE BANYAWARRA FROM RAMINGINING (PHOTO BULUBULA ARTS) bottom (left) THE RED FLAG DANCERS
As for workshops, there’s plenty on offer, from shell-and-raffia jewellery-making taught by Torres Strait artisans to watercolour landscape sessions, where you’ll have the opportunity to paint alongside artists inspired by the Hermannsburg School, including the descendants of Albert Namatjira. For those in the industry, there are free professional development sessions, including grant-writing and concept-planning workshops. Little artists will be kept busy, too, with free painting and lino-printing classes.
top KEN WAYNE KANTILLA, NGARUWANAJIRRI ART CENTRE; WIK & KUGU ARTS CENTRE; JULIEANNE NGWARRAYE MORTON, ARTISTS OF AMPILATWATJA bottom YN THORPE, KAIELA ARTS (PHOTO BY JAMES HENRY)
Over the years, fashion has become a major part of the program. For the full experience, we suggest you snap up seats at the Country to Couture Runway Shows (full disclosure: Peppermint happens to be the biased – and very excited – Premium Media Partner). There will be 22 stunning collections to admire, featuring the big names of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island design community (including Gammin Threads, Magpie Goose and Ikuntji Artists), plus non-Indigenous collaborators (among them, Linda Jackson AO and Akira Isogawa).
THE DARWIN ABORIGINAL ART FAIR RUNS FROM 6 TO 11 AUGUST 2024 ON LARRAKIA COUNTRY AT DARWIN CONVENTION CENTRE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO DAAF.COM.AU.
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“My piece of advice for makers and designers? Run your own race… make sure your key decisions stay anchored in your brand’s core beliefs.”
- Bec Bligh
Quick show of hands: who’s opened a water bottle expecting a refreshing sip… and instead been greeted by the unmistakable whiff of uh-oh?
Because for something that follows us everywhere (desk, car, hikes, yoga…), the humble drink bottle is strangely prone to becoming a science experiment. Hard-to-clean corners and gaskets. Mystery smells. Bec Bligh and her husband Tim know it well. A six-month sailing trip along the Queensland coast left them with a lifetime of memories and one stubborn annoyance: mouldy water bottles they couldn’t properly clean.
So they did something about it.
Enter @EverVessel. Thoughtfully designed borosilicate glass and stainless steel bottles that keep things beautifully simple: durable materials, wide openings, easy-to-clean parts and none of the techy gimmicks that tend to age badly. Turns out simplicity, done well, is pretty powerful stuff. (Their many design awards agree!)
And lately they’ve added a little extra delight: the Artist Series, where creatives like Paola Castro, Ben Miners and Martin Thompson transform these everyday companions into tiny travelling artworks. There are more colabs in the works, too: hydration, but make it joyful! 🎨💧
We chatted with Bec about the sailing trip that started it all, the philosophy behind Ever Vessel, and why the most sustainable product is often just the one you keep using.
Tap the link in our bio to read the full conversation. 🚰
#EverVessel #ReusableWaterBottle
Pull up a chair… there’s room at this table!
For the first time, Feast for Freedom is bringing people together for a spectacular long-table dinner as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.
A Longer Table is exactly what it sounds like: one beautiful shared table inside the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1), piled with generous dishes inspired by this year’s hero cooks, Noha and Nige.
From 6 to 9pm on Wednesday, 25 March, this is what you can expect:
🍽 A three-course shared feast
🍷 Matched drinks
🎶 Live entertainment
✨ A room full of good humans
Your ticket doesn’t just buy you a delicious dinner. It supports the ASRC’s vital work and helps create a fairer future for people seeking asylum.
Seats are limited, and long tables have a way of filling up quickly – head to @MelbFoodAndWine’s website to book now: feastforfreedom.org.au/mfwf
#FeastForFreedom #MelbourneFoodAndWineFestival #LongTableDinner #FoodForChange
Sew versatile! 🪡
Another great make from Lisa from @SunnySewsEveryday:
My #PeppermintWaratahWrapDress is finished and I’m so proud of it. It has been designed not to flap open and flash your pants in the wind, so I feel confident it will be a great wheelchair or standing dress in English weather.
#PeppermintPatterns #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
Frame your face with the Peppermint Bucket Hat!
Stay safe and stylish in the sun with your very own self-sewn and self-drafted wide-brimmed bucket hat. This beginner-friendly sew is perfect for a sunny day. Get out your pencils – this pattern is created using equations and maths!
This DIY project was featured in Issue 53 and now you can access it for the lovely low price of only $5.
Sun-safe chic is always in style. ☀️
Find it via the link in our bio!
Photos: @KelleySheenan
#PeppermintPatterns #PeppermintBucketHat #BucketHat #BucketHatPattern #DIY
✨ INSTANT CLASSIC ✨
The Peppermint Myrtle Shift Dress is a beginner-friendly make with a few special details based on the ever-stylish shift shape – the perfect dress you need in your wardrobe right now!
Myrtle cuts above the knee with options to customise the length. Don’t think she’s reserved for hot weather either: try a heavier-weight fabric to turn your Myrtle into a pinafore-style garment for layering.
For our fabrics we chose two from our lovely sewing partner @Karmme_Apparel – the bold Rottnest Stripes in a lightweight, soft-drape cotton, and the quality linen in the handpainted Mexico Collection.
Get making the Myrtle – the only question is, can you stop at just one?
Link in bio 🪡
Fabric: @Karmme_Apparel
Sewist: @Laura_The_Maker
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Models: @SerahSews and @Pins_And_Tonic
Location: @ShareTheDignityAustralia
#PeppermintMyrtleShiftDress #PeppermintPatterns
It’s time to Feast!
Some recipes travel a long way before they land on your table to delight your taste buds. This year’s Feast for Freedom invites us to gather our friends, cook something delectable and raise funds for the incredible work of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1) while we’re at it.
The 2026 Feast features recipes shared by two remarkable cooks: Noha, who brought the flavours of Palestine with her when she arrived in Australia, and Nige, a Sri-Lankan Tamil cook whose journey with food began in the most unexpected of places.
You can host your own Feast up until 30 April – simply register online and get planning! Host a dinner, organise a workplace lunch, or gather your community… However you do it, the idea is simple: cook, connect and celebrate the cultures and stories that shape Australia.
Want to find out more? Head to the link in bio to meet Noha and Nige, learn more about their stories, and discover a delicious recipe to try.
#FeastForFreedom #PeppermintMagazine #FoodForGood #ASRC
