Numburindi Festival Artistic Report 13 - 15 September 2018 Red Flag Dancers Performing NUMBURINDI FESTIVAL ARTISTIC REPORT 2018 PG
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Numburindi Festival Artistic Report 13 - 15 September 2018 Red Flag dancers performing NUMBURINDI FESTIVAL ARTISTIC REPORT 2018 PG. 1 Contents Overview 2 Staffing 5 Pre-festival activity 8 Program 8 Opening night 8 Second night 11 Closing night 11 Awards 11 Statistics 14 Dance groups and performers 14 Funding 17 Catering 17 Partnerships 17 Media and marketing 17 Highlights 18 Challenges 18 Forward planning 18 Connecting people and place through arts development and touring Front cover: All photos by: Jeff Nunggarrgalu Back cover: Jangu Nundhirribala performing Benjamin Warlngundu Bayliss performing with Preparing young Red Flag for Friday's Wungubul All text and images © Artback NT 2018 young dancers Dancers for performing PG. 2 NUMBURINDI FESTIVAL ARTISTIC REPORT 2018 Overview The aims of ITDP are: Numburindi Festival is a unique community • To assist in the coordination of an annual event driven event for local audiences which celebrates that celebrates the diversity of traditional traditional and contemporary arts and cultural Indigenous dance in the Northern Territory, practices from remote Arnhem Land community, providing an exciting cross-cultural platform for Numbulwar, on the western coast of the Gulf of audience and performance development Carpentaria, Northern Territory (NT). The festival • To deliver remote community support that at its core aims to support community capacity facilitates opportunities for arts and cultural development and cross cultural exchange performance and skills development within between Indigenous clan groups across the NT. the region through a series of projects, The festival is a continuation of the inaugural rehearsals, workshops and events each year Numburindi Festival 2016 and is embedded • To provide further Territory, national and in Artback NT’s Indigenous Traditional Dance international performance opportunities Program (ITDP). Until now the Festival had been where appropriate for the hosting community a local community based event with a focus on to establish business and professional providing mentoring and support to Numbulwar development pathways clan groups and local arts workers. The 2018 The objectives of ITDP are: Festival was the first delivered under a three year funding program with Arts NT to support • Sustainability of an annual event in the hosting audience growth. community and its uptake in the region • An improved overall understanding in remote The ITDP was established to support artistic Indigenous communities of the integral White Cockatoo performing and cultural practices through intergenerational relationships between cultural maintenance learning, strengthening relationships between and professional performing arts opportunities elders and young people and encouraging cultural through participation in local, regional and leadership. The ITDP program has delivered national showcase events festival events in Alice Springs (2009) and Tennant Creek (2010 – 2012). Currently ITDP is • An increased awareness of the value of working with the communities of Numbulwar traditional Indigenous dance as an integral (2016 – present) and Borroloola (2013 – present) strategy in community wellbeing and a to develop a distinct engagement model in pathway to improved employment and response to their specific needs. further education and training for individuals, particularly disengaged youth This years’ Numburindi Festival was held over • The preservation of culture by traditional three days 13–15 September and had a core intergenerational learning methods that focus on intergenerational exchange with clan strengthen the relationships between Elders Elders supporting and empowering youth arts and youth and encourages cultural leadership practice. The Festival saw incredible attendance from visiting music and dance groups travelling • The creation of pathways for cultural from Bickerton Island, Groote Eylandt, Ngukurr, understanding, appreciation and Katherine, Beswick and Darwin. The program respect between Indigenous and celebrated growth in the young peoples’ non-Indigenous Australia programming with a greater number of performing • Undertake independent evaluation through groups and strong young peoples’ Wungubul · Data collection performances on the opening night. Since its · Qualitative and rich media inception in 2016, Numburindi Festival has gone · Structured feedback and review from strength to strength and this year was a · Critical reflection vibrant and successful whole-of-community event. · Regular, rich reporting Morgan Wurramara leading the Wurramara dancers NUMBURINDI FESTIVAL ARTISTIC REPORT 2018 PG. 5 Culture is really important for kids. vital asset for the Festival. This year whilst she Their culture is important for them, supported the planning of Numburindi Festival as for their future. Dancing everything, in their Festival Director, Ella was unable to participate in the delivery of the event due to Sorry Business own country, so they know their story, and family circumstances which took her away from where their country is, their song line, the the community for the duration of the festival. kids follow their song line, they are singing Eve Pawlik Project Manager, Artback NT worked and dancing in the right place.” alongside Numbulwar community to develop Grant Nundhirribala, Numburindi Festival Director and deliver the Numburindi Festival for 2018. Having been involved with the ITDP program and Staffing the DanceSite Festival events in both Borroloola (Malandarri) and Numbulwar (Numburindi) over the Artback NT prioritises fostering strong and last few years, Eve has built strong relationships embedded relationships and employment in in the region. Working remotely from the Darwin remote communities. In Numbulwar, we are lucky office, Eve further developed stakeholder to have wide community support and to engage relationships, managed logistics and funding the diverse skill sets of the community under the alongside the community. On the ground, Eve direction of Artistic Director Grant Nundhirribala. assisted the Technical Manager, Josh Grant, run the Grant Nundhirribala is a significant cultural production elements for the event and coordinate leader and songman in Numbulwar from the the artistic program with Grant Nundhirribala. Nundhirribala clan group. He is the winner of six Josh Grant was the versatile and highly skilled music awards, lead singer of the band Yilila and Planning at the Festival site with Grant Nundhirribala, Eve Pawlik and Hilda Ngalmi Technical Manager for the Festival. He hails the Red Flag dancers and featured as guest artist from an extensive background in visual arts, with the Australian Ballet Company and Bangarra live and recorded sound engineering and music. Dance Theatre. Grant sings in Wubuy, Anindilyakwa, With a particular strength and passion for Creole, English and Bahasa Makasar. As the remote Indigenous community festivals and arts Numburindi Festival Artistic Director and advisor programs, Josh has ongoing relationships with a on cultural protocols, his vision continues to number of Arnhem Land communities delivering ground the festival locally, showcasing content that workshop programs and festival activities. As reflects the community. This year Grant was vital in Artback NT’s go-to production guru, he has been coordinating Murrungun, Red Flag dancers, Ngalmi engaged with numerous projects through ITDP and Nunggarrgalu - the four clans performing and the Performing Arts Program. Josh has been their traditional dance and song practices and key in the production of DanceSite in Borroloola, integral in the preparation of bush tucker catering, and its transition to Malandarri Festival and coordinating local staff, supporting and managing Numbulwar’s Numburindi Festival in 2016 and 2017. production including the Emcee, visiting bands and dance groups. Alongside this core team, Numburindi Festival employed more than 200 local staff as Ella Geia, a Torres Strait Islander woman, has musicians, performers, cleaners, caterers and been based in Numbulwar as a media officer, production staff. This is an important aspect of Community Development Program (CDP) women’s the ITDP model to ensure the festival empowers mentor and arts practitioner for nine years and community members to be active makers in the has strong community relationships. Ella is the event. Local staffing also provides a large injection manager of the renowned band Yilila and the Red of funds into a remote and isolated community Flag dancers. She has vast experience working in where opportunities for employment are limited, remote community settings delivering high level particularly for those in the arts. arts and program management. Her media and arts programming background, in particular, is a Jumping Castle youth activities from Darwin Castles PG. 6 NUMBURINDI FESTIVAL ARTISTIC REPORT 2018 NUMBURINDI FESTIVAL ARTISTIC REPORT 2018 PG. 7 Nunggarrgalu preparing young dancers for performing PG. 8 NUMBURINDI FESTIVAL ARTISTIC REPORT 2018 This year Numburindi Festival supported the Senior Teacher Numbulwar School, continued development of the strategic Remote Indigenous his work with the Numbulwar School Band and Arts Workers and Festival Directors exchange rehearsals for new choir and music groups. project, which saw an invitation extended to Marlene Timothy, Festival Director of Malandarri Program Festival (Borroloola). This was the first stage For 2018, Numburindi Festival ran across three- in the Festivals in Dialogue initiative managed nights with diverse