Ha.
I'm still laughing.
I should explain.
It's official name is Darwin Convention Centre. It was originally designed to be part of the cultural experience of The Waterfront Precinct but a public servant realized it wouldn't make any money so it now is mostly used for conventions, for which purpose it is mostly empty.
At the other end of town we have what is called The Darwin Entertainment Centre which runs the 'events', plays opera, ballet, you know the stuff. I'm still laughing. Seriously, for the number of times we have anything worth attending they could hold it in my living room and I wouldn't need to shift the furniture.
We do have the Darwin Orchestra which performs outdoors mostly. It's a great program composed totally of amateur musicians but they only perform a couple of times a year. The performed for Mother's Day at the Waterfront Precinct. It's free. Families turn up with their Eskys and deck chairs and sit on the lawn to watch the show. They are pretty good and well supported.
Scattered around town there are smaller venues that hold art shows of locals works but that is also rare. The NT museum of Art and Culture is worth a visit if its still open when you get here. Their budget keeps getting cut.
This is The NT after all. Darwin has a population of about 100 000. The true culture here is that belonging to the indigenous population which makes up about 40% of the total. It's taken me 25 years to come to grips with the indigenous culture. It's so different to what I am used to. I could only compare to going to another non-westernized country. Indigenous culture doesn't abide by western rules. It doesn't have a 'centre'. It's part of what they do every day. They live it. Painting, dance, song, craft all form part of their daily life and isn't separated for general public viewing except by westerners who want to make a dollar.
Try this link for more local information on what's going on around town.
http://www.offtheleash.net.au/
Don't get me wrong. I like this place. I do attend what functions are available and suit my taste. It is limited and poorly supported. A lot is home grown and accessible. Everyone knows everyone, no one get deligated to famous status and if they try it on they get dragged down pretty quick. Those who make it outside must behave themselves when they come home. We have our own culture and it differs from all other places.
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