Off The Leash – 10 Year Anniversary Cover Comp
In celebration of Off The Leash’s 10-year anniversary we put the call out for a fab, fun cover that celebrated our vibrant Top End home.
We could have designed our own, but decided to team up with Belle Property Darwin to give a Territory creative the chance to star on our front page.
“Off The Leash has always been a huge part of developing our personal community connections over the past 10 years, helping to make Darwin feel like home to us through providing essentially what is a precious treasure map of where to discover those connections,” said Belle Property Darwin Directors and art lovers Maureen and Paul Heron.
“We are so pleased to now be a part of giving back and supporting Off The Leash and the NT’s unique and talented arts community. Off The Leash is certainly a significant publication that helps newcomers, visitors and long-time residents feel included and at home in Darwin.”
Bronwyn Dann, 'Wet Season Backyard: Darwin,' 2015, 29.7 x 42cm
We received many fabulous entries, but think that Bronwyn Dann’s ‘Wet Season Backyard: Darwin’ really fits the bill. Huge thanks to all the entrants and to Belle Property Darwin for sponsoring this comp.
Q&A with winning artist Bronwyn Dann
Brownyn Dann is a painter currently undertaking PhD studies in Visual Art at Charles Darwin University. She has exhibited in galleries across Australia and her pieces are held in private and public collections. Dann’s work focuses on visual storytelling, teasing out our relationships with history, story, culture and place. She has lived in Darwin for the past seven years with her partner and children. Off The Leash had a chat to Dann about her work and life in the Top End.
Tell us about your winning Off The Leash cover artwork.
This artwork is part of a series of six ink, watercolour and gouache drawings that document the seasonal changes in the backyards of the tropics of Darwin. These works
are an exploration of my growing relationship with the architecture, foliage and weather patterns of the tropics, and I use the elevated, louvered houses as a motif to capture a sense of what our shared visual understanding of ‘home’ means in the tropics.
Did you always want to be an artist?
I love doing lots of things but art has always been the thing that makes me feel really alive, focused and centred. I feel a constant pull to be making artwork.
Where has your work most recently shown?
My last exhibition was at Tactile Arts in July 2016. It’s a beautiful, light-filled gallery with a supportive team. I also sell my Darwin Backyard series of paintings as post cards and gift cards at my market stall 12 Degrees South at Nightcliff and Mindil Markets. Currently, I am working on a couple of commissions.
Off The Leash is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year. Has the mag helped you in your Top End journey?
I found Off The Leash when I first moved to Darwin seven years ago and since then it has helped me find a pathway into the vibrant artistic and cultural community of Darwin and beyond. It's a great resource for discovering and planning for events. The visual artist in me loves the design and layout – especially the colour-coded events! I put the calendar from the middle up on the fridge and plan for exhibition openings on around town each month.
Cover Comp Finalists
Lucy DeSoto
Hailing from Sydney, musician, author and artist Lucy DeSoto has been living in Alice Springs for the past five years and works in the Alice Springs Hospital precinct for the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health & Well-Being in the School of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University. Her illustrated history of the Australian music business from 1950-1999 titled Australia Rocks was published in 2016.
“Off The Leash is a fantastic public resource and capacity building tool for the NT community. Living in Alice Springs I admire the website and fantasise about what might be on next time I'm in the Top End.”
“The work is a hand-cut multi-media collage, representing the tropical location of the Top End and many traditional aspects of various modes of cultural practice including music, dance, drama, circus and magic.”
Tarzan JungleQueen
Graphic Designer Tarzan JungleQueen spends her days running screenprint workshops, working as a Print Technician at Charles Darwin University and an Art Teacher for people with disability. She grew up on a sheep farm and ensures her life is never dull or predictable.
“Off The Leash is a wonderful expression and representation of what the Top End is all about. It’s my calendar for all things arty, crafty, sassy and snazzy.”
“I was wearing my dad's big Hawaiian button up the day I designed the cover and it occurred to me that the background theme was heavily influenced by his shirt. The poster represents all things Darwin, but the underlying meaning for me is home."
