Dark Mofo The Gathering
Cultural consultancy, curation and production shaping a First Nations-led opening for Dark Mofo, grounded in Country, community and connection.
CULTURAL ADVISOR ● CONSULTANCY, CURATION & PRODUCTION ● NIPALUNA/HOBART, TASMANIA ● 2023-26
Across four editions of The Gathering, I worked with Dark Mofo to create a space where First Nations artists and Palawa community could be seen, celebrated and centred within the festival. Beginning at In The Hanging Garden in 2023, the event moved to Winter Feast in 2024 and developed into an opening night shaped by ceremony and First Nations creative practice.
My role combined cultural consultancy and strategy with curation and production. Working with Elders, cultural practitioners, artists and festival teams, I helped connect the public program with the relationships and practical support needed to welcome community and visiting artists onto our Country.
WHERE IT STARTED
My involvement with Dark Mofo began in 2021 as a Cultural Advisor, following controversy around a proposed artwork that many First Nations people, artists and organisations considered deeply offensive. There was substantial work to do within the organisation and with community to build understanding, repair relationships and support culturally safe participation.
The Gathering emerged organically through engagement, feedback and listening. We developed a space to bring First Nations creatives, knowledge and culture together, positioning it at the opening of the festival to give that presence prominence within the broader program.
The first edition brought artists including BARKAA, Tasman Keith, DENNI and MARLON X RULLA to In The Hanging Garden. Moving to Winter Feast in 2024 allowed the event to become a site-wide blakout, with First Nations programming across its stages and spaces. I co-curated that edition with Kimberley Galceran.
COUNTRY AND COMMUNITY
As a Palawa man, I wanted our community to feel welcome and to see themselves reflected within a major arts and music festival on their own Country. Dark Mofo’s reach offered opportunities to share our culture and creative practices with audiences from interstate and overseas, while creating encounters between local community and visiting First Nations artists.
Ceremony grounded the evening in place. Elders and cultural practitioners brought their authority and knowledge to the program, with Pakana Kanaplila offering dance, song and smoking. My work involved supporting these offerings through the festival’s production processes and ensuring community needs informed the experience.
A dedicated mob-ticket pathway supported community access. Through invitations, registrations and clear entry instructions, we helped people plan their visit. The allocation increased each year as The Gathering became an anticipated event in our community’s calendar.
CURATION AND PRODUCTION
The curatorial approach brought local Palawa artists into conversation with First Nations performers from across the continent and beyond. I considered how established and emerging artists, contemporary music, spoken word and cultural offerings could sit together throughout the evening.
In 2025, Across Nations gave this approach a clear framework. The program included Mulga Bore Hard Rock, Tjaka and Tjupurru alongside local performers and cultural practitioners, creating opportunities for audiences to encounter different creative practices across the Winter Feast site.
Behind the public program, my work extended through artist approaches, fee and scope discussions, contracting support, technical requirements and coordination with artist services. I worked with music programming and production teams, including Sam Dowson in the later editions, to translate the curatorial ideas into a running program. Care continued through travel and access arrangements, payment follow-up and contact after the event.
LISTENING & RESPONDING
Each edition was reviewed through community feedback. We moved the Welcome to Country from the start of the evening to a more prominent point, when audiences had gathered and momentum had built. This gave the ceremony greater visibility and allowed more people to experience the offering.
Community also asked for a dedicated program and site map to help them find artists across the large Winter Feast site. We developed a guide and sent it to people registered for mob tickets before opening night, giving them time to plan their evening.
Working with Pakana Kanaplila, we developed a pre-recorded audio track that could play in synchronisation across the site as the troupe moved through Winter Feast towards the sand circle for ceremony. These changes connected the experience across the venue. Community members recognised the improvements in conversations during the evening and emails afterwards, affirming the value of listening and acting on their feedback.
MATRIARCHS OF MUSIC
For my final edition in 2026, I chose Matriarchs of Music to celebrate the talent, knowledge and cultural connection our matriarchs carry. I wanted to give First Nations women and femme artists the prominence I felt they deserved within festival programming, building an entire line-up around matriarchal energy and excellence.
Artists including Emma Donovan, Bumpy, Deline Briscoe and Stiff Gins performed alongside local creatives. Under the framework of When Our Mothers Call, Auntie Theresa Sainty and Auntie Cheryl Mundy delivered the cultural welcome and offering, supported by Pakana Kanaplila’s dance, song and smoking.
What stays with me is the place The Gathering has made for itself in our community’s calendar. It has created opportunities to see artists live, meet and welcome them to Country, share ceremony and make memories together. Its development reflects years of work within the festival and the knowledge, feedback and generosity community brought to it.
In my final year, I supported the incoming programmer and cultural advisors through introductions and festival orientation. Handover remains ongoing. I am proud of helping establish an opening night that community can look forward to each year, and of the relationships and exchanges that will continue to shape its future.
ARTIST PROGRAMMING
The Gathering, 2023: BARKAA, Tasman Keith, dameeeela, DENNI, MARLON X RULLA, Kartanya + KARAI, Uncle Dougie Mansell and Rob Braslin as MC.
The Gathering Blakout, 2024: Bart Willoughby, Boil Up, Dewayne Everettsmith, Eric Avery, Jodi Haines & Friends, Karai, Kee’ahn, LEO, Madelena, Merinda Sainty Trio, Pakana Kanaplila, Pyper Robertson, RooBoy, Torres Green, Uncle Dougie Mansell, Warren Mason, WILDFIRE MANWURRK and Yirrmal.
The Gathering Across Nations, 2025: Mulga Bore Hard Rock, Tjaka, Tjupurru, Merinda Sainty Trio, Desert Melody Makers, Keanu Nelson, Nkechi, DENNI, Dylan Voller, LEO, fėras فراس & friends, Taylor Hughes, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, Karai, Kiz, Clay Maynard Duo, Auntie Theresa Sainty, Janice Ross, Uncle Dougie Mansell, RooBoy & Friends, Warren Mason, Adam Thompson, Jodi & Jude and Pakana Kanaplila.
The Gathering Matriarchs of Music, 2026: Auntie Cheryl Mundy, Auntie Theresa Sainty, BADASSMUTHA, Bumpy, Deline Briscoe, DENNI, Emma Donovan, Jodi Haines, Madelena, Merinda Sainty Trio, Monica Karo, Nidala Barker, Nkechi, Pacifica Sound Collection, Stiff Gins, Te Waimātao & Ōriwa, Yirgjhilya Lawrie and Pakana Kanaplila.
PROJECT CREDITS
Cultural Advisor, Curator & Producer:
Caleb Nichols-Mansell
Client & Festival:
DarkLab - Dark Mofo
Music Programming Managers:
Kimberley Galceran and Sam Dowson
Ceremony & Cultural Contributors:
Auntie Theresa Sainty, Auntie Cheryl Mundy, Dylan Hoskins, Pakana Kanaplila, Palawa Kipli
Production, Design, Stage Management & Artist Support:
Melissa Edwards, Lauren Murtagh, Moe Liebelt, Alice Farley, Bruce McKinven, Jacinta Way, Jala Goikoetxea, Sarah Knevett, Blair Wittstadt and Meg Horan.
Community:
First Nations people, Palawa community, Elders, organisations and the broader Dark Mofo audience whose participation and feedback shaped The Gathering.
Photography by Rosie Hastie and Joseph Shrimpton for Dark Mofo.