Latest news with #MAGNT
News.com.au
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
What's on: Supercars, MAGNT, Darwin Symphony Orchestra and more from June 21-22
WHAT'S ON THIS WEEKEND Buckle up, it's Supercars weekend! Tickets to the Darwin Triple Crown are still on sale, if you feel like a last-minute rev up. It's also a big weekend of Aboriginal arts, kicking off with the opening of the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards NATSIAA's this weekend at MAGNT! Always a favourite exhibition, 71 finalist works have been announced for this year's awards. But if your weekend is packed, do not despair – all of them will be exhibited at MAGNT until 26 January 2026! Between 10am and midday there are plenty of exhibitions to choose from while you grab your Mad About Coffee and Parap Markets laksa: check out the opening of Cassaria Hogan Young and Carol Young at Laundry Gallery in Parap at 10am, then head over to Warlukurlangu Artists – Rising Stars at Outstation Gallery, before checking out the artists talk with Gary Lee and friends for the Queer Territory exhibition at NCCA at 11am. If you're looking for some live music, Dan Sultan is performing with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra at the Darwin Entertainment Centre as part of Garrmalang Festival at 7.30pm tonight – tickets still on sale! On Sunday, head to the Green Ant Craft Fair at the Ski Club from 9am for handmade crafts, local food stalls and kids' entertainment. Then wind down with the Bloody Mary Book Club from 2.45pm at The Last Supper – bring along whatever you're reading or a favourite to share. SOMEWHERE YOU NEED TO EAT One of my favourite things about the Territory is that it usually is what it says it is on the box – unless, of course, you're going to Crab Claw Island – which you can drive to! To be fair, it is a tidal island, so do always check the tides – but there are worse places to be stuck for a few hours. I'd forgive you for thinking Crab Claw is one for the fishos, as it is in a prime spot for a flick. But it is only an hour and a half from Darwin city, so if you're looking for somewhere for a day trip, drive out there for lunch on their deck overlooking the ocean. You must try the tiger prawn salad … It's got mango, avocado, macadamia nuts and prawns, in a bowl made of toasted flatbread. If that doesn't scream tropical island lunch, I don't know what does. LOCAL'S TIP An early local's tip today: getting up with the sun is worth it. These cool mornings make you feel a little more alive, and so does paddling out onto the ocean at sunrise on a stand-up paddleboard. Did you know the Fun Supply team hire out paddle boards from Windsurfers Corner on Tuesday and Saturday mornings? The perfect weekend morning: Paddle over to De La Plage for a coffee, or just hang out on the ocean for a couple of hours between 6.30 and about 8.30am, and then get a Gracie's Toastie and eat it at the newly painted Windsurfers Corner benches. Bliss.
ABC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
NT Museum and Art Gallery chair resigns amid new CBD gallery plan fallout
The chair of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) has resigned, amid the fallout of a decision to up-end plans to create a new Darwin CBD art gallery. MAGNT chair and former Labor chief minister Clare Martin has quit her position less than a year after her contract was renewed by the previous Territory Labor government. She was appointed to the role by the Labor government in 2018. Her departure comes after the NT's Country Liberal Party (CLP) government announced it would be pausing or scrapping plans to open a new Darwin CBD art gallery, despite the building being nearly constructed. The building in Darwin's State Square was slated to be a new government-run gallery to showcase artworks from MAGNT's collection — primarily pieces from the NT and Asia — which currently have nowhere to be displayed. Arts Minister Jinson Charls said in May that costs for the new building had blown out by $100 million, and the previous NT Labor government had not budgeted for ongoing operational costs. The government has called for expressions of interest (EOIs) for potential operators to bid on ways to "maximise the possibilities the site offers", and said the building will not necessarily be used as an art gallery now. The building is being purpose-built as a gallery, but there have been long-standing concerns over its expected operating costs, which the CLP has said will likely be around $8 million per year. Ms Martin has been contacted for comment to confirm why she resigned, but sources have told the ABC that her decision was directly related to the gallery upheaval. Mr Charls has also been contacted for comment over the MAGNT chair's resignation. NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro told ABC Radio Darwin on Tuesday that, regardless of who took over the new CBD building, the government wanted to see it as a "signature piece" for the city. "There might be some exciting proponents who have some great ideas on what to do with it, [or] it may very well still end up being an art gallery," she said. "It'll be very interesting to see what comes out of the [EOI] process, if anything at all. "It's a shemozzle … we're now trying to see if there's a better way to use it; if not, well … we can put a chain around the door and not open it, or we can open it and put art in it. "All of that needs to play out." Ms Finocchiaro said the new CBD gallery did not have a storage facility for the entirety of MAGNT's holding collection, which she said was currently falling into ruin in storage at the museum's flagship location at Bullocky Point. "It's in a shed, rusting to the ground," Ms Finocchiaro said. The ABC understands that MAGNT will be submitting an EOI for the building to still become a CBD art gallery.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Locals in awe as rarely-seen creature washes up on remote beach: 'What a privilege'
Locals were in awe after stumbling across a rarely-seen sea creature on the shore of a popular Aussie beach. A pair of Darwin residents were going for a morning stroll on Casuarina Beach late last week when they spotted the bizarre-looking animal deceased in the shallow water. Puzzled by the approximately 1.8-metre fish with 'white spots', and its resemblance to both a shark and stingray, they turned to social media for answers — sparking the curiosity of numerous other locals and marine experts. Many responded that they believed the 'beautiful' creature to be a white-spotted wedgefish, otherwise known as a bottlenose wedgefish or a white-spotted guitarfish, deeming it a 'cool but sad find'. 'What a privilege to come across this!' Kirsti Abbott, head of science at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), commented, urging the beachgoers to report their finding for research. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Jeff Johnson, manager of ichthyology at Queensland Museum, confirmed the fish seen on Casuarina Beach is a 'species of wedgefish, genus Rhynchobatus'. 'This group are also known as guitarfish, or shovelnose rays. The largest of these can reach a maximum of at least 2.7m in total length.' These are three species of wedgefish, all of which can be found in Northern Territory waters, Johnson explained. 'The features that separate them, relative position of the dorsal and pelvic fins, and configuration of white and dark spots on the head and pectoral fins, are not clear in the photos supplied. 'Although impossible to confirm, it is most likely that this one is a white-spotted guitarfish, Rhynchobatus australiae. While aesthetically they do boast features that resemble both sharks and rays, wedgefish are not hybrids, and instead belong to a group of cartilaginous fish known as elasmobranchs, which includes both sharks and rays. 'All wedgefishes are bottom-dwelling and feature occasionally in anglers' catches, in estuaries, bays and coastal waters. They are totally harmless to humans,' Mr Johnson said. Given they are often found 60 metres below the surface, the creatures do not often wash up on beaches, he added. 🎣 Aussie woman ends up in hospital after battle with very rare fish 🦈 Incredibly rare 'sharktopus' sighting off New Zealand coast 🏝️ Mysterious foam at Aussie beach sickens surfers as wildlife wash up Given there are no obvious wounds on the fish found in Darwin, it is impossible to say what caused its death, Johnson said. 'Gill nets set for commercial fishing are a significant threat to wedgefishes, unless they are monitored regularly to release any non-target species such as this.' Leo Guida, with the Australian Marine Conservation Society, told Yahoo wedgefish are 'vulnerable to trawl fisheries across northern Australia because of their tendency to live near or on the seafloor'. 'Fortunately though, trawlers in Australia have an 'escape hatch' in the net called a 'turtle excluder device (TED)' that enables large animals to escape relatively unharmed from being scooped up.' While the white-spotted guitarfish is critically endangered around the world largely due to its highly valued meat and fins, 'Australia is considered a global 'lifeboat' for wedgefish because their numbers are relatively healthy in our waters', Guida said. 'However, it is estimated that in Australian waters their numbers have declined by around 30 per cent over the last 45 years, demonstrating why conservation measures like TEDs are crucial for these amazing creatures and the environmental performance of our fisheries.' Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
