MARKED: Tracing Modern Murals and Graffiti Culture in the Northern Territory

INTRO

This exhibition offers a snapshot of the marks people leave on surfaces across the Northern Territory. Some are commercial, some are graffiti, and some are simply ways of sending messages. At their core, murals, graffiti, scrawls, and even signs all share the same purpose: they are forms of communication. Whether it’s a quick tag on a pole or a large‑scale mural on a wall, each mark says something about the people and places that made it.

Guest Curator: Dave Collins and Shay Jayawardena

ARTIST TALK: BENCH TALK PODCAST

Live at NCCA 

Tuesday 2 June 2026

6 - 7pm

Join us to watch an episode of Bench Talk podcast - recorded live at NCCA with a panel of DSAF artists!

Hosted by Melbourne-based artist Tom Gerrard (who is also painting a mural) each episode goes beyond the canvas to explore the real story behind a working art career: how artists developed their practice, found their voice, built their reputation and figured out how to actually make a living from their work.

There is a capacity at NCCA - so please register if you'd like to join!

RSVP HERE

MARKED BOOK LAUNCH AND 10 YEAR CELEBRATION
NCCA

4 June 2026, 

6pm – 8pm
Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, 3 Vimy Ln, Parap NT 0820, Australia

Join us for the final night of the festival - we're taking over NCCA for the launch of our 'MARKED' Coffee Table book/exhibition catalogue - and closing out the tenth DSAF! There will be a bar and some tunes - and the first 150 people through get a free copy of the book! You'll also get to see the 4 new murals that have taken shape in Vimy Lane for the 2026 DSAF

MARKED: TRACING MODERN MURALS IN WURRAMIYANGA WITH GORDON PUPANGAMIRRI AND COLIN HOLT

NCCA

Saturday 27 June

12 - 1pm

From the Big Shop to Tiwi Designs, the Keeping Place to the Primary School, Wurrumiyanga is home to murals that have shaped the modern art trail on Bathurst Island. In this conversation, Tiwi man Gordon Pupangamirri, interviewed by his friend Colin Holt, reflects on the days they painted the Tiwi Shop and shares stories about the murals that came before it.