Debbie Jane Micairan

Tonight was the first session of the Cultural Catalyst program with Darwin Community Arts. This program is a 3-month program that includes hands-on workshops to build on my skills and expand my creative practice to work and engage with communities in a respectful and meaningful way, and I am among the 5 who were selected from 20 applicants!

I applied for this program because truthfully, I feel stuck. I have ideas, but I’m unsure on how to further develop these ideas into something that our community can engage with and benefit from. A lot of these ideas stemmed from my own start-up, REPHERSENT, which was born out of my fierce passion of representation and advocacy for women in music. In 2025, I started off with representing local music artist, Tracey Bunn, which was a year of leaps and bounds in personal and professional growth, being in new spaces, meeting new faces, and understanding how the music industry currently operates.

But towards the end of 2025, as much as I was grateful for the opportunities I had representing Tracey Bunn, in amongst some self-reflection I wondered if I had strayed away from my vision for REPHERSENT and questioned whether if I was contributing to music, the arts and my community in a way that was meaningful. And after consultation and 2 days of deep strategic planning – it became evident to me that REPHERSENT needed to go into a different direction to align with my vision and serve my community.

I’ve also had a career change and have been in the arts (mainly performing arts) for the past 4 years specifically in administration, marketing and communications and (recently) development. I’m in a place now where I’d like to be less behind-the-scenes and more hands-on with other creatives, collaborating and creating, and fostering community. So, my intentions of why I want to be part of this program are clear and what this program has to offer is very aligned in where I am today.

Tonight was an introduction session, getting to know the other creatives who were selected for this program over a few fun activities and dinner. I met five other incredibly inspiring and creative women, including Alyson, the facilitator and learned the fascinating history of Darwin Community Arts and how it operates as an organisation today. In a true artists’ way – it’s very radical and I love it!

There’s something about being surrounded with like-minded creatives that feels validating and grounding as an artist, this was evident when we created a Yes Manifesto, which highlighted our shared values, beliefs and attitudes in this space. What a beautiful way to feel a sense of belonging, a sense of community.

I enjoyed learning about their artistic practices and backgrounds, their involvement in our community and how it’s led them to where they are today. I also enjoyed learning more about them as individuals, where they are from and why they are now in Darwin. I felt inspired by their stories; visionaries for the future of community arts on Larrakia Country, Darwin.

I’m excited to be in this space: to learn from other workshop facilitators, to learn from my peers and to learn more about myself as a creative. I left DCA feeling like my cup had been overflowing with joy and inspiration.

Watch this space!