Local Lady Belinda Kelly

by Stephanie Williams

Executive Producer Belinda Kelly is making sure a new generation of Tasmanians continue to enjoy puppetry.

Where in Hobart do you live? LoWeHo? Lower West Hobart, on the edge of the CBD

What’s the best thing about Hobart? The size, walkability, cultural assets, and proximity to the beach and bush.

And the worst? The car culture and fixation on free parking.

Tell us a little about your work? I am an arts manager and producer, with a speciality in making new Australian work, and currently the Executive Producer/CEO at Terrapin Puppet Theatre. We make new work for theatres and interactive installations for public space in Hobart then tour the world, from Flinders Island to NYC’s the Lincoln Centre to the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival. Our horizons have temporarily shrunken a little over this Covid-era, but we enjoy great relationships with all our local festivals so have continued to make and present work in this time.

Why did you move to Tassie to work with Terrapin? Having grown up on a farm in regional Victoria, but only ever having lived in the centre of large cities as an adult (Melbourne, London, Sydney), I had a growing hankering to get out of town, and a fear of living the rest of my life in the big smoke. Hobart offers a happy, and very picturesque, medium between a heaving metropolis and country life. The cultural scene here is also very strong and growing and it’s the perfect place to make new work.

What role do you think Terrapin plays in the arts scene? Terrapin creates all-new work, collaborating with writers, designers, makers and performers to develop our productions. This means we can support and nurture talent here in Tasmania, and provide a pathway for these artists to share their work with new audiences here, on the mainland and internationally. We’re presenting Nathan Maynard’s play A Not So Traditional Story in Hobart and Launceston during the school holidays, and it’s a real privilege to work with Tasmanian Aboriginal artists to help tell their stories.

Why puppetry? Puppetry has a unique power to evoke empathy. You have to use your imagination to believe that something is alive, even when a part of you knows it isn’t.

What do you love doing outside work? I am loving my role as a board member for Tasmania’s Beaker Street Festival of Arts and Science. Founded a few short years ago by scientist Margo Adler, this festival is transforming the way science is communicated to the general public (with great art and great local beverages!).

Where’s your favourite Hobart eatery? Migrant Resource Centre Kitchen, Hamlet, Templo.

Drink of choice and where do you head for it? Vino. Sonny, Lucinda, Tom McHugo’s, Willing Bros.

Guilty pleasure? Old seasons of Australian Survivor. I’m not sure it’s entirely a guilty pleasure as I’ve learnt a lot about strategy from watching it, but I admit it is not considered an entirely conventional tool for business planning and development. Some people think it is quite trashy!

What do you never leave home without? XXX Extra Strong Mints.

If I didn’t live in Hobart I’d live… I’m not sure, I might have Stockholm syndrome caused by locked borders, it is hard to imagine living anywhere else at this time.

Where to next? On the move again after a period of reflection and development. After the incredible disruption caused by Covid to the performing arts and event worlds, we are looking ahead to touring off the island again. All going well we will be in the Gold Coast at the new HOTA complex in September and at the Sydney Opera House in January. In 2022 we are also representing Tasmania by presenting a new interactive public space work at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, which involves a group of Tasmanian school children rewriting our national anthem. We are very curious to see what they come up with. We are also hoping to make a delayed trip to Japan and to welcome Japanese artists to Tasmania to develop a new work for theatres.

Quote to live by? For this era, Samuel Beckett: “You must go on. I can’t go on. I’ll go on.

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Extras

Hobart Happenings

by Stephanie Williams

OFF SEASON: Bits And Pieces

Not many people have a garden named after them but one of the founders of modern organic gardening in Tasmania, David, can enjoy the spoils of the David Stephen Neighbourhood Garden (formerly Kickstart CG) in New Town.

Hobart Happenings

Hobart Happenings in March 2024

Hobart Happenings

Hobart Happenings in February 2024

Stay up to date with everything happening at the Hobart Magazine.

Even though Tasmania is known for its mild summers, it doesn’t take much to get sunburnt. Tasmania experiences extreme ultraviolet (UV) levels, but contrary to popular belief this isn’t due to the hole in the ozone layer, which is actually south of the continent.While higher UV levels often occur at the same time as higher temperatures, the two are not linked. Instead, UV levels are determined by the angle of the sun in the sky: the higher the sun, the higher the UV. In December and January, the position of the sun over Tasmania gives the state a UV index of 11 or more on most days, which is classified as “extreme” on the UV index. Tasmania’s lack of humidity and generally clear skies contribute to the stinging feeling of the sun. UV can reflect off buildings and water, making it possible to get a higher dose of UV from these reflected rays, even in the shade.

Having just spent a year in Antarctica, Dr Meg is ready to get back to her patients and passion projects in Hobart.

Setting up shop during a pandemic was a risky move, but if the crowd at Dāna Eating House (Dāna) on a Friday night is anything to go by, it’s one that’s paid off. With tables of diners chatting and laughing over drinks, the music and conversation buzzes off the monstera-leaf-green walls. Low-hanging rattan lights and worn wooden floorboards give the newly opened South-East Asian fusion venue in Hobart’s CBD a relaxed vibe.

These women have been suiting up Tasmania’s front-line workers for more than 30 years.

A simple cave provided the perfect hideout for one of Tasmania’s most brutal bushrangers – and you can easily walk to it from Fern Tree. Sarah Aitken went in search of the story of Rocky Whelan.

Thank you to Luke Brokensha for mobilising his friends and local residents recently to host two rubbish clean ups along the Hobart Rivulet after heavy rains.

The warm weather returns...hello summer.

Need a laugh? Check out @theinspiredunemployed feed on Instagram.

Moto Vecchia Cafe in Bellerive and Czegs Cafe in Richmond have joined the Clarence City Council dementia program, creating dementia-friendly spaces for all patrons.

It’s hard to believe it’s not standard practice to have a working phone in every aged care room - shared phones make private conversations impossible and increase the risk of spreading COVID-19.

Tacks on the tracks. Mountain bikers beware of tacks being left on certain tracks on the mountain.

Just when you think your cousins are alright. NZ Opposition Leader Judith Collins took aim at Tassie during her recent (unsuccessful) campaign, calling us Australia’s “poor cousin.” She also seems worried about us nabbing tech businesses, “It’s a lovely part of the world but do you necessarily want to go there with your high- tech business? Possibly not,” she said. We beg to differ!