Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Territorian Ben Graetz who is in Alice Springs for fabALICE Festival

Transcript

Katie Woolf spoke with Territorian Ben Graetz who is in Alice Springs for fabALICE Festival · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf. Join the conversation with Katie Wolf.
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  Speaker 1: You are our eyes and ears in the Territory mixed
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  Speaker 1: one oh four point nine and joining us live on
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  Speaker 1: the line is very well known and much loved territory
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  Speaker 1: and Ben grats. Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Ben, Good morning all the way from Alice Springs.
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  Speaker 1: Woo and fresh off Channel ten's the project last night?
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  Speaker 2: Oh thank you. Yeah, it was a really great story,
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  Speaker 2: wasn't it.
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  Speaker 1: It was? You know, you guys are doing a wonderful
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  Speaker 1: thing obviously promoting the Northern Territory and promoting fab Alice Festival,
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  Speaker 1: which is set to get underway, well pretty much, I
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  Speaker 1: suppose is it today or when? Is that?
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  Speaker 2: Yes? Right now? But yes, starts today. They had the
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  Speaker 2: flag racing ceremony and then tonight there's a big event
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  Speaker 2: in the mall here in the Todd Male in Alice Springs,
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  Speaker 2: which is really great. Now, Ben, tell.
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  Speaker 1: Us a little bit more about what people cann Ect
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  Speaker 1: expect at fab Alice. I know that I've been told
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  Speaker 1: it is exactly that fabulous and a great event to
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  Speaker 1: be part of.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a really great event. There's a number of
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  Speaker 2: events over this weekend, including free events but also some
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  Speaker 2: paid events and I think the paid event tomorrow the
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  Speaker 2: Carna Valley has actually sold out five hundred people. So
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  Speaker 2: you know, it's a really popular event and festival that
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  Speaker 2: happens here. We've been fortunate enough to do it over
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  Speaker 2: the last three years, which has been really great and
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  Speaker 2: you know, being a territory and I'm so proud to
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  Speaker 2: not only be able to do events in Darwin but
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  Speaker 2: also in Alice Springs. So there's a range of events
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  Speaker 2: from family friendly events to cabarets in the mall to
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  Speaker 2: the karnavalle As I mentioned, there's also a youth event,
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  Speaker 2: our film festival that happened during it. So it's a
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  Speaker 2: wide variety of events from page to three, which is.
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  Speaker 1: Great and Ben, I think it was a wonderful thing
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  Speaker 1: that the whole nation then last night was able to see,
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  Speaker 1: you know, just how diverse and what kind of community
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  Speaker 1: we've got here in the Northern Territory on the project.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, and you know, to be able to be
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  Speaker 2: on Central at under Country, you know, there's so much
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  Speaker 2: great energy here and I love coming back here and
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  Speaker 2: you know, we had a couple of media shots yesterday
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  Speaker 2: with Courtney Act and then you know, the landscape actually
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  Speaker 2: takes over Drake Wins believe it or not, but.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know if that's possible. Ben. I saw a
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  Speaker 1: photo of both of you have got the best legs
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  Speaker 1: I've ever seen.
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  Speaker 2: So I was so great working with Courtney up here
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  Speaker 2: and she's such a trooper. And that interview that we
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  Speaker 2: did sort of for the project, it was like forty
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  Speaker 2: degree heat. Was sitting outside trying to like concentrate. I
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  Speaker 2: think I had forty flies on my face and I
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  Speaker 2: was just like, how am I going to get through this?
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  Speaker 2: But it ended up turning out really great and well.
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  Speaker 1: And one of the great things also that was promoted
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  Speaker 1: on the project last night was your brain Child, which
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  Speaker 1: is the search for the first for the Miss First Nation,
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  Speaker 1: which is going to be held in Melbourne this year.
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  Speaker 1: How did you come up with this fabulous idea for
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  Speaker 1: first Miss First Nation?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? Really, it was born out of a need for
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  Speaker 2: myself and Daniel Cunningham is from Dalen to allan Asana.
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  Speaker 2: We wanted to be able to showcase drag artists and
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  Speaker 2: their talents and to be able to give them a
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  Speaker 2: spotlight and you know, a gig on the main stage
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  Speaker 2: and so the first everyone was twenty seventeen in Darwin.
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  Speaker 2: For the inaugural one was in Darwin and from that
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  Speaker 2: there was an incredible documentary called Black Divers created and
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  Speaker 2: really from then it's just grown and grown in strength
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  Speaker 2: and as you mentioned, this year it's a part of
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  Speaker 2: the year and Boy Festival and Midsummer in Melbourne, so
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  Speaker 2: it's going to be another huge event and it just
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  Speaker 2: warms my heart that we're able to give, you know,
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  Speaker 2: Drag First Nation artists an opportunity and a stage in
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  Speaker 2: a spotlight to be able to share their stories and
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  Speaker 2: their unique talent.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and Ben, you've been an incredibly busy person. You
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  Speaker 1: actually well you've just you know, all the straight off
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  Speaker 1: the back of Marti Gras as well.
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  Speaker 2: It's Marti Gras, which was you know, once again they
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  Speaker 2: had me back, which was such an honor to do
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  Speaker 2: the welcome and smoking ceremony on Galligaul Country up there,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, to curate that and put it together
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  Speaker 2: and as you may have seen, it was completely different
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  Speaker 2: due to COVID. It wasn't on Oxford Street, it was
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  Speaker 2: at the seg So I had a great you know,
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  Speaker 2: it was so exciting to be able to walk onto
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  Speaker 2: the SCG and do that welcome and smoking ceremony in
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  Speaker 2: front of all those people. It's going to be one
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  Speaker 2: of those memories that I remember for a very long time.
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  Speaker 1: You must feel really so proud to be able to
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  Speaker 1: represent the Northern Territory in that way, but to represent
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  Speaker 1: First Nations people in that way particularly, you know then
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  Speaker 1: when you talk about those that do drag, Yeah, you know.
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  Speaker 2: I've always been such a huge advocate for the Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory because you know, that is my home, That's where
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  Speaker 2: I was born. It always will be home, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: wherever I can support the Northern Territory and Darwin and
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  Speaker 2: our people up there, but particularly our First Nation community
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  Speaker 2: and am particularly our lgbch IQA plus community. You know,
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  Speaker 2: I just think it's so important to show that we
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  Speaker 2: are a diverse people. We are a diverse community, and
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  Speaker 2: you know, at the end of the day, you know,
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  Speaker 2: we are celebrating as one and you know, we're having fun,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, I think that that's a really good
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  Speaker 2: thing to celebrate.
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  Speaker 1: And Ben, you're also going to be or you are
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  Speaker 1: one of the creative directors for the Sydney World Pride
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. Jeez, I think I've just found someone
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  Speaker 1: who's busier than me.
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  Speaker 2: I think period I wasn't going to even map already,
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  Speaker 2: but that's it's Katie. It's so incredible to be, you know,
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  Speaker 2: one of there co creative crew directors of Sydney World
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  Speaker 2: Pride twenty twenty three. And you know we've already started
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  Speaker 2: work on it because it's going to be one of
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  Speaker 2: those events. It's the first time in history that it's
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  Speaker 2: happened a World Pride has happened in the Southern Hemisphere,
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  Speaker 2: So you know there's going to be people from all
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  Speaker 2: over the world either coming to Sydney or tune in virtually,
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  Speaker 2: and so you know it's a little bit we're gonna
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  Speaker 2: have the eyes of the world on us once again,
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  Speaker 2: and to be able to be the steering the creative
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  Speaker 2: journey of that is a huge honor.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Ben Gratz, I tell you what, you and I
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  Speaker 1: have been friends for a long time, We've worked together.
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  Speaker 1: I'm always so proud to see the wonderful work that
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  Speaker 1: you do.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, thank you, Katie, and thank you all so much
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  Speaker 2: for the things that you do as well in giving
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  Speaker 2: the Northern Territory avoid.
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  Speaker 1: Well, we will talk to you again very soon. I
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  Speaker 1: cannot wait to see more photos out of fab Alice
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  Speaker 1: and you are looking absolutely fabulous.
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  Speaker 2: Oh thank you Katie. Happy Fablis Festival.
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  Speaker 1: We'll talk to you soon. Ben, thank you. That is
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  Speaker 1: Ben Gratz there. He is a wonderful person and what
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  Speaker 1: he does obviously for the Northern Territory in terms of
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  Speaker 1: putting us on the map, I just think he's wonderful
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  Speaker 1: and indeed for our First Nations people as well,