Brown’s Mart’s own 60-Minute Makeover

Jermaine, Trevor, Eduardo, Bruce, Joel, Bill & Andy

Media Release

Despite Cyclone Carlos playing havoc with planning, Brown’s Mart was able to have a face lift last month.

Thanks to generous sponsorship, this Territory Government heritage-listed building witnessed a frenzy of paint rollers as a 7-man team arrived, built scaffolding, filled blemishes and opened 50 litres of low sheen paint.

The works were coordinated with approval from the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport (NRETAS).

Brown’s Mart is approaching 40 years as a black box theatre. Its history dates back to an announcement by former Administrator Fred Chaney that the Mart would become a “little theatre” and the appointment of the first Trustees under the chairmanship of Mr Ken Conway AM in October 1971.

The significance of Brown’s Mart being a “black box theatre” is that the configuration can be amended to suit particular productions. Seating banks move and the completely black intimate space creates the perfect backdrop for drama and performance.

The NT News reported on the first complete internal facelift in early seventies: Members of Nightcliff Apex and the Arts Council prepare the interior of Brown’s Mart for its inauguration as an intimate theatre.

By 2011, the theatre was scuffed and marked, showing signs of the high level of use, particularly over the past year, and it was a daunting task for volunteers to tackle.

This was when Bill Warren’s multi-award winning, Darwin based, painting service stepped in to support Brown’s Mart, with Dulux providing all the paint for free.

Within 260 minutes, the entire theatre had been completed. A grateful Venue Manager remarked Bill Warren, I can’t tell you how exciting this is – watching paint dry to the right shade of black!