Jessica Mauboy grew up in the outer Darwin suburb of Wulagi and she's proud to tell that to anyone who will listen.
"The street I grew up in was Pelican Street," she said.
"There's nothing wrong with growing up in a small town or a small suburb.
"You can make it anywhere if you really believe in it, believe in yourself and who you are."
The Darwin-born musician said memories of heading out on a dinghy to lay crab traps with her dad, local market food and the smells of the tropical city, have kept her grounded.
"There's a spirit and a sense of a connection to land, a connection to community and the people you love," she said.
"My mum, my dad, all my siblings, nieces and nephews, extended family, first cousins, second cousins – they're all here, all my mob are here."
Mauboy has returned to Larrakia country to take on a new role supporting remote community artists, who will share their works and textiles at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (DAAF) and related fashion shows later this year.
"It's a huge responsibility and I want to be able to share that message and be that role model that encourages mob to come out and to continue to share their story because it's important," she said.
"Their story is important."
As an ambassador for DAAF, Mauboy has started visiting remote art centres including Marrawuddi at Jabiru and Gunbalanya's Injaluk Arts.
But she said she would be taking a back seat.
"From my point of view, from my lens, I'm being taught, I'm the listener," she said.
After a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19, artists from remote Northern Territory communities and elsewhere in Australia will once again be able to travel long distances to share their work in person at the DAAF events in August.
This comes with a promise from the event's organisers to return all the profits to artists and their communities via local art centres, with the event taking no commission.
Shilo McNamee, the event's artistic director and an artist herself, went to the same high school as Mauboy.
"The art centres play a massive role in supporting artists and communities and just keeping a lot of the income streams going," she said
"That's something that we're trying to actively educate the public about, buying ethically and knowing where artwork has come from."
"It's really great to see on social media that people are asking these questions."
Last year, the event went online and, with 1,730 artists from more than 70 remote art centres, generated about $3 million.
"[It's] helping these art centres support artists on country so they can work from home," Ms McNamee said.
"Being able to pass on their stories is a really important part of bringing artwork into the fashion space and also making sure that all collaborations are with the artists on board, so they can say what designs are appropriate to wear in what circumstances.
"The younger artists and younger generations are wearing their designs with pride, which is really great to see."
Mauboy said she also wanted to be a strong role model for younger NT residents.
"I'm sure youth are facing a lot of challenges," she said.
"Just trust yourself and believe in yourself more, and that takes great courage and great bravery but once you do that, I think all else just falls into place."
