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The inaugural year of Parrtjima

2016

A woman standing in front of a light sculpture of an umbrella
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Parrtjima 2016: The First Festival in Alice Springs

Parrtjima began in Alice Springs in 2016, bringing Aboriginal art into the night landscape of the Red Centre. Held from 23 September to 2 October, the inaugural festival introduced ten free evenings of illuminated artworks at Alice Springs Desert Park, with the MacDonnell Ranges forming an extraordinary backdrop.

The first edition established several experiences that would become closely associated with Parrtjima. Visitors could walk among colourful installations and see artworks projected onto the desert earth. Light spread across a 2.5-kilometre section of the ranges, giving the festival a scale shaped by its Central Australian setting.

Artists' individual stories were central to the displays. Lenie Namatjira's circular painting of Mt Sonder was enlarged and illuminated as a skirt-shaped artwork. Local schoolchildren also contributed illustrations that were transformed into giant glowing caterpillars. Together, these works brought contributions from different generations into a shared public space, beginning Parrtjima's annual celebration of Indigenous art on Arrernte Country.

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