Overview
Every evening between now and October 2, Alice Springs will be the brightest place in Australia. Lights will illuminate a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the nearby MacDonnell Ranges, and luminous artwork will be projected onto the city's desert sands — and yes, that's just the beginning of the region's glowing wonders.
Both form part of Parrtjima – A Festival in Light, which holds the honour of being the nation's first Indigenous festival of its kind. Showcasing contemporary and traditional Indigenous art, culture and stories using light and sound, it's also Australia's biggest-ever light installation. It is created by the Northern Territory Government and local artists in collaboration with AGB Events (aka the folks that light up Sydney each year for Vivid), after all.
Visitors won't just celebrate Aboriginal culture by basking in the glory of a glimmering 300-million-year-old land mass — they'll also play a part in choosing just how the Ranges come to glowing life. An interactive component, called Range of Expression, allows festival-goers to pick their favourite colours and then see them projected onto the vast landscape. Looking down rather than up, Grounded immerses attendees in a sequence of artworks symbolising the return of Indigenous art to the country.
The festival also features three light-filled caterpillar installations that tell the Yeperenye Dreamtime story, as well as five illuminated '50s-style skirts covered in watercolour landscape paintings by Alice Springs artists, including Albert Namatjira's granddaughter Lenie Namatjira. And while Parrtjima only brightens up the outback for ten nights, it's hoped that it'll become an annual drawcard.
Parrtjima – A Festival in Light runs until October 2 in the Alice Springs Desert Park, Norther Territory. For more information, visit the festival website.
Images: James Horan.