TIMELESSNESS
Central Australia's much-loved Parrtjima – A Festival in Light shines brightly in the desert for its 10th iteration this month. Presented by Northern Territory Major Events Company, it offers a program brimming with art, sound and storytelling under the clear, starry skies of Mparntwe/Alice Springs.
WORDS JENNA HOARE
AS THE SUN sets behind the Tjoritja/MacDonnell Ranges, the desert awakens with playful scenes of light. Across 10 illuminating nights, the desertscape transforms with art, live performances, guest talks, food trucks, and the return of the Buy Blak Market, creating a welcoming space for locals and visitors to gather and experience the festivities.
Parrtjima curator and Bundjalung woman Rhoda Roberts AO oversees the festival program, working closely with the Parrtjima Festival Reference Group and Central Australia’s peak arts body, Desart, which represents Aboriginal artists from across 47 Art Centres throughout the region. She says the 2025 theme ‘Timelessness’ explores the enduring connection between generations through culture, music, song, and storytelling.
“Timelessness looks at our landscape … it’s timeless, it consistently adapts, as does our creation of artistic expression. We’re still grounded to those old ancient stories and footprints that were laid down [years ago] but we’re just retelling these stories in different mediums.”
In 1971, Aboriginal artists in Papunya began painting traditional designs with acrylic paints on Country, sparking the Western Desert art movement and leading to the formation of the Papunya Tula Artists cooperative the next year. Roberts says that since traditional stories were first shared with the world through dot paintings on canvas, these mediums have continued to evolve with new generations of artists in new ways.
“Now we move into Parrtjima … and 10 years later, the artists are still open and flexible to seeing their art designs transformed into light, new technology, audio, and installations,” she says.
“I just find that incredible how adaptive and how open the artists are because they know, at the essence, the story remains true to Country … it still has that essence of timelessness from the ancestral footprints when that story was first handed down.”
One to look out for at this year’s Parrtjima is Hypnotic Reverberations, a new artist installation by Bobby West Tjupurrula, that tells the story of being on Country through beams of light, mist, and reflections across a shallow pool.
Tjupurrula won the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) in 2011. He is son of Freddy West Tjakamarra, a founding painter and shareholder of Papunya Tula Artists. Tjupurrula says he’s thrilled to collaborate with the festival for the first time.
“I’m really happy to take part [in Parrtjima], it’s good for me, my son and daughters, who are also artists,” he says.
“My father taught me to paint … I taught my children. My son is following in my footsteps.”
Other exciting new installations to experience on the ground include Molly Hunt's Three Generations of Station Women, and Lyall Giles' Transforming Light & Country.
“This year, we’ve invited Molly Hunt to produce an animated piece with graphics … it’s really relevant to the next few decades,” Roberts says.
“Molly’s work will shift our vision a little bit for the future.”
In a festival filled with firsts, a comedy night featuring back-to-back performances by Andy Saunders and Sean Choolburra is set to entertain as part of the nightly live shows. It also wouldn’t be Parrtjima without a stellar musical line-up.
Treat your ears to the sounds of Australia’s most awarded country music artist, Troy Cassar-Daley, and an exciting debut collaboration between the Darwin Symphony Orchestra and the Desert Divas, a MusicNT development program that links emerging First Nations female singer/ songwriters with expert mentors and industry connections.
Territorian and former AFL player, now singer-songwriter Marlon Motlop, fresh off his hit single 'The Gift' with the Hilltop Hoods, will set the tone on opening night.
Festival-goers can rest easy knowing event organisers have them covered, with a free shuttle bus service operating between the Alice Springs CBD and the festival site at the Alice Springs Desert Park.
Delight in the heart of the desert, and experience the timelessness of art, music, and culture at Parrtjima. It’s magical.
Parrtjima – A Festival in Light
WHEN FRI 4 – SUN 13 APR
AT ALICE SPRINGS DESERT PARK
COST FREE
INFO parrtjima.com.au
