Araluen Arts Centre
Araluen Arts Centre is the focal point of Alice Springs’ performing and visual arts scene, incorporating four galleries and a 487-seat theatre.
The annual theatre program includes performances by national touring companies and many high quality local productions. The theatre is also available for the presentation of corporate functions and conferences, in association with the function room and the galleries where suitable.
The galleries feature a program of exhibitions with a focus on Aboriginal art from Central Australia, and contemporary art by local and Australian artists.
The Albert Namatjira Gallery displays a rotating selection of paintings by this famous Aboriginal artist, his descendants and contemporaries. The gallery also features early works from Papunya and the “Hermannsburg School”.
Araluen Arts Centre was designed and built around the 300 year old Corkwood Tree in the Sculpture Garden. This tree, another at the front of the building and Big Sister Hill are also considered sacred by the Arrernte people.
Araluen’s Arthouse Cinema Program brings both national and international arthouse films and film festivals to the people of Alice Springs.
Many of the films screened during the year are associated with Oscar Award winning actors and directors, while many will have won various international film festival awards. Some of the films also go on to achieve a cult following amongst arthouse cinema goers.
September 2018
Desert Mob 2018
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre and Desart Desert Mob is one of the most significant expressions of Aboriginal art and culture in the nation, and one of its most anticipated and extraordinary events. Held annually since 1991, the Desert Mob Exhibition, Symposium and MarketPlace are a powerful articulation of culture, country and contemporary desert life by artists from Desart-member art centres across the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. The most immediate interface between Aboriginal art and artists from remote desert communities and the wider world, Desert Mob is celebratory, a…
Find out more »October 2018
Submergence
USA, France, Spain Directed by Wim Wenders Starring James McAvoy, Alicia Vikander Submergence is a love story that takes us into the extremely different worlds of our two protagonists, Danielle Flinders (Alicia Vikander) and James More (James McAvoy). They meet by chance in a remote hotel in Normandy where they both prepare for a dangerous mission. They fall in love almost against their will, but soon recognize in each other the love of their lives. When they have to separate, we find out that…
Find out more »An Interview with God
USA Directed by Perry Lang Starring David Strathairn, Brenton Thwaites, Yael Grobglas Covering the war in Afghanistan provided journalist Paul Asher with some of the best stories of his young career. But that endeavour ends up costing him so much more than he ever could have calculated. Upon returning home, Paul struggles to deal with the after-effects of his experiences, a failing marriage, and his dying faith. Not knowing where to turn, Paul dives deeply into the story of a lifetime—an interview with…
Find out more »November 2018
TQ18
Territory Quilts 2018 Presented by the Alice Springs Quilting Club Opening Friday 2 November Presented in Alice Springs by the Alice Springs Quilting Club, Territory Quilts 2018 is an exhibition of the finest work by quilters from across the Northern Territory. A judged exhibition, outstanding examples of quilting practice are awarded across a range of categories. Territory Quilts is master craftsmanship writ large, the stitch and block, delicacy and boldness, traditional and experimental approaches on show. It is also the…
Find out more »Book Week
Australia Directed by Heath Davis Starring Alan Dukes Filmed in the Blue Mountains, Book Week is a shaggy dark comedy about a disgraced novelist turned English teacher trying to find redemption. For generations, dressing up for Book Week has been an Aussie school tradition. But for high-school English teacher Nicholas Cutler, it’s the week from hell. Once a literary enfant terrible, and now simply a terrible man, he’s now struggling to instil a love of reading in teenagers who’d rather toy with…
Find out more »Punuku Tjukurpa – touring exhibition of works from Maruku Arts archive
Presented by Artback NT Opening Friday 9 November Ka punu nganampa tjuta palya ananyi tjana nyakuntjaku. Wiru nyangatja. Tjana nyakula kulilpai alatji palyalpai munu memory tjuta ngananana Kanyilpai. “It is good that our carvings should go out to the world for all to see. This is a good thing. People can see and understand how things are made and that we have a lot of memories .” Niningka Lewis, Artist Punuku Tjukurpa is an exhibition of Anangu story, Law and…
Find out more »Melbourne International Guitar Competition Winner – Callum Henshaw Music
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre Organised by the Melbourne Guitar Foundation, the Melbourne International Guitar Festival is the southern hemisphere’s largest annual classical guitar festival. Held in the historic Melba Hall, guitarists from all over the world converge on Melbourne to take part in a weekend of guitar. In 2017, Callum Henshaw was the winner of the International Concert Artist Competition and will tour Australia in 2018. Callum Henshaw Canberra-born classical guitarist Callum Henshaw is considered one of Australia's leading…
Find out more »Fecund: Fertile Worlds
Presented by Artback NT Opening Friday 16 November Announced as the inaugural SPARK NT Curator, Katherine based Clare Armitage presents Fecund: Fertile Worlds. Bringing together works by contemporary artists from across the NT and Australia, Fecund explores life, death and desire in the natural world. Fecund celebrates the intrinsically optimistic nature of growth. It acknowledges the resilience of life, the interconnectedness of living systems and the will to exist. Presenting a diverse array of art forms, Fecund conjures a rich…
Find out more »Island of the Hungry Ghosts
Germany/UK/Australia | Some subtitles Directed by Gabrielle Brady Located off the coast of Indonesia, the Australian territory of Christmas Island is inhabited by migratory crabs travelling in their millions from the jungle towards the ocean, in a movement that has been provoked by the full moon for hundreds of thousands of years. Poh Lin Lee is a “trauma therapist” who lives with her family in this seemingly idyllic paradise. Every day, she talks with the asylum seekers held indefinitely in a high-security…
Find out more »The Back Track Boys
Documentary | Australia Directed by Catherine Scott The Back Track Boys features the rough talking, free-wheeling jackaroo, Bernie Shakeshaft, and the youth program he runs from a shed on the outskirts of Armidale, NSW. When everyone else gives up on troubled kids like Zac, Tyrson and Rusty, they head to Back Track. It’s a place where they can feel safe, continue their education, but most importantly it’s where they learn to support each other and pursue their dreams. This observational documentary follows Zac,…
Find out more »Fiona O’Loughlin LIVE
Presented by Mark David Management Fiona O’Loughlin – Gap Year Fiona’s been on a bit of a trip… of a lifetime. After finishing a masters in how not to deal with some of life’s misgivings, she’s decided she’s learned a few things. How to talk to nurses after being away for a while (in a coma), how to not sweat the sweat, and getting back to doing what she does best, making us all laugh with her raconteuse glide of effortless…
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