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.
March 2020
The Biggest Little Farm
Araluen Art House Cinema Documentary | USA Directed by John Chester Featuring John and Molly Chester A testament to the immense complexity of nature, The Biggest Little Farm follows two dreamers and a dog on an odyssey to bring harmony to both their lives and the land. When the barking of their beloved dog leads to an eviction notice from their tiny LA apartment, John and Molly Chester naively make the choice to move to the country to build a…
Find out more »The Leunig Fragments
Araluen Art House Cinema Documentary | AUSTRALIA Written and Directed by Kasimir Burgess “There are two conflicting themes in every artist, the desire to communicate and the desire to not be found. I think that’s me.” - Michael Leunig With exclusive and intimate access to one of Australia’s National Living Treasures – Michael Leunig – this feature documentary entertains, engages and enlivens audiences with a revealing portrait of an enigmatic artist who just happens to be a household name. With…
Find out more »We Eat We Are
A Spark NT exhibition curated by Sarah Pirrie Presented by Araluen Arts Centre and Artback NT We Eat We Are celebrates food as a form of social sculpture that unites, nourishes and renews. Artist and curator Sarah Pirrie explores the relational experience of food as a cultural determinant, as a sacred language and as a vital environmental resource at the heart of community. Bringing together new work by leading, mid-career and emerging Northern Territory artists and featuring artworks and collectives influenced by the Territory’s food culture, We Eat We…
Find out more »Ocean Film Festival 2020
Presented by Adventure Reels With a vision to mesmerise and captivate, the Ocean Film Festival World Tour showcases more than two hours of sublime footage taken above and below the water’s surface. Featuring all new films this carefully curated selection of short films document the beauty and power of the ocean, and celebrate the divers, surfers, swimmers and oceanographers who live for the sea’s salt spray; who chase the crests of waves; and who marvel at the mysteries of the big blue.…
Find out more »HAPPINESS, SUCCESS & THE LAW OF KARMA
Why are some people naturally happy and successful, while others experience problems and obstacles? Why is it that when we get what we want, we often fail to derive satisfaction from having it? Why is contentment and good fortune elusive, while difficulties arise effortlessly? How can I change this situation? Buddha gave clear answers to all of these questions in his teaching on the law of karma. During this day course, Gen Kelsang Dornying will explain this universal law and…
Find out more »Flickerfest 2020
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre 29th International Short Film Festival - Electrifying Short Films! Celebrating 29 years, FLiCKERFEST is Australia’s leading Academy® Award accredited and BAFTA-recognised Short Film Festival, and the country’s largest Australian & International short film competition, screening the best of shorts from Australia and around the world, hand-picked from 3,500 entries. FLiCKERFEST screens for 10 days under the summer stars at Bondi Beach in January 2020, with selected highlights touring Australia on a national tour from January through to May. FLiCKERFEST remains…
Find out more »April 2020
The Gospel According to Paul
Araluen Arts Centre presents Soft Tread’s The Gospel According to Paul Written and performed by Jonathan Biggins "★★★★★ A hilariously funny, astute, inspiring show" Limelight One of Australia’s favourite performers, Jonathan Biggins, is Paul Keating – visionary, reformer and rabble-rouser – in the return of the 2019 smash hit comedy, The Gospel According to Paul. Full of intelligence and wit, The Gospel According to Paul is a funny, insightful and occasionally poignant portrait of Paul Keating. the man that - as…
Find out more »The Alice Prize
Contemporary national art award. $30,000 prize for winner. Entries Close: Midnight Friday 7 February 2020 Official opening & announcement of the winner - Friday 17 April 2020 Exhibition: Saturday 18 April to Monday 8 June 2020 Announcement of People’s Choice winner: Wednesday 17 June 2020
Find out more »May 2020
The Ukulele Kid’s Show
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre and Woody’s World Imagine Dr Seuss performing with the Muppets in a duet at Woodstock! Welcome to Woody's World, a fun and heartfelt musical adventure for young people and their parents. Learn to play the ukulele in this fun and heartfelt musical adventure. This joyous show proves to students that with the right guidance and knowhow, the language of music can be accessed by everyone. Up to 100 ukuleles are handed out to the audience who are taken on a…
Find out more »My Robot
Araluen Arts Centre presents Barking Gecko Theatre’s My Robot by Finegan Kruckemeyer “This is children’s theatre at its best” – Seesaw Magazine When Ophelia moves with her family to the seaside, she’s not impressed. She doesn’t like the beach, misses her old home and thinks the people in this town are pretty strange. While unpacking her room she discovers a mysterious box full of gadgets, parts and pieces, and a strange note that reads ‘You. Make. Me.’ Her curiosity gets the better of her and she…
Find out more »Yarrenyty Arltere Artists
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre "The art makes us think of our culture in another way and what we want people to know. It’s good for everyone to have a place like this it helps us be part of both worlds” - Dulcie Sharpe Yarrenyty Arltere Artists is a thriving creative hub that has led the emergence of an entirely new form of artmaking. The artists create contemporary soft sculptures as they explore their experience, place and culture. Yarrenyty Arltere Artists was born out…
Find out more »Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow
Australia's favourite comedy convoy is locked, loaded and heading to Alice Springs! Join our diverse line-up of the hottest acts direct from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for a very special show that is sure to tickle everyone’s funny bone. Featuring a cast of Aussie stars, talented newcomers and special guest international performers, we're home-delivering Australia's largest comedy festival to you in one jam-packed night. For over 20 years the Roadshow has presented an all killer, no filler night of…
Find out more »The Australian Bee Gees Show
The 25th Anniversary Tour Presented by The Harbour Agency Fresh from celebrating nine years and over 2,800 shows headlining on the Las Vegas strip, The Australian Bee Gees Show will be heading Down Under for the Australian leg of their 25th anniversary tour! This new show will be presented in two parts and feature all of the hits in a nostalgic trip down memory lane in a multimedia concert event. After 25 years on the world stage and over 8,000 performances in over 60…
Find out more »Banff Mountain Film Festival 2020
Presented by Adventure Reels The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is a 3 hour celebration of the mountain and adventure sport world. Sharing over two and a half hours of the most exhilarating short films from explorers, mountain bikers, skiers, paddlers and climbers from around the globe. The tour is hot on the heels of the largest and most prestigious mountain festivals in the world, the Banff Mountain Festival, which takes place every November in the mountain town of Banff, in Canada.…
Find out more »June 2020
Value for Money
Presented by GUTS Dance // Central Australia GUTS Dance // Central Australia presents the world premiere of a new contemporary dance work, Value For Money, the first full-length work from award winning dancer and emerging choreographer Sara Black. Value For Money delves into the polarity of power and vulnerability inherent within us all, exploring the value we place on human lives and bodies and focusing on how relationship, proximity and community change our perception of a life's worth and the worth of…
Find out more »40 Years of Action from the Heart: Arid Lands Environment Centre Retrospective
Join ALEC as we look back at 40 years of activism in the arid lands. For one evening only we'll be bringing back ALEC's 'Curry and Quiz Night', and also holding an art auction. Take a look at campaign memorabilia from over the decades, and listen to personal recollections of key moments in ALEC's dynamic and multi-faceted history. This is a night to reminisce, connect with community, and show off your ALEC trivia skills! Where: Witchetty's, Araluen Arts Centre When:…
Find out more »Edward the Emu
Araluen Arts Centre presents A Monkey Baa Theatre Company production Edward the Emu Based on the picture books by Sheena Knowles and Rod Clement. Edward is bored with his lot. Being the only emu at the zoo has left him feeling glum and under the impression that the grass is greener in everyone else’s enclosure. Maybe being a seal, or a lion, or a snake might be a better option in life for a lonely bird? Convinced that the other creatures…
Find out more »Hermannsburg and Paint – Neridah Stockley
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre The 2019 recipient of the Arts NT Creative-in-Residence at the Araluen Arts Centre, Neridah Stockley, a nationally recognised multi-disciplinary artist who has been based in Alice Springs for 19 years, presents a unique body of work in response to Hermannsburg. Hermannsburg is a locally and internationally recognised chapter of inland Australia history; site of Lutheran Mission activity coupled with the Hermannsburg School of watercolour painting made famous by Albert Namatjira. It is a unique cross-cultural heritage site characterised by local landscape, early pioneer architecture, working histories,…
Find out more »Urzila Carlson: Token African
Presented by Live Nation As seen on Have You Been Paying Attention?! & Netflix’s Comedians of the World 2019 MICF PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD FOR HIGHEST TICKET-SELLER MELBOURNE, AU (November 14, 2019) – South African-New Zealander Urzila Carlson is a Token African. She’s also a multi award-winning comedian, the 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s highest ticket-seller, and a household name across two continents. And she’s not finished yet. Carlson is hitting the road again in 2020 with her brand new stand up…
Find out more »Alice Springs Beanie Festival 2020
Stitching the Seasons Across our vast continent, seasons vary dramatically and are in a new state of change. Some of us see the four seasons: summer, autumn, winter and spring. In the tropics, as many as six seasons are recognised. Here in Central Australia, the Arrernte people have two seasons, Uterna (summer) and Athwerrpe (winter). The 24th Alice Springs Beanie Festival will see hundreds of beanies made in response to these experiences of seasons across Australia and beyond, with 2020’s theme Stitching the Seasons. Endless summer days, cicadas and the smell of rain, autumn leaf and colour,…
Find out more »July 2020
Spaces – Places – Possessions: Freya Tripp
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre Spaces - Places – Possessions have the power to haunt us, individually and collectively, to haunt the social imaginary and our individual psyche. Spaces – Places – Possessions is a body of work by painter Freya Tripp, informed by her experiences in Central Australia over the past decade. Tripp carries with her many questions about her relationship to this country, about belonging, home, identity, and through painting explores the disturbing encounters with forms of otherness that challenge attempts at categorical meaning or any sense of…
Find out more »Steve Sedergreen with Darcy Davis and the Liminal State Quartet
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre Following their sell-out concerts at Witchetty’s, talented and charismatic jazz pianist, improviser and educator, Steve Sedergreen returns to Alice Springs. The Araluen stage will come to life with jazz, neo soul, rhythm and blues as Sedergreen is joined by student and friend, Alice Springs born and bred, Darcy Davis and the accomplished Liminal State Quintet. Be swept away by a night of joyous, thrilling and deeply poetic music.
Find out more »Advocate Art Award 2020
Presented by the Central Australian Art Society The Advocate Art Award 2020 continues the annual tradition of this all-inclusive exhibition held dear by the community. Coordinated and presented by the Central Australian Art Society, a volunteer-run organisation in Alice Springs providing support, resources and opportunities, the Advocate Art Award 2020 is open to all Central Australian artists, new or established, working in any medium. The Advocate Art Award provides a unique platform to artists for professional development and offers significant prizes thanks to the support and sponsorship of local business. The major winner receives the Chapman &…
Find out more »August 2020
2020 Sydney International Piano Competition Winner
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre One of the World’s Greatest Piano Competitions Held every four years, The Sydney International Piano Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious and most demanding competitions for young pianists. The Sydney has established itself over the last 40 years as one of the ‘must-win’ competitions that can propel a young artist’s career into the spotlight. Held over three weeks in Sydney, 32 pianists vie for the ultimate accolade of First Prize. The newly crowned winner, announced on Saturday 25 July, will then embark on their…
Find out more »A Migrant’s Son
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre and Critical Stages Touring Created & Performed by Michaela Burger “A far-reaching generational story that crosses divides, ignites memories and pulls at your heart-strings…” - Stage Whispers Igniting memories of a story that millions of Australians can relate to, Michaela Burger pays tribute to her Greek migrant family and hard-working, fun loving larrikin father Luke who defied all odds. From early morning deliveries for the family bakery at age seven, down opal mines in Coober Pedy at age…
Find out more »September 2020
Desert Mob 2020
Celebrating 30 Years Presented by Araluen Arts Centre and Desart In 2020, Desert Mob celebrates 30 years! Over that time, Desert Mob, has fostered and charted the incredible rise of Aboriginal art from the desert to its current eminent position as one of the most important art movements and forms of cultural expression in the world. Since its inception in 1991, Desert Mob has become an event of national significance, representing the most comprehensive survey of contemporary Aboriginal art by artists from Desart-member art centres from the desert regions and communities of…
Find out more »The Comedy of Errors
Araluen Arts Centre presents Bell Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors By William Shakespeare Director Peter Evans "And now let’s go hand in hand, not one before another" - Dromio of Ephesus, Act 5 Scene 1 Shipwrecked and separated 25 years earlier, two sets of long-lost twins miraculously find themselves in the same city on the same day. What could possibly go wrong? The Comedy of Errors is a hilarious romp of swapped identities, misguided love, mistaken imprisonment and chaotic mishaps, leading to an…
Find out more »Yuki Saito
Melbourne International Guitar Competition Winner Presented by Araluen Arts Centre A prize winner in over 50 major international performance competitions, Yuki Saito’s performances have been described as “faultless… his musical phrasing was mature and expressive. We witnessed a true artist become one with his instrument” (Michael MacManus, Melbourne Guitar Festival Artistic Director). No stranger to the concert stage, in recent years Yuki has toured extensively throughout Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Netherlands and Finland. And in 2019 Yuki was awarded the honor…
Find out more »October 2020
Evolve
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre “With his razor-sharp wit and surprisingly blunt nature, Matt had the audience in stitches” - Scenestr Leading Australian magician and mentalist Matt Tarrant is bound for Alice Springs, with his new solo show EVOLVE following his win for best act overall at the 2019 Adelaide Fringe. Brimming with interactive magic and mindblowing mentalism, multi-award winner Tarrant promises to leave audiences happily bewildered, with all-new tricks guaranteed to bamboozle even the biggest sceptics.
Find out more »November 2020
New York New Work: Marina Strocchi
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre New York New Work is the outcome of Marina Strocchi’s time in the United States and most notably an extended stay in Brooklyn where she undertook a studio practice for three months through the Arts NT Fellowship program. Renowned for working from surrounding natural environments, her home and still life, in Brooklyn and Manhattan, Strocchi was faced with the built environment on an incredible scale. The sheer mass and density of life and hope, the walls of repetitive windows, which sometimes reflect and sometimes recede, …
Find out more »TQ20
Territory Quilts 2020 Presented by the Alice Springs Quilting Club Territory Quilts 2020 (TQ20) brings together the finest work by both amateur and professional quilters from across the Northern Territory, presented by the long established Alice Springs Quilting Club. Outstanding examples of quilting practice are acknowledged and awarded by a guest judge. Reflecting creativity and craftsmanship, hand and machine approaches, the traditional and experimental, TQ20 also operates as a place for the exchange of ideas and skills between members and those interested in the art of quilting. Mesmerising with…
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