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.
July 2020
Eagle V Shark – Araluen Arts Centre
Comedy | New Zealand Directed by Taika Waititi Starring Jemaine Clement, Loren Taylor, Taika Waititi "Romantic comedy about two lonely people who find each other while orbiting on the outer fringes of society reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite." Laramie Movie Scope A wry comedy that chronicles the quirky romance of two awkward misfits, Lily a shy fast-food restaurant cashier, and her crush, Jarrod, an electronic store clerk. On the day Lily gets fired from her job at Meaty Boy, she musters up the courage…
Find out more »Babe – Araluen Arts Centre
Australia | USA Directed by Nicholas Stoller, Doug Sweetland Starring James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski Voice talents of Miriam Margolyes, Hugo Weaving " a comedy of animal manners that is much funnier and much cannier than any recent movie about human relationships: a lovely, stubbornly idiosyncratic fable of aspiration and survival." - The New Yorker A young pig fights convention to become a sheep dog -- or, rather, sheep pig -- in this charming Australian family film, which became an unexpected international success…
Find out more »Swan Lake
On a lake filled with tears, the princess of white swans weeps. For she and her maidens have been cursed. Only at night does the curse weaken, revealing their original human forms. The Sorcerer, Baron Von Rothbart always lurks near, for he knows that the curse will break with the vow of true love. When a handsome prince enters the forest, avoiding the prospect of an arranged marriage, he is surprised when the beautiful white swan transforms before him. As…
Find out more »It Must Be Heaven
Comedy | Palestine | Arabic & French with English subtitles Directed by Elia Suleiman Starring Elia Suleiman, Tarik Kopty, Kareem Ghneim "A profound burlesque comedy" Vanity Fair Elia Suleiman (as himself) escapes from Palestine seeking an alternative homeland, only to find that Palestine is trailing behind him. The promise of a new life turns into a comedy of errors: however far he travels, from Paris to New York, something always reminds him of home. From award-winning director Elia Suleiman, a comic saga exploring identity, nationality and belonging, in…
Find out more »Extra Ordinary
Comedy | Horror Ireland | Belgium | Finland | UK Directed by Mike Ahern, Enda Loughman Starring Maeve Higgins, Barry Ward, Will Forte "An unfalteringly funny, ectoplasm-drenched horror-comedy that deserves the cult status it's destined for." Empire Magazine Rose, a sweet, small town driving instructor, is gifted with supernatural abilities, "The Talents", which mean she can talk to the spirit world. Rose has a love hate relationship with her abilities, after seeing what they did to her Dad, Vincent, and tries…
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 »October 2020
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 »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…
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 »