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.
June 2019
Still in my mind: Gurindji location, experience and visuality
Presented by Artback NT and Araluen Arts Centre Still in my mind: Gurindji location, experience and visuality draws inspiration from Gurindji and Malngin leader Vincent Lingiari’s profound declaration of connection to his Country. Lingiari’s statement “that land ... I still got it on my mind”, forms the exhibition’s touchstone and provides the framework for reflection on the ongoing impact of the Gurindji Walk-Off at Wave Hill, a seminal event in Australia’s history that sparked the national land rights movement and resonates deeply today. Renowned artist…
Find out more »Ocean Film Festival World Tour 2019
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. This carefully curated selection of short films documents the beauty and power of the ocean and celebrates 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. The films feature captivating cinematography,…
Find out more »Queen Forever: We are the Champions Tour
Presented by The Music Group Queen Forever recreates the music and performance of Queen - the British rock band whose fusion of heavy metal, glam rock, and camp theatrics made it one of the most popular groups of the 1970s. The essence of Queen is captured perfectly with authentic costumes, a stunning portrayal of Freddie Mercury by Gareth Hill, all the amazing guitar solos of Brian May and ground-breaking rock harmonies, in a stage show with state-of-the-art sound and lighting that…
Find out more »Mel Robson: Intersections and Boundaries
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre Intersections and Boundaries is the culmination of Alice Springs ceramic artist Mel Robson’s research and experimentation as the Araluen Cultural Precinct Creative in Residence recipient. Responding to both two and three dimensional works from the Araluen Art Collection and engaging with the local community, Robson has created a new body of ceramic works exploring the idea of Place, through the lens of mapping and cartography. Robson uses material, form, surface and mark-making to ask what it is we actually mean when we talk of ‘a Sense of Place’, how we position ourselves…
Find out more »Alice Springs Beanie Festival: A Head Full of Tunes
Presented by Alice Springs Beanie Festival and Araluen Arts Centre In its 23rd year, the Alice Springs Beanie Festival drops the needles with A Head Full of Tunes. From Mozart to magpies, musos to mandolins, mantras to MP3s, (melody) makers from across Central Australian desert communities, across the country and across the globe will transpose and transform the sounds in their heads, the music in their hearts, and the Araluen Arts Centre, into a polyphonic symphony of knit, felt and crochet. This year’s event opens…
Find out more »July 2019
The Dinner Party
Presented by Expressions Dance Company, Queensland Performing Arts Centre and Araluen Arts Centre “… a lively tasting plate offering the audience plenty to savour.” Courier Mail An elegant dinner party hosted by an influential young man for his manipulative guests is thrown into turmoil when power meets greed, ambition and jealousy. As the evening wears on The Dinner Party exposes society’s insatiable desire for control and status and the power play between the guests intensifies as the accusations start to fly. Who really holds the power…
Find out more »Superwog LIVE
Presented by Century Entertainment The superstars of the hit TV Series Superwog (as seen on ABC TV and YouTube) are back on tour and coming to Alice Springs. Get ready for a night of non-stop laughs as all your favourite characters hit the stage in an outrageous new show. Expect never before seen sketches, as well as a bunch of hilarious favourites from their SOLD OUT 2017 hit show, Fake it Till You Make it. With an incredible 195 Million YouTube views and more than 1 Million subscribers, Superwog are constantly…
Find out more »Bjorn Again’s 30th Anniversary Tour
Presented by The Music Group ABBA fans its time to get excited as Bjorn Again are celebrating their 30th Anniversary and you're invited to the party! This world famous and much-loved ABBA show was established in Melbourne Australia in 1988 and has performed over 7000 shows in 100 countries worldwide. The act is widely regarded as the most successful tribute band of all time and is proudly endorsed by ABBA. The key to Bjorn Again’s success is in not just delivering ABBA’s biggest hits to…
Find out more »Alice Springs Quilting Club
Presented by the Alice Springs Quilting Club The Alice Springs Quilting Club presents their 2019 exhibition, fusing classic and contemporary approaches to quilt-making and expressing craftsmanship of the highest order. These quilts are mesmeric and kaleidoscopic labours of love, telling stories about life and family in Central Australia and beyond, expressing great creativity in the application of fabric, pattern, colour and embellishment. The Alice Springs Quilting Club members meet regularly to exchange skills and ideas and their annual exhibition is a wider invitation to share in the rich, longstanding and inspiring…
Find out more »Advocate Art Award 2019
Presented by The Central Australian Art Society The Advocate Art Award is an inclusive and much-loved annual art award for the Central Australian community, presenting a diverse and dynamic mix of works, across many mediums, by new and established artists alike. Coordinated and presented by the Central Australian Art Society, an important volunteer-run organisation in Alice Springs providing support, resources and opportunities to artists, The Advocate Art Award offers significant prizes and professional development opportunities awarded across a number of categories, with a major nonacquisitive award of $2500.
Find out more »Bonachela | Nankivell | Lane
Presented by Sydney Dance Company and Araluen Arts Centre "★★★★ Well worth seeing… Extraordinary… powerful… memorable" – Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Dance Company’s 50th Anniversary bursts into life with a formidable triple bill from Rafael Bonachela, Gabrielle Nankivell and Melanie Lane, each having carved their own unique style, pushing at the possibilities of movement. In a season premiering in Sydney before touring nationally, audiences will see three thrilling works share the one stage for the first time. In the world premiere of Cinco, Rafael Bonachela melds five virtuosic dancers,…
Find out more »August 2019
Madama Butterfly
Presented by Opera Australia and Araluen Arts Centre A man enchanted by the beauty of the East. A woman in love with the promise of the West. Separated by a vast ocean and many years, what will become of their love? Madama Butterfly is a love story that reaches across cultures, across oceans, across time. U.S. Naval officer B.F. Pinkerton is ashore in Japan, and enchanted with its beauty and freedoms. He decides to take a wife, and when the gorgeous geisha Butterfly…
Find out more »The Sapphires
Presented by HIT Productions and Araluen Arts Centre “Energetic, passionate, heart wrenching, uplifting, hilarious and engaging.” - Australian Stage The Sapphires is a multiple award-winning musical play, and film that starred Jessica Mauboy, that is coming to the Araluen stage for one night only. Four young Aboriginal women from regional Australia, who like singing country music, suddenly get the chance to change their tune, and their lives. Wearing sequins, armed only with microphones they find themselves trying to spread joy in the hell that is…
Find out more »September 2019
Desert Mob 2019
Presented by the Araluen Arts Centre and Desart Presented in partnership with Desart, Desert Mob is an event of national significance, representing the most comprehensive survey of contemporary Aboriginal art by artists from across the desert regions and communities of Central Australia. After record-breaking audience attendances and artwork sales in 2018, this 29-year–strong event remains as vital and vibrant as ever. In 2019, the Desert Mob Exhibition, Symposium and MarketPlace continues to document and celebrate the dynamic shifts of one of the world’s most important art movements, with artists from Desart member art centres…
Find out more »Much Ado About Nothing
Presented by Bell Shakespeare and Araluen Arts Centre Claudio and Hero are deeply in love. Beatrice and Benedick would rather swap sassy insults than sweet nothings. Much Ado About Nothing is a saucy and razor-sharp battle of wits between the bickering Beatrice and Benedick, who wield words as weapons, their banter betraying their love for each other. Claudio however is quickly consumed by envy and his idyllic world threatens to come tumbling down as he humiliates Hero. Beatrice and Benedick must join forces to defend true…
Find out more »October 2019
Practically Perfect
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre For generations she has graced the stage and screen, and is fondly remembered for being Maria in The Sound of Music and of course, the wonderful nanny in Mary Poppins. Now in one glorious stage production, Practically Perfect celebrates the life and music of the legendary Dame Julie Andrews. Featuring some of her best known songs from shows such as Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Victor Victoria and more, interwoven with stories of her life on and off the…
Find out more »Isaiah Firebrace in Concert
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre Hot on the heels of his return from the Ukraine, Isaiah Firebrace, Australia’s top ten ranked 2017 Eurovision Song Contest finalist, will be touring Australia with his 4-piece band in his new 2 hour concert spectacular. Hailing from just outside Melbourne, along the banks of the Murray River, Isaiah first stepped into the spotlight in 2016 when he was crowned winner of the eighth season of The X Factor Australia. Since then he’s grabbed global attention for his #1 single It’s Gotta…
Find out more »November 2019
Franca Barraclough: The Visitors
Presented by Araluen Arts Centre Franca Barraclough’s The Visitors is a visual survey of people, paths and stories woven through the sociological landscape of contemporary Central Australian culture, a distillation of poignant local imagery harnessed to give an artistic account of the impacts and influences on desert life. The making of these large–scale photographs involves Barraclough engaging, choreographing and collaborating with a diverse range of local community members in unique, inimitable and immersive experiences. Reproduced with all the gloss of tourism advertising, each image is alluring but also documents the particular…
Find out more »Greenbush Art Group: Shake, Rattle and Roll
Greenbush Art Group: Shake, Rattle and Roll A History of Central Australian Transport Presented by Araluen Arts Centre Shake, Rattle and Roll: A History of Central Australian Transport by the Greenbush Art Group at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre, pays tribute to and interprets the history of transport in Central Australia. Early transport created a paradigm shift in desert regions, enabling the expansion of settler colonialism, ‘opening up’ the continent’s interior, creating cultural complexity and irrevocably changing the way people live, travel and engage…
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