In less than a decade, Parrtjima has almost become a household name. ‘Every year it builds upon its own excitement,’ says Paul Ah Chee, of the light festival that reimagines Australia’s Central Desert. ‘Now that people have an idea what Parrtjima is, they anticipate it.’
Ah Chee works with Traditional Owners, festival organisers Northern Territory Major Events Company (NTMEC) and creative producers AGB Events to ensure the free, 10-night festival is culturally appropriate, along with Parrtjima Curator Rhoda Roberts AO.
Ever since its inception in 2016, this has been a First Nations-led festival. That is more important than ever this year, as Australians move towards a referendum for the Voice to Parliament. To mark that moment, this year’s theme is ‘Listening with Heart’, taking its cue from the Statement from the Heart and embodying the concept of coming together to celebrate, contemplate, reflect and heal.
Ah Chee explains: ‘We have the perfect storm of high interest rates, inflation and antisocial issues being highlighted in Central Australia; it is a very interesting period of time, but I believe that Australians are ready for something like the “Voice”.’ He says Parrtjima offers a good insight into what is possible.
‘There is always a bit of hesitancy around what we can be, but we have been talking about this for a while now … let’s just get this done so we can be the great nation that we can be.’
He continues, ‘There is nothing to be afraid of through sharing and coming together in healing.’
Ah Chee describes Parrtjima as ‘a celebration’, adding that the 2023 program of large-scale light installations, music, talks and workshops is ‘going to be really powerful’.
As a musician, he joins the program himself this year with the release of a new song, Morning Star, appropriate for the festival’s Easter holidays timing (7-16 April), but also a reference that reaches back 150 million years.
Ah Chee explains: ‘The song is about a big crater, Gosses Bluff, which was created when a meteorite hit the earth. In Aboriginal mythology, the women were dancing up on the Milky Way and put their coolamon and baby on the edge. But the baby fell to Earth, giving life.’
Performing under the big, open, starry skies of the beautiful Central Desert, Ah Chee joins other musical artists (in alphabetical order): Andrew Gurruwiwi Band, Docker River Band, Eastern Reggae Band, Emily Wurramara, JK-47, KAIIT, Karnage n Darknis, Radical Son, Richard J Frankland, Rowdy Birds and The Merindas. Together, they will deliver an eclectic program of reggae, pop, rock, soul, R’n’B, hip hop, rap and dance performances.
‘Music is a medium all can participate in and, while not everyone is a musician, we all have the ability to absorb music and take those stories in,’ Ah Chee adds.
Sharing Tjukurpa (stories) at Parrtjima
Tjukurpa (pronounced ‘chook-orr-pa’) is the foundation of Aṉangu culture. Ah Chee says: ‘Everybody’s got a story. Your story is your life; you need to own your story – to own the good things and the bad things. Obviously external things impact your life, but how your story unfolds is largely up to you. A festival like Parrtjima brings that out.’
Central to this year’s event, Maruku artist Rene Kulitja is working with other artists from Mutitjulu to turn the artwork from the Statement from the Heart – Uluru-Ku Tjukurrpa (The Uluru Story) – into a large-scale immersive light and sound installation. Along with the famous Tjoritja/MacDonnell Ranges lightshow, which uses the Ranges as a natural canvas, and ‘Grounded’, which transforms Aboriginal artworks into an animated sequence projected onto the distinctive red sand of Alice Springs Desert Park, the Statement from the Heart installation will immerse visitors in light, art and story.
It is that storytelling spirit of sharing, whether performed on stage, sitting under a tree in conversation or drawn in the sand, that has built Parrtjima’s reputation as a festival.
Among the talks on this year’s program are contributions from some of Australia’s most well-known Indigenous identities, including actor Steven Oliver, and former Northern Territory Senator and Olympian Nova Peris, while the selection of films and documentaries includes Westwind: Djalu’s Legacy (2017) and Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky (2020).
Ah Chee’s 91-year-old mother, Kanakiya Myra Ah Chee, also joins the program, demonstrating the importance of cross-generational storytelling. ‘She is really pumped,’ says Ah Chee. She will speak about her book Nomad Girl, which tracks how she travelled through the landscape with her father and young brothers on camels – it’s a window into the life of somebody living on Country.
Another highlight is GUTS Dance. Ah Chee explains, ‘Dance is a big part of Aboriginal culture – storytelling through the movement of your body to people, to the landscape. But it’s not just looking, it’s also participating – to get up close and personal, like listening to the stories as they draw in the sand – that is Parrtjima’s interactivity with people. It’s the overall experience.
‘Nothing beats the personal touch,’ he adds.
And for those who have read about the social issues in Alice Springs in the media recently, Ah Chee has this message: ‘There are measures in place. It was at a peak at the time, which has now settled. If anyone is thinking of coming, they should know that it is as safe as anywhere. Actually, it is a great family event.’
Parrtjima returns to Mparntwe/Alice Springs for 10 nights from 7-16 April 2023. It is a free event, but registration is required. Parrtjima was first staged in 2016.
