Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following article contains the name of a deceased person.
Strap in for Parrtjima – A Festival in Light 2024 as the free First Nations-led festival returns to Mparntwe/Alice Springs with the spectacular MacDonnell Ranges as its natural canvas. Discover the interconnected stories of Culture on Country as the festival welcomes its next chapter.
In this article:
New partnerships
This year, Parrtjima has engaged Grumpy Sailor and We Are Gather as its new events delivery partners.
Arrernte Elder and cultural consultant with NT Major Events, Paul Ah Chee tells ArtsHub,‘ Getting a new provider is another journey for Parrtjima.’ He continues: ‘It’s always good to have a refresh for an annual event, so people can come in and see something different, but we will still have Rhoda [Roberts] as our Creative Director, which offers that continuity as well.’
Ah Chee adds: ‘It’s about old stories and how they’re told in a new way to show that our culture is still relevant.’
Roberts acknowledges that Grumpy Sailor is pretty new to the First Nations events space and ‘they haven’t really worked a lot with black fellas’, but ‘that flexibility of showing them the nuances of our culture makes you realise we actually have so much’.
She continues: ‘We’ve just educated a whole group of people who are going to come and work with us, and be guided by Senior Custodians of the region. That, you cannot buy and it is absolute gold.’
Parrtjima 2024 theme: Interconnectedness
Diving into the festival’s 2024 theme, ‘Interconnectedness’, Roberts says: ‘When you listen to a lot of the Elders talking about the relationship they have with the trees, the mountains, the rocks… everything is living and everything is interconnected. Even though we are operating in a very modern world, [interconnectedness] is in the DNA when you meet people and experience First Nations culture.’
Interconnectedness is more than an idea, it is a way of living that will be embedded into all aspects of Parrtjima. Roberts explains: ‘When people visit Parrtjima, they think it’s a light festival, but it goes deeper than that. It’s coming from the original stories in the sand and using technology to recreate that art.’
The responsibility of a major festival
The annual light festival creates a one-of-a-kind experience, and at the core of this is authenticity and local engagement. Parrtjima works with communities across Country, guided by the Parrtjima Festival Reference Group (PFRG). Members include artists, Elders and community leaders, who all have a connection to the estates of Mparntwe, Antulye and Irlpme.
Ah Chee says it’s also a process of renewal and getting more young people involved, so that succession can be ensured.
This work is being done across different aspects of Parrtjima, from platforming emerging artists to employing young people back to the Territory. Roberts says: ‘The beauty of Parrtjima is that we don’t have volunteers; we make sure that we actually pay everyone who worked on the event. Last year, we employed 32 local Arrernte men and women, all young, as our guest services.’
These guest services are literally the faces of Parrtjima when visitors walk through the gates, and what they see is ‘kids coming back home from university, work and the flourishing of our next generation,’ adds Roberts.
She says: ‘You can literally see [the visitors’] faces switch because they had one assumption of the problems of Alice Springs, and what they have never seen is this incredible generation of educated, respectful, cultural and knowledgeable people.’
What to see at Parrtjima 2024
Both Roberts and Ah Chee are looking forward to Parrtjima’s Deep Listening talks program this year, with discussions of First Nations art and sovereignty on a national level. Roberts says: ‘One of our programs this year is focusing on the future and where to now. After [the Voice referendum] in October last year, there were different emotions and thoughts of how we move forward as Indigenous people in this country.’
Speakers include artist Shellie Morris, who sings in more than 19 languages, and Australian country music star Troy Cassar-Daley. They will both also perform at the event.
The famous Parrtjima installations return bigger and better thanks to new technology that makes them more interactive and immersive. One, Arrernte, celebrates a collage of work across Eastern, Western and Central language groups.
Another, Honouring, pays tribute to Senior Knowledge Holder, also known as “Queen of the Desert” in Alice Springs, the late Dr M K Turner OAM and celebrates her way of connecting through ancestral stories, language, knowledge and art.
Roberts says: ‘When you look at the work she did, you can’t believe how much she made in her lifetime, but the most amazing thing was that she taught us all. She would share so much, and then say, “There is no loss in sharing, you only gain”.’
As well as Morris and Cassar-Daley, the festival’s live music program will also welcome Mulga Bore Hard Rock band, which is made up of First Nations youths from Central Australia’s outback. The group made its big stage debut in 2022 as the opening act for KISS on their Australia tour. Mulga Bore Hard Rock will perform at the Myer Music Bowl, St Kilda Festival and Mona Foma before reaching Parrtjima on 20 April.
New to Parrtjima this year is a three-night Buy Blak Market, a marketplace showcasing products from Aboriginal businesses, and Arelhe Urrperle, a six-metre tall puppet that will roam the festival site sharing language and stories.
Ah Chee concludes: ‘What we look for in Parrtjima is to shine a light. It shows who we are as Aboriginal people and as a community. The task that we have as event organisers is to live up to that name and that expectation, and work our way towards having an international event down the track. If you’re on the ground, you’d see people and families of all different nationalities congregating together and sharing that journey of discovery.’
Parrtjima – A Festival in Light returns from 12-21 April 2024; free, check out the full program and register.
