Parrtjima lights up Alice Springs and asks us to listen with heart
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Curator of the 10-day Central Australian Indigenous light show, Parrtjima, Rhoda Roberts wants Australians to listen.
Not to Opposition leader Peter Dutton, who was in Alice Springs on Thursday clashing with an ABC reporter, or even local Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Price, one of the most prominent Indigenous campaigners against the Voice to parliament.
Drone photos of Parrtjima – A Festival in Light 2023 in Alice Springs.Credit: Che Chorley
She wants us hear what the local Arrernte people who live around Mparntwe (Alice Springs) have to say in the artwork for this year’s light festival whose theme is ‘Listening with Heart’.
It is inspired by the artwork surrounding the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the 2017 petition by Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders to change the constitution of Australia to improve the representation of Indigenous Australians.
“I think that’s significant for this year, as we talk about all the issues we’re facing. Knowing what the nation was thinking and the many diverse opinions we have as we head towards a referendum on the Voice,” says Roberts.
The Widjabul woman from northern NSW is in Alice Springs as First Nations advisor to AGB Events, the company run by Anthony Bastick, who brought the Vivid light show and Elevate festivals to Sydney.
‘Sisters at Watarru’ by Noreen Dixon, part of the ‘Grounded’ light show at Parrtjima 2023.Credit: Che Chorley
“Parrtjima means shedding both light and understanding, but it’s much more,” says Roberts.
“Listening with Heart embodies the concept of coming together, meeting, and taking the time to contemplate and reflect.”
“I was eight years old when the 1967 referendum took place on May 27 ….and all it said was ‘vote yes’ so Aborigines could be counted on the national census as human beings rather than being counted as sheep. Our communities are speaking out about what we want now, but it’s really simple. We just want to be part and parcel of society,” Roberts says.
Rhoda Roberts, Parrtjima curatorin Alice Springs.Credit: Che Chorley
The festival features a series of talks with some of Australia’s most well-known Indigenous identities, including actor Steven Oliver, and former Northern Territory Senator and Olympian Nova Peris as well as projections onto the ancient MacDonnell Ranges, a 300-million-year-old natural canvas.
“The true essence of Parrtjima has always been about sharing knowledge and the telling of Australian cultural stories, I think this year it’s time to listen,” said Bastick. Parrtjima, which runs until Sunday April 16, is the only Aboriginal light festival of its kind, which showcases the world’s oldest continuous culture through the newest technology.
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