The Araluen Cultural Precinct, formerly the Araluen Centre for Arts & Entertainment, in Alice Springs (Mparntwe) in the

Northern Territory of Australia The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

, is a cultural precinct which includes the Araluen Arts Centre, the Museum of Central Australia (incorporating the Strehlow Research Centre), Central Australian Aviation Museum, Kookaburra Memorial, the Yeperenye Sculpture, Central Craft, Yaye's Cafe and Aboriginal sacred sites.

Art centre

The Araluen Arts Centre features four art galleries (including the Albert Namatjira Gallery) and a significant collection of art from across the region. Each year it holds Central Australia's largest First Nations art event, Desert Mob. Live performances of drama, dance and music as well as international and independent movies are shown in the theatre, which seats about five hundred people. The front window to the arts portion of the centre is a massive, locally-made,

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

work of art which was designed by Wenten Rubuntja and based of his painting ''Arrernte Country'' (1987). Artists whose work has regularly been exhibited at the Araluen Centre include Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri.

Other components

The Museum of Central Australia incorporates the Strehlow Research Centre for Aboriginal Culture, and displays many locally found minerals, describes geologic formations of the area. Nearby is the Central Australian Aviation Museum, with planes and radio equipment, which is also home to the local ham radio group. The Yeprenye Sculpture celebrates the Yeprenye (Ayepe-arenye) Caterpillar Dreaming which is a major Tjukurpa for the

Arrernte people The Arrernte () people, sometimes referred to as the Aranda, Arunta or Arrarnta, are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the Arrernte lands, at ''Mparntwe'' (Alice Springs) and surrounding areas of the Central Australia regi ...

of Mparntwe. It was constructed by metal sculptor Dan Murphy who was assisted in its construction by students from the Centre for Appropriate Technology (Australia). Central Craft is a crafts centre with a contemporary crafts shop and gallery, complete with

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

, painting and fabric-working workshops on site. Travelling art displays are a frequent attraction and celebrations, such as the annual Beanie Festival, are also held there.

References

External links

* Museums in Alice Springs Arts centres in Australia Art museums and galleries in the Northern Territory {{NorthernTerritory-stub