Deals > Explore > Alice Springs > Aboriginal Art
Desert Mob Festival
This festival is held annually in August/September in the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct. It exhibits work from Central Australian Aboriginal Art Centres, showcasing the diversity and development of artistic practice in the Central desert. To attend the festival and purchase affordable artworks no booking is required, just turn up on the day.
Hermannsburg Historic Precinct
The Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission was the home of the famous Aboriginal artist, Albert Namatjira. Today the old mission’s whitewashed, German farmhouse style buildings have been fully restored. The Kata-Anga Tea Rooms are in the old missionary house and there is also a museum and art gallery.
Ochre Pits
A cliff face of various coloured ochres, located just north of Glen Helen in the MacDonnell Ranges. For generations, the desert Aboriginal people used this place to mine ochre pigments which they used in their paintings and ceremonial body decoration. A three-hour walk leads to the scenic Inarlanga Pass, home to range of flora including prehistoric cycads.
Todd Mall Galleries
Examples of the fabulous talents of Central Australian aboriginal artists are on permanent display in the various art galleries along the Todd Mall. Work from famous art producing communities like Papunya Tula and Utopia are represented by a number of specialist galleries and many punters have been lucky enough to meet the creator of their work whilst purchasing.
Albert Namatjira Gallery
The largest collection of original paintings by this famous aboriginal artist are housed here, along with works by his relatives and contemporaries from the Western Arrernte landscape painting tradition. Included as part of the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct displays.
Strehlow Research Centre
Located in the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct displays, the Strehlow Research Centre gives the visitor insight into the culture of the Arrernte Aboriginal people of Central Australia. The display focuses on their involvement with the late Professor Ted Strehlow, who from the early 1930s was a Patrol Officer and researcher amongst the Arrernte.
Contemporary aboriginal art is a thriving industry yet the form is one of the oldest living art traditions in the world.
Art has traditionally been used to pass creation stories down through the generations and to communicate important information about the landscape. Art centres in and around Alice Springs are becoming increasingly productive and attracting a growing number of travellers.
Before delving into an exploration of the region's aboriginal art, learn more about the culture and history of its traditional owners, the Arrernte people, at the Strehlow Centre. Housed here are various ceremonial artefacts and documentation of sacred stories and songs.
Perhaps one of Australia's best-known Aboriginal artists is Albert Namatjira, an Arrernte man who grew up on the Hermannsburg Mission, west of Alice. Namatjira painted the MacDonnell Ranges with startling accuracy and a large collection of his work can be viewed at the Albert Namatjira Gallery in Alice Springs.
Spend some time exploring the range of galleries in the Todd Mall that stock fine contemporary aboriginal art. A collection of Western Desert paintings can be viewed and purchased at Papunya Tula Artists and the Mbantua Art Gallery specialises in work from Utopia, best known for female artists such as Barbara Weir and her mother Minnie Pwerle.
Sales and events held throughout the year like the Desert Mob Festival offer aboriginal art lovers the chance to purchase a range of central australian art at competitive prices.
