Cultural festival ‘helps open people’s eyes’

The Parrtijima festival lit up Alice Springs last week with breathtaking art by Aboriginal artists from central Australia.

Parrtijima — A Festival in Light transformed Alice Springs Desert Park into an outdoor gallery of light and sound over 10 nights.

Highlights of the festival included an illumination of the majestic MacDonnell Ranges, which provided a 300-million-year-old natural canvas.

Parrtjima curator and creative director Rhoda Roberts said the event had showcased the oldest continuous culture on earth.

Arrernte artist and Parrtijima Festival Reference Group advisor Aunty Patricia Ansell Dodds said the event helped open people’s eyes to Aboriginal culture.

“Parrtijima helps us – it shows our art, it shows our culture, it shows that it is beautiful and it helps open people’s eyes,” she said.