Program.
MPARNTWE: Country, Climate, Culture
11-13 September 2025.
Booking note: Full event tickets include three days of talks, workshops and experiences across Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. With most delegates arriving in town on Wednesday 10th September, the program also includes a community dinner and sundowner drinks to welcome everyone to the new setting before the event kicks off in earnest the following day. An optional Camping experience is available overnight on Saturday 13th September.
Please note that the event program and details are subject to change.
Tickets: bookings via humanitix
ONLINE LEAD UP TALKS.
In the lead up to MPARNTWE, RAA will hold a number of online events to introduce the themes being explored and set the scene for the in person experience. Details to be advised.
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON - 10TH SEPTEMBER.
ATTENDEE ARRIVAL
& accommodation check-in
Optional Welcome Dinner
COMMUNITY DINNER (BUY YOUR OWN) & SUNDOWNER DRINKS
Alice Springs - location to be advised.
THURSDAY - 11TH SEPTEMBER.
Opening
SUNRISE LANDSCAPE & ECOLOGY TOUR
Olive Pink Botanical Gardens - 27 Tuncks Road, Alice Springs
Bus transfer from Alice Springs town centre available.
Registration & Morning Tea
John Flynn Memorial Uniting Church - 50 Todd Street, Alice Springs
Morning tea will be provided on arrival while attendees register for the event.
Welcome/s
Welcome to Country,
followed by an introduction to the event by creative directors Owen Kelly, Bobbie Bayley and Tonielle Dempers and a welcome from the RAA
RAA Technical Member Introductions
Speaker Session
01
RAA Major Sponsor - AWS talk
02
Elliat Rich & James B Young (Alice Springs), combining Elliat’s conceptual approach to contemporary design and James’s skills in traditional leatherwork and shoemaking, offer a rare insight into design and making, deeply rooted in the social, cultural, and ecological fabric of Mparntwe.
03
Speaker to be advised
Lunch
Site Visits
SITE VISIT 01
A bus will transport attendees to visit 8 Hele Crescent, a mixed-use development including 8 Hele Gallery, a part of the Chapman & Bailey art services hub in Mparntwe, where the group will be welcomed by Mike Gillam, an Alice Springs-based photojournalist and photographer and founder.
Afternoon Tea
SITE VISIT 02
The tour will continue with a site visit to Desert House by Dunn Hillam Architects, where we will explore this home, super-insulated, yet connecting deeply with its desert environment.
Bus transfers included.
Event
DESERT MOB
Thursday’s program has been scheduled to allow delegates to attend the opening of DESERT MOB, one of the nation's oldest Aboriginal art festivals.
At the conclusion of the RAA site visits, bus transfer is available to the Araluen Arts Centre for this free event.
FRIDAY - 12TH SEPTEMBER.
Introduction
John Flynn Memorial Uniting Church - 50 Todd Street, Alice Springs
Speaker Session
04
RAA Major Sponsor - Stratco Architectural Solutions
05
Speaker to be advised
Morning Tea
06
Troy Casey of BLAKLASH, a First Nations design studio creating a platform for First Nations agency through Country-led architecture, art and design
07
David Donald, architect and director of HEALTHHABITAT, offers his perspective on the complex intersections of housing and health in remote Australian communities.
Lunch
Adelaide House Museum, 48 Todd Street, Alice Springs
Attendees will have the opportunity to tour Adelaide House after lunch.
Activity
Facilitated by Kumalie Riley Kngwarraye, an Arrernte woman from Alice Springs, passionate about teaching her culture and language, hosting programs of CAAMA radio with audiences across Australia and the world.
Speaker Session
08
Speaker to be advised
09
Speaker to be advised
Day wrap-up
Event Dinner
Olive Pink Botanical Gardens - 27 Tuncks Road, Alice Springs
Bus pick-up will be available to take attendees to Olive Pink Botanic Gardens for a special event dinner under the stars.
Pecha-kucha style presentations will encourage conversation and entertain guests.
Bus transport back to the town centre will be available at the conclusion of the night.
SATURDAY - 13TH SEPTEMBER.
Event
Saturday’s program has been scheduled to allow attendees the opportunity to attend DESERT MOB MARKETPLACE on Saturday morning (make your own way).
The Desert Mob Marketplace is a large, buzzing art market, bringing together paintings, punu, ceramics, weaving, sculpture, textiles, and merchandise from Aboriginal-owned art centres across Central Australia. The marketplace offers the opportunity to acquire works directly from the artists who created them and includes demonstrations, workshops, and performances, along with food and coffee.
Tjoritja / West MacDonnall Ranges
Saturday afternoon is dedicated to immersion in the landscape as we travel to TJORITJA / ORMISTON GORGE.
After bus pick-up at the Desert Mob Marketplace site, we will travel to Ormiston Gorge to gather at the Ormiston Gorge Shelter & Ghost Gum Lookout, designed by Susan Dugdale & Associates.
Afternoon Tea
Speaker Session
Ormiston Gorge Shelter & Ghost Gum Lookout
10
Marni Reti, an associate at Kaunitz Yeung Architecture and a proud Palawa and Ngāti Wai woman, will discuss working with community in the delivery of culturally appropriate projects in remote locations.
11
Susan Dugdale and Miriam Wallace, of Susan Dugdale & Associates, and one of the events major sponsors, will speak about questions raised through practice in the Northern Territory, their projects, and how these engage with the cultural complexity and environment of the region.
Event Wrap-Up
Exploration & Dinner
On Saturday afternoon, attendees will have the opportunity to explore Ormiston Gorge, wandering along its stunning walking tracks and taking a dip in its beautiful water holes.
This will be followed by a campsite dinner and fireside conversations to close out the event.
Optional Camping
Attendees who wish to camp at Ormiston Gorge will be able to do so, whereas bus transfer back to Alice Springs will be available for non-campers.
All Ormiston Gorge camp sites have been booked by the RAA for this event. Campers will require their own transportation back to Alice Springs on Sunday. Car pooling is encouraged and can be arranged via the the event WhatsApp group.