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Program.

MPARNTWE: WHEN YOU COME TO ANOTHER COUNTRY 

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.

Detailed event information including a range of accommodation options is available here. For reference, RAA has coordinated a 20% discount off ‘bar rate’ for up to 25 rooms at Stay at Mparntwe (Alice Springs) Hotel. Discount applies 10-14 September and the code is RAA2025. Rooms booked with this code will need to be booked via email: fom@stayatalicesprings.com.au or phone 08 8950 6666

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 two online events to introduce the themes being explored and set the scene for the in person experience. Details below.

WEDNESDAY 23rd JULY 1-2PM ONLINE - Reflections: 30 Years of Bush House Design in the NT | Simon Scally
In this talk, Simon Scally focusses on the lessons learned working on housing projects over a 30 year timespan. Simon began working with Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) in the 1990s and BAC constructed 100 homes on outstations (homelands) around Maningrida in central Arnhem land. More information and booking available here.

WEDNESDAY 13TH AUGUST 1-2PM ONLINE - Taking Flight – The Larrakia Cultural Centre & Emerging in the Top End | Maiya McKenna
Maiya McKenna’s presentation will largely focus on her work on the Larrakia Cultural Centre while touching on themes of practicing in the Top End and what it’s like to emerge in a regional / remote location. More information and booking available here.

RAA members are eligible to utilise the discount code available in the member content area for free attendance of the online sessions. MPARNTWE delegates are also eligible for free attendance. Discount code will be provided via your booking and event WhatsApp group.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON - 10TH SEPTEMBER.

ATTENDEE ARRIVAL
& accommodation check-in

Optional Welcome Activities

5PM SITE VISIT & CULTURAL SERVICE
Akeyulerre Healing Centre, 3 Stuart Terrace, The Gap

7PM COMMUNITY DINNER (BUY YOUR OWN) & SUNDOWNER DRINKS
Epilogue Lounge & Rooftop Bar, 1/58 Todd St, Alice Springs

THURSDAY - 11TH SEPTEMBER.

6am Opening

SUNRISE LANDSCAPE & ECOLOGY TOUR
Olive Pink Botanical Gardens - 27 Tuncks Road, Alice Springs

Bus transfer from Alice Springs town centre available.

9am Welcome/s
John Flynn Memorial Uniting Church - 50 Todd Street, Alice Springs

Welcome to Country from Kumalie Riley Kngwarraye followed by an introduction to the event by creative directors Owen Kelly, Bobbie Bayley and Tonielle Dempers and a welcome from RAA

Speaker Session

01
Elliat Rich & James B Young 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.

02
RAA Major Sponsor Talk - AWS

10.45am Morning Tea

03
Vanessa Napaltjari Davis & Michael Klerck. Having worked in partnership for many years, they will unpack the lived complexities of town camp and remote NT public housing.

12.50 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 Alice Springs-based photographer and founder Mike Gillam.

SITE VISIT 02
Major Sponsor Factory Tour & Talk - Stratco Architectural Solutions

3.15pm Afternoon Tea
Provided by Stratco at their premises

SITE VISIT 03
The tour will continue with a site visit to Desert House by DunnHillam Architects, where we will explore this home, super-insulated, yet connecting deeply with its desert environment.

Bus transfers included.

Event

DESERT MOB OPENING EVENT
Araluen Arts Centre, 61 Larapinta Drive, Alice Springs
Delegates are invited 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, delegates will need to make their own arrangements for transport back to accommodation.

FRIDAY - 12TH SEPTEMBER.

8.30am Arrival & Introduction
John Flynn Memorial Uniting Church - 50 Todd Street, Alice Springs

Introduction to the day by creative directors Owen Kelly, Bobbie Bayley and Tonielle Dempers and a welcome from RAA

Speaker Session

04
Miriam Wallace, AIA Northern Territory Chapter President, will provide context around Northern Territory building certification processes and non-building-control zones.

05
RAA Major Sponsor Introduction - AWS
RAA Major Sponsor Talk - Bondor

10.30am Morning Tea

06
Trent Woods, founding Director of Officer Woods Architects, a practice established in 2007 with Jennie Officer

07
Troy Casey, Meanjin (Brisbane), managing director of BLAKLASH, a First Nations design studio creating a platform for First Nations agency through Country-led architecture, art and design

08
RAA Major Sponsor Introduction - Stratco Architectural Solutions
RAA Major Sponsor Talk - Allegion

1.15pm Lunch & Tour
Adelaide House Museum, 48 Todd Street, Alice Springs
Attendees will have the opportunity to tour Adelaide House after lunch. This venue is right next door to John Flynn Memorial Uniting Church.

Workshop
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

09
David Donald, Mulubina (Newcastle), architect and director of HEALTHHABITAT, offers his perspective on the complex intersections of housing and health in remote Australian communities.

4.15pm Afternoon Tea

10
A meditation to calm your worried mind from NPY Women's Council's Ngangkari Program

Day wrap-up

6.30pm 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.

10.30am 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.

12.30pm Travel to 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.

2.30pm Arrival & Introduction
Ormiston Gorge Shelter & Ghost Gum Lookout

Introduction to the afternoon and location by creative directors Owen Kelly, Bobbie Bayley and Tonielle Dempers.

Speaker Session

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, Mparntwe (Alice Springs), 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

4.45pm Afternoon Tea

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.