Alice to Mparntwe

Curated by

Doris Kngwarraye Stuart

Have you been on an ‘Alice to Mparntwe’ tour with Doris?

For nine years Doris and collaborators Dan Murphy and Lucy Stewart have run the ‘Alice to Mparntwe’ bus tours for artists. Many artists, both local and visiting, seek a connection through their art to the Central Australian landscape and the tours help them understand the ways in which it is not only a spectacularly beautiful natural environment but a “cultural landscape” too. 

Over the years we have been encouraging creative responses to the tour and to Doris' sharing of her stories and would like to include these in the November 2017 Watch This Space Exhibition ‘Alice to Mparntwe’. We suggested that you might like to make an artwork, write a reflection/story/poem/anything reflecting on the tour. 

From the exhibition we also hope to make a publication of some sort depending on the content supplied. We are sure the tour was enjoyable, informative and had some sort of impact. So if you enjoyed Doris' generosity in sharing her stories and welcoming you to Mparntwe please repay that gift by forwarding some sort of written or artistic responses. 

We will be running two more tours in September and October to aid the development of works for the exhibition. Dates TBC are Sunday 24 September and Sunday 29 October 2017. These unique tours are offered exclusively to artists looking at making a creative response to include in the exhibition. Places are highly sought after - if you have already been on a tour please consider leaving a place for someone who hasn’t had the opportunity yet. 

In 2016 Doris won the annual ‘Lofty Award’ for her:

“integrity, generosity, humour and spirit, for her connection to country, inspiration and enabling, and contribution to many artists, art works and projects, for deepening understanding, contributing to and extending the contemporary cultural conversation in Central Australia and beyond.”

Watch This Space (who hosts the tours) has been supporting innovative arts practice in Alice Springs for over 24 years, and has undertaken many collaborations with other arts organisations including the NT Writers Centre. We would value your contribution in this project. Any profits of potential publication sales will go to protecting sites and furthering cultural understanding between mparntwe-arenye (Doris’s family) and the wider population. 

CLOSING EVENT

6pm, Saturday 25th November

EXHIBITION

15 - 25 November 2017