Follow the Red Centre art trails to open a window into Aboriginal culture of Alice Springs and Uluru. Visit Central Australian art galleries, join an Aboriginal cultural tour or attend an art festival or event in the Red Centre.
More than 100 community art galleries, museums, and cultural spaces in Central Australia showcase Aboriginal art and culture. The Red Centre, including Alice Springs, Hermannsburg, Uluru and Yulara are at the heart of art and culture. Each region pulses with creativity and traditional culture, weaving local talent into every adventure.
The contemporary Aboriginal art movement started in Papunya Tula back in 1971, with Alice Springs at its core. Acclaimed Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira began painting his famous watercolours in Hermannsburg, which is approx. an hour’s drive from Alice Springs. Namatjira’s landscapes of the MacDonnell Ranges are awash in flame-coloured reds which reflect the fiery colours of the arid desert lands of Central Australia.
Here, nature and art combine with ancient stories passed down through generations which are told through the oldest living art traditions.
Whether you're an art lover, a collector of Aboriginal art or are looking for a unique artwork to take home, we’ve curated a selection of galleries, events, and immersive experiences to add a splash of creativity to your Red Centre adventure.
Araluen Cultural Precinct, Alice Springs
From sub culture to pop culture, ancient Aboriginal arts to modern Australian crafts,Araluen Cultural Precinct should be your first stop. Learn about the development of modern day Alice Springs along with Aboriginal stories which are as old as the land itself. The precinct is home to galleries and museums as well as being a culturally significant area to Arrernte people. Some of the attractions within the precinct includes:
- Museum of Central Australia - Follow the natural history and evolution of Central Australia, including a replica of an internationally significant ancient fossil site on Alcoota Station
- Central Aviation Museum -Located on the original site of Alice Spring's first aerodrome, learn about central Australia's aviation history, fly a simulator or try your hand tapping out a message in Morse Code
- The Araluen Arts Centre - Visit exhibitions at art galleries or attend theatre or musical performances
- Strehlow Research Centre - The centre houses one of Australia's most important collection of film, sound, archival records and Aboriginal artefacts related to sacredand secret traditional ceremonies
- The Yeperenye Sculpture - A 3 metre-tall sculpture by metal artist Dan Murphy celebrates the Yeperenye caterpillar, a significant creative ancestor of Alice Springs.
- Central Craft - a community-run artist's cooperative with a multi-purpose studio, gallery and a retail outlet which welcomes artists and visitors alike
Explore the Alice Springs art scene
Alice Springs might be small in stature, but this outback town has a big reputation when it comes to original Aboriginal art. A splattering of colourful privately owned art galleries and collectives – Mbantua Fine Art Gallery, Papunya TjupiArtists, Yubu Napa Gallery and Studio, Ironwood Arts – in and around the town’s Todd Street Mall proudly display the works of some of Australia’s most successful and prominent Aboriginal artists.
Whether you’re browsing galleries or buying art, it’s easy to while away the hours in this arts-centric part of Alice Springs.
- Don't miss: Around Alice Springs see artists at work and meet the people behind the paintings. Tjanpi Desert Weavers, the Tangentyere Artists and the Ngurratjuta Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre are located close to town and are all worth a visit.
- Local flavour: Stay at Vatu Sanctuary, apartment-style accommodation a short distance from the CBD, which showcases the artworks of Gallery Gondwana. Four well-equipped apartments are designed to inspire and deepen your appreciation of Central Australia.
Desert Mob Festival, Alice Springs
Desert Mob is one of Australia's oldest Aboriginal art festivals and is held during September on Arrernte country around Alice Springs. The festival features an art exhibition, marketplace, workshops and satellite events throughout Alice Springs. If you're in the market to purchase art from Central Australian artists, want to learn about making art or are more of an art admirer, don't miss Desert Mob.
- Don't miss: Desert Mob Marketplace is a vibrant art market held on the Saturday of the Desert Mob weekend. If you’ve an eye for talent, you can pick up high quality art works direct from local art centres
- Local flavour: The town of Alice well and truly throws their arty weight behind Desert Mob, so keep an eye out of exhibitions, symposiums or Desert Mob dancing, which run alongside the main event and add a distinct local flavour.
Alice Springs Beanie Festival
When you think of the Red Centre you think red rocks, blue skies and warm days… so it might come as a bit of a shock to learn there’s a festival totally dedicated to the humble beanie.(and to keeping your noggin warm on a cool Outback night).
The Alice Springs Beanie Festival is that sort of one-of-a-kind experience that you carry with you on your travels and tell others about. How could you not? Beanie Central, is a feast for the senses with thousands of knitted hats to try and the smoked kangaroo tail on the open fire is sure to get your taste buds twitching.
- Don't miss: Workshops that show you how to weave your own unique beanie. You'll get to create a little piece of Central Australia to take home.
- Local flavour: Why not mingle with the locals and volunteer during the festival? You’ll join a team that produces the planet’s finest beanie celebration. You can also put your creative skills on show and become a beanie maker, selling your headwear to the highest bidder.
Hermannsburg Historic Precinct
The town of Hermannsburg is an easy 90-minute drive from Alice Springs in the heart of Western Arrernte country. Hermannsburg Historic Precinct is a National Trust-listed historic place. It's most famous son is acclaimed Aboriginal artist, Albert Namatjira. Namatjira created exceptional intense landscape watercolour paintings using Alice Springs and surrounds for inspiration. You'll no doubt recognise some of his landscapes as you drive to Hermannsburg.
- Don't miss: Wander the white-washed buildings of the restored historic town and visit the popular Namatjira Gallery featuring original artworks from local artists.
- Local flavour: Pick up a hand-made terracotta pot at Hermannsburg Potters or at Kata Anga Tea Rooms inside the historic precinct.
The Ikuntji Artists centre of Haasts Bluff
Located less than three hours drive west of Alice Springs, the small town of Haasts Bluff is home to Ikuntji Artists. The not-for-profit studio and art gallery was the first art centre established for women of the Western Desert art movement. The studio is the cultural hub of this community and its artists draw inspiration from their ancestral stories and the beauty of the surrounding landscape, including the nearby MacDonnell Ranges.
- Don't miss: This community initially made waves in the international art world with their printed T-shirts, before producing acrylic paintings on linen and handmade paper.
- Local flavour: Ikuntji artists, who take inspiration from their homelands, exhibit their works in Australia and internationally. Artists are known for their use of vibrant colours and dynamic patters.
Maruku Arts at Uluru-Kata Tjuta Culture Centre
A visit to Uluru is just not complete without a visit to the Maruku Arts Gallery and the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park Culture Centre. The sole purpose of this collective is to keep Aboriginal culture strong, and to make it accessible to visitors. The centre celebrates the art and culture from the Traditional Owners of the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Lands of Central Australia and from more than 20 remote communities.
When you buy handcrafted art from Maruku, all proceeds are being returned to contributing artists from the Central Desert, ensuring ethical investment in Aboriginal art.
- Must do: Walkatjara Art is the not-for-profit Aboriginal art centre of Mutitjulu community, whose artworks are on display at Uluru-Kata Tjuta Culture Centre
- Local flavour: Join an Aboriginal Cultural Workshop at the Culture Centre and learn the art of dot painting from a local artist
Curtin Springs Paper Making Workshop
At Curtain Springs Station, native grasses are utilised to create hand made paper. The 4,000sq km-plus station is less than one hour's drive from Uluru. Curtin Springs Wayside Inn is a popular stop with accommodation and restaurant.
Their papermakinggift shop and tours attract road trippers between Uluru and Alice Springs. To make their unique paper, native grasses are cut, pulped and pressed to create one-of-a-kind memento of Central Australia. Take a tour and you'll be guided on a behind the scenes look at the paper making process. If you've got a few days to spare, multi-day workshops take a deeper dive into the craft of paper making.
- Must do: Peruse the gift shop for hand-crafted paper products and jewellery.
- Local flavour: Each handmade paper is individual, distinctive and a unique souvenir of Central Australia.
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