Kate Webster The Ghan has been transformed into a spectacular piece of moving art, with three carriages of the world-famous train wrapped in a stunning artwork, Crossroads, as it travels from Darwin to the Red Centre.
The artwork is a collaboration between Tourism Northern Territory, NT Major Events Company (NTMEC), Journey Beyond and AGB Events with the help of Aboriginal artist Chantelle Mulladad, Keringke Arts.
To complement the external wrap; a spectacular immersive light installation will light up inside one of The Ghan’s carriages, providing an engaging visual display and a taste of things to come at Parrtjima – A Festival in Light 2021.
Running from 9 to 18 April in Alice Springs, Parrtjima – A Festival in Light activates the desert landscape of Central Australia into a meeting place of old and new, where the festival utilises the latest technologies to showcase the oldest continuous culture on earth.
Since the inaugural festival in 2016, Parrtjima has come of age as an event of national significance with thousands of interstate visitors expected to travel to the Red Centre for the 2021 instalment.
This epic reveal of The Ghan train wrap shows off the stunning design by Mulladad, from Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa), a remote indigenous community 80km south-east of Alice Springs.
Mulladad’s work is precise and detailed, using pattern, colour, shape and structure to create paintings that depict her sense of Country, culture and self. Crossroads, is about travelling across country on a journey – which is significant and symbolic to the principles of The Ghan.
Crossroads has also been utilised in the internal treatment inside The Ghan carriage, an immersive creation which guests will get to experience as it travels through the Territory.
Presented on The Ghan through an immersive in-carriage experience, is the 2019 Ranges Show; ‘The Language of Country – Angkentye Apmere-kenhe’, which celebrates the beauty, uniqueness and survival of the ancient landscape.
The voice of actor Aaron Pedersen, an Arrernte descendent, narrates a script written by Arrernte people, taking the audience on a stirring journey through Country, the kinship system and language.
The 2021 Ranges Show at Parrtjima will be an inspiring and enriching experience called ‘Spirit Kultcha’ – which for the first time is a collaboration with renowned Aboriginal electronic music duo ‘Electric Fields’.
Parrtjima provides an exceptional opportunity to not only learn about Aboriginal stories, culture and art but ensures the knowledge is kept relevant in the 21st century through newly developed mediums.
