Watch This Space

Watch This Space Watch This Space (WTS) is an artist-led organisation established in 1993 on Arrernte land here in Mparntwe.

Watch This Space is the only contemporary experimental art space in Central Australia. We support local, national and international artists, both emerging and established.

The Basic Arrernte Conversation Course is back in this Uterne-urle (early Summer) season. 🌞🌞🌞🌤️🌦️🌼🌼🌼Running for 6 sessio...
04/09/2026

The Basic Arrernte Conversation Course is back in this Uterne-urle (early Summer) season.

🌞🌞🌞🌤️🌦️🌼🌼🌼

Running for 6 sessions across 3 weeks at WTS.

*Please note we’re following a new class structure this time, with classes alternating on Tuesdays and Sundays

Class dates:
Tuesday 22 September – 5:30-6:30pm
Sunday 27 September – 10am-11am (site visit, Olive Pink tour)
Tuesday 29 September – 5:30-6:30pm 
Sunday 4 October – 10am-11am (site visit, Billy Goat Hill)
Tuesday October 6 – 5:30-6:30pm 
Sunday October 11 – 10am-11am (site visit, Olive Pink history)

Taught by studio artist and Arrernte Elder Kumalie Riley, who has developed this vital interactive resource for residents of Tyuretye/Mparntwe (Alice Springs).

The course will follow basic principles of Arrernte language and conversation simultaneously traversing aspects of traditional culture, education, local sites and mapping.

Course places are limited — to attend you must be able to commit to all six sessions.

To register, please email [email protected] and we’ll send you an invoice; once paid, your place is confirmed.

Cost: $385 incl. GST

Learn how to process black and white 35mm film using household, eco-friendly developers.Saturday 19 September 2–4pmOR Su...
03/09/2026

Learn how to process black and white 35mm film using household, eco-friendly developers.

Saturday 19 September 2–4pm
OR Sunday 20 September 2–4pm

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Facilitated by 2026 Stardust Artist Sarah Moore!

Sarah is an artist raised in the Central Desert in so-called Australia. Her work involves darkroom experimentation, filmmaking, printmaking, and radio, and often uses poetry as a starting point. Sarah is drawn to instances of the uncanny and the space between revelation and mystery. Recently, she completed an MA in Fine Arts at the Iceland University of the Arts in Reykjavík.

˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔

The Stardust Residency was instigated in honour of artist and educator Suzi Lyon who was born in Aotearoa/New Zealand but lived a large part of her creative and insightful life in Mparntwe/Alice Springs.

FREE BUT MUST BOOK — email [email protected]
Spots already filling fast, get in quick!

To conclude this season of Umaaka in the Gallery, we invite you to an intimate listening session. WAARI will share his f...
02/09/2026

To conclude this season of Umaaka in the Gallery, we invite you to an intimate listening session.

WAARI will share his forthcoming album Kiangu Ngalhika — originally titled ‘Umaaka’, conceived in connection with the exhibition’s visual works.

Kiangu Ngalhika is a nine-track body of work made from the inside out, to be released on September 19. This will be the first public sharing of this sonic landscape.

This Saturday September 5
6 — 7pm

WAARI
WAARI
WAARI

Documentation by Sara Maiorino

Watch This Space x The Roastery presents: Mountains walking, by Jennifer Taylor Exhibition period: Saturday 5 September ...
01/09/2026

Watch This Space x The Roastery presents: Mountains walking, by Jennifer Taylor

Exhibition period: Saturday 5 September — Friday October 30

Opening this Saturday 5 September
10am — 12pm
Artist talk in conversation with Kieran Finnane

The blue mountains are constantly walking. Their walk is swifter than the wind…
Mountains and Rivers Sutra, Eihei Dogen, 1240

In Arrernte country the mountains are never far away. They stand up crisp and clear in the blue air. Their covering is spare: you can see their bones in the bluffs and tilted layers of sediment. Rocks crack and slip-slide down their slopes, eventually becoming river sand. There is endless movement of air and water, frost and sun, plants and creatures. With a slight shift of vision you might see the quiet substance of the mountains as flowing movement. You might see them striding along, turning in the light, their slopes rippling.

The mountains are alive, they are knowing, and down to the last little hill and gully they summon respect and care.
Jennifer extends deep thanks to Arrernte people for the privilege of living and working in this magnificent country.

—

Jennifer Taylor was born in Aotearoa, and grew up around Tauranga Moana. Her first painting, age 3, was made by dragging a wet house-painting brush across concrete – magic!

She studied painting at ANU, moved to Arrernte country in 1994 and worked with First Nations artists in art centres and educational settings around Mparntwe and the Western Desert. During a Watch This Space artists’ camp at Two-mile in 2009 she began plein air painting, and hasn’t stopped since.

Jenny acknowledges the guidance and deep wisdom of Mrs A. Abbott and Mrs M.K. Turner, and other elders. They led her to questions such as: what is the enduring ‘glistening and beautiness’ that M.K. could see in country, even with so much harm being done? How do you paint country in ways that respect its people? What is painting’s role in holding and connecting to country?

DuYu Coffee Roasters DuYu Coffee Roasters DuYu Coffee Roasters

A big congratulations and warm welcome to Sarah Moore, selected for the 2026 Stardust Residency.˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔Sarah will b...
26/08/2026

A big congratulations and warm welcome to Sarah Moore, selected for the 2026 Stardust Residency.

˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔

Sarah will be with us at Watch This Space until early October.

Here Sarah shares about her practice and the focus of her residency:

I am an artist raised in the Central Desert in so-called Australia. My work involves darkroom experimentation, filmmaking, printmaking, and radio, and often uses poetry as a starting point. I am drawn to instances of the uncanny and the space between revelation and mystery. Recently, I completed an MA in Fine Arts at the Iceland University of the Arts in Reykjavík.

During the residency, I will set up a DIY darkroom in the WTS studio. The darkroom will be open for sharing methods of low-toxicity image-processing, and to experiment with developers made from foraged local plants.

Save the date for Sarah’s film processing workshop Saturday September 19. More details to come!

˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔

The Stardust Residency was instigated in honour of artist and educator Suzi Lyon who was born in Aotearoa/New Zealand but lived a large part of her creative and insightful life in Mparntwe/Alice Springs. Suzi was an inquisitive, inclusive, community-minded artist mindful of our place within the broader global and social ecology, supremely conscious of our responsibility to each other, and to our environment. An exhibition of artworks from Suzi’s estate plus contributions from fellow artists and friends was held to raise funds for a residency program to be hosted by WTS in her memory.

WAARI presents Umaaka – Artist Talk Saturday 29 August2:00–3:30pm(post Artist Market) Join us at Watch This Space Galler...
25/08/2026

WAARI presents Umaaka – Artist Talk 

Saturday 29 August
2:00–3:30pm
(post Artist Market)

Join us at Watch This Space Gallery for an artist talk featuring WAARI with special guest Miss Kaninna, in conversation with WTS Director Jet and Creative Producer Yul.

The talk will explore the connections between art, music, culture and Country, with WAARI reflecting on his works in Umaaka and the shared homelands stories and connections that bring his practice into dialogue with Miss Kaninna’s.

Together they will have a yarn about Country, mining and what extraction leaves behind, as well as the role of artists in holding space for imagining Blak futures.

Come along, pull up a chair and be part of the conversation.

🖤

Mining has been central to the colonial project across so-called Australia and continues through the dispossession of First Nations peoples and their lands. In so-called Mount Isa, more than 100 years of extraction have irreversibly transformed Country, waterways and community life. Glencore’s Mount Isa Mines was once considered one of Australia’s largest mining complexes before its underground operations came to an end in early 2025.

🖤

Umaaka in the WTS Gallery until September 5. 

Image 1 — Umaaka install documentation by Sara Maiorino
Featuring works: Kalkatungu Reinaissance (1), 2026, acrylic on canvas on bed of red dirt. Kalkatungu Renaissance (2), 2026, triptych, oil-based ink on carved plywood.
Image 2 — WAARI, provided by the artist
Image 3 — Miss Kannina, provided by the artist

WAARI
MISS KANINNA

WTS Artist Market happening this weekend! Saturday August 299am — 1pm WTS Carpark 🌀 Come along to see creations of all k...
25/08/2026

WTS Artist Market happening this weekend!

Saturday August 29
9am — 1pm
WTS Carpark

🌀 Come along to see creations of all kinds, from ceramics to food, music and paintings.

Entry by donation. Free for First Nations

We are super excited to present this event with our close collaborators —
📡📡📡 8CCC, our beloved community radio station, will be at the market live broadcasting with local DJs and a pop up store with artist vinyl 8CCC Community Radio 102.1FM
🍧🧋🍦 Ling’s Supermarket will be setting up their dessert van with snacks, drinks and sweets for your Saturday morning treat. Ling's Supermarket

Thanks to our collaborators for supporting this event and bringing WTS to life— street party nrg! 

🤝 Still time to register for a stall! Link in bio — open until Thursday August 27.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN! ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ We’re excited to announce our 2027 Program Callout is now open until 11:59pm ...
12/08/2026

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN! ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

We’re excited to announce our 2027 Program Callout is now open until 11:59pm September 20!

Contribute to the creative ecology of Mparntwe/Alice Springs through our core programming, including exhibitions, residencies and screenings.

Applications are open to artists and curators local to Mparntwe/Alice Springs, across ‘Australia’, and internationally.  

At WTS we strongly believe in the potential of art as a vehicle of change, connection and beauty. WTS posits that art’s definition has broad and soft boundaries, and that everyone is invited. We are proudly artist-run, and aim to amplify the voices of local, interstate, and international artists that may go unheard in mainstream spaces.

Apply to our Exhibitions program or join us as a Travelling Artist in Residence. We welcome individual artists, duos and groups. Our Walk-in Cinema screenings and Pantry exhibitions are always open for applications — but no better time to submit a proposal.

Read more about each program and apply via our website.

Questions? Send us an email [email protected] or visit us at 8 Gap Road. 

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Link in bio  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Callout images show:
Install image of Jacquie Meng’s solo exhibition ‘Smile’ at WTS March-April 2026 Jacquie Meng
Install image Lille Madden from their solo exhibition ‘Altherrpe’ at WTS May-June 2026 Lille Madden
Live drawing by Yul Scarf from the 2025 Zine Fair opening night at WTS July 2025
All images by Sara Maiorino Sara Maiorino

WTS’ Maker’s Market is back! Annually, the WTS carpark fills with a huge array of creations by local makers. For makers ...
07/08/2026

WTS’ Maker’s Market is back!

Annually, the WTS carpark fills with a huge array of creations by local makers.
For makers of all kinds: ceramicists, jewellers, illustrators, bakers, zine-makers, musicians, crafters, painters, printmakers, and more.

💖 Saturday 29 August
💖9am — 1pm in the WTS carpark.
💖Entry by donation, free for First Nations.

This is a fundraising event for WTS — all proceeds from stall bookings and entries go towards supporting your favourite desert ARI, and our annual operations. Stall holders keep 100% of their profits.

More details to be announced! Expect food, drinks and music.

BOOK A STALL!
Link in bio to fill in the google form.
Or send us an email [email protected]

Approaching the final day !!! of Redaction, Absence, Opacity: Architectural witnessing of Australia’s hotel detention ne...
31/07/2026

Approaching the final day !!! of Redaction, Absence, Opacity: Architectural witnessing of Australia’s hotel detention network by Mark Romei.

1. Carceral Archipelago — light box, duratrans print
2. Architectural redaction (The Park Hotel, Carlton) — 3D printed resin and PLA, acrylic, LED lights
3. Detention hotels — digital prints on paper

Open Saturday 10am—2pm

Mark Romei
Mark Romei
Mark Romei

Address

8 Gap Road
Alice Springs, NT
0870

Opening Hours

Wednesday 12pm - 5pm
Thursday 12pm - 5pm
Friday 12pm - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 2pm

Telephone

+61889521949

Website

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