Living in Alice

Todd Mall Major Art Project Con­sul­ta­tion Results

From May 1 to May 14, 2025, Alice Springs Town Coun­cil con­duct­ed com­mu­ni­ty con­sul­ta­tion for the Todd Mall Major Art Project, fea­tur­ing two designs: ​“Becom­ing Moun­tains” by Alexan­der Knox Stu­dio and ​“Resilience” by Francesca Par­tridge, Edge Ate­lier. A vari­ety of engage­ment avenues were utilised, includ­ing sev­er­al in-per­son con­sul­ta­tions and online surveys.

In total, 407 votes were received with 74% of res­i­dents select­ing ​“Resilience” as their pre­ferred choice. 

Com­mu­ni­ty feed­back high­light­ed admi­ra­tion for ​“Resilience,” with com­ments empha­sis­ing its visu­al appeal and con­nec­tion to local val­ues. Many respon­dents appre­ci­at­ed its poten­tial for night­time vis­i­bil­i­ty, sug­gest­ing it could enhance Todd Mall atmos­phere. The over­all sen­ti­ment was one of enthu­si­asm for art­work that res­onates with our community.

The con­sul­ta­tion demon­strat­ed a strong desire for mean­ing­ful art that reflects the resilience of Alice Springs. At the May Ordi­nary Coun­cil meet­ing, Elect­ed Mem­bers endorsed ​“Resilience” to progress to detailed design. 

Resilience

Draw­ing par­al­lels with how the site, Todd Mall, pro­vides a tan­gi­ble link between Indige­nous cul­ture and the Alice Springs lifestyle through the promi­nent place it occu­pies in the cul­tur­al mem­o­ry of the town, this piece aims to cre­ate some­thing that hon­ours the sig­nif­i­cance of the Lhere Mparntwe/​Todd Riv­er to the Arrente and non-indige­nous com­mu­ni­ty and its impor­tance in the his­to­ry of Mparntwe/​Alice Springs. 

A dry riv­er bed for 95% of the year, Lhere Mparntwe/​Todd Riv­er is pop­u­lat­ed with trees and sites of great sig­nif­i­cance to Arrente peo­ple. This project would cre­ate some­thing that sug­gests a wel­com­ing ges­ture that has sprung up in the mid­dle of the mall that will become a place of sig­nif­i­cance and com­ing togeth­er for all the peo­ple of, and vis­i­tors to, Mparntwe/​Alice Springs.

This sculp­ture would include a curat­ed series of audio seg­ments that would play back sto­ries, mem­o­ries, thoughts and obser­va­tions from res­i­dents of all ages and back­grounds about what it means to live in Alice Springs. Stand­ing at a lit­tle more than 10 metres tall, the sculp­ture would include LED light­ing pan­els that cre­ate a high­ly vis­i­ble and wel­com­ing night time destination.