MPARNTWE creative directors
MPARNTWE creative directors L-R, Owen Kelly, Bobbie Bayley and Tonielle Dempers. Photo by Nina Annand
Bobbie Bayley, Owen Kelly and Tonielle Dempers are the creative directors for the RAA Mparntwe (Alice Springs) event 11-13 September 2025.
Mparntwe is on Central Arrernte Country.
Country is always a palimpsest of sorts, architecture being only one layer upon the great manuscript of life. In Central Australia this re-writing feels more explicit than elsewhere.
This conference is about understanding our own and collective palimpsest of Mparntwe.
It is about the complexity of arid and remote places of Central Australia, the stories and ancient landscape that underpin it, and the design and thinking that happens there. It is about work that is culturally, ecologically and climatically driven.
The remote and arid conditions amplify how climate change will and is disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities of Central Australia. Underlying systematic impositions in the complex landscape of Central Australia - a rich culture that is alive, with diverse languages, deep knowledge, energised communities and inspiring visions for the future.
The central desert offers Australia as raw and open. Colonisation playing out in the street. This conference aims for its delegates to take away a deeper understanding of these complexities and learn from the rich and alive culture unique to Mparntwe and its surrounds.
The creative directors live and work in Mparntwe, where they are continuously shaped and reshaped by the unparalleled complexity and presence of Central Arrernte Country. Bobbie and Owen are co-directors of Dogspike Design & Architecture working in ‘traditional’ architecture and with Healthabitat in remote NT communities. Tonielle is a Senior Architect at Tangentyere Design, an Aboriginal-owned architectural practice and a subsidiary of TCAC. Together as emerging practitioners, they bring broad experience across Australian-centric Architecture, Remote Housing, Research and Building, originally from the East and West coasts, respectively.
EVENT INFO
MPARNTWE (Alice Springs)
DATES September 11-13 2025
LOCATION Mparntwe (Alice Springs) & Tjoritja (West MacDonnell National park)
CPD 10 formal points available across the event
