KickstART Virtual 2020 is well underway and in the lead up to Going Walkabout with STAV. on Friday 29 May, Propel asked the Melbourne based singer 5 questions about her new song ‘Walk A Little Further’.

Jing was recently a Project Administration intern at Propel and holds experience in corporate, sports and events management industries. She is passionate about sharing her love for sports and music with others, especially the youth. Jing writes about the new norm she’s slowly adjusting to at home.

Naomi Winter is a 23-year-old who has just stepped into the local WA arts community. Having just moved here from the UK 6 months ago, Naomi was looking to get involved in WA arts which brought her to Propel. Naomi writes about baking for friends, finding a job and the unexpected skills she has gained, Netflix and Zoom calls with overseas friends.

Aisyah Aaqil Sumito is a printmaker, writer and conceptual artist based on Whadjuk Noongar boodja. Considering elements of endurance, pain and pilgrimage, Sumito recounts personal narratives regarding intercultural influences, neurodiversity, disability and queerness. Aisyah pieced together a creative writing piece of their experiences in the past few months for COVID-19 Journal Entry #6.

Sally Davies is a theatre maker and writer based in Perth. In 2018, she co-founded independent theatre Lindstedt & Davies, which has since produced several original works. Sally writes about the changes affecting people who work in the arts, new things she’s discovered whilst social distancing and muses about the long term impacts of isolation on people’s lifestyles.

Simeon Neo was recently our Marketing Intern for Youth Week WA KickstART Festival 2020. She’s a photographer and writer who writes across multiple genres. Her short story A Bowl of Soft Boiled Eggs was published in Centre For Stories’ Wave After Wave collection of poetry and short stories. Simeon writes about her other hobbies and what’s she’s been up to at home.

Wanjie has been on the Propel Board for 5 years, and is currently the Chairperson. By day she is a lawyer working in native title and by night she is a crazy cat lady with too many foster felines, although nowadays she gets to do both at once thanks to working from home!

Trent-Jean Michel is a singer-songwriter/producer and musician who’s also part of the music collective Trent-Jean & The Lovely Bones who performed at the Lucky Cat Cinematheque event in January. We chat to him about his debut single Manchester By The Sea coming out May 1, doing music as a solo artist and as part of a group, and what he’s been up to during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Youth Week WA Ambassador 2020, Haseeb Riaz is a young changemaker passionate about areas such as youth health education. Haseeb is currently taking a break from studying Medicine at UWA, and is a co-founder of MAN UP, a social enterprise that aims to redefine the concept of masculinity. Haseeb chats to us about who he is and what he’s passionate about, being a Youth Week WA Ambassador and the ingenuity of young people in the arts.

Patrick Gunasekera is a writer, visual artist, photographer, theatre maker, performance artist and a zealous advocate within conversations around race, colonialism, disability and queerness. In January, Patrick sat down with Yoshika over tea and cronuts to discuss the different facets of his identity that informs his work, Australia’s history of white colonialism and how it permeates into the arts industry, and how he can keep going as strong as he is to advocate for himself and his community.

COVID-19 Journal Entry #2 is from Darcy Nidd who currently sits on the Propel Youth Arts WA Board of Management as a youth representative and policy specialist. Darcy reflects and writes about making sourdough hot cross buns, reading six books in the last month, friends and family support and the anxieties that come with being stuck at home during a global pandemic.

Discover new recommendations and catch up on what our Communications Officer Yoshika is up to in her COVID-19 Journal. Yoshika writes about Animal Crossing, her home café, YouTube, video calling friends to help you work and sleeping.

Anastasia Beasley, our Volunteer Coordinator shows us how to make your own vintage style leather covered book in the video below, so enjoy, stay safe and have good long weekend.

With the important recommendation for everyone to practice social distancing and #StayHome, Cecile’s sharing 4 easy baking recipes to try out. Learn how to make Cecile’s vegan banana bread, large cafe style muffins, ginger snap cookies (!!) and gooey brownies!

In light of the COVID-19 situation happening around the world, we're living in very uncertain and stressful times. Although times are tough, we can get through this. 👍🏻

One half of the 2020 Youth Week WA Ambassadors, Zahra Al Hilaly is a young changemaker determined to set positive change in areas such as intersectionality engagement and empowerment. During our interview, we opened up conversation about breaking down barriers that exist for different minorities, what privilege means, youth empowerment and the upcoming Youth Week WA KickstART Festival.

Ali Marbeck is a local young illustrator from Perth with a love for drawing animals and girls in cozy calm settings. Her art business ali illustrations took off after she held her very first stall at last year’s KickstART Festival Market. We chat to her about ali illustrations, whether or not she believes in authenticity and originality, and her future plans.

Meet Monica Widjajana, Art Director at Bento Box Design Studio, a holistic marketing and design agency. Monica chats to Yoshika about how she started her career with Bento Box Design Studio, the need to showcase and give opportunities to emerging creatives, the necessary but trepidations of networking events and what it means to be a holistic marketing agency.

Part 2 of Marcus and David’s interview continues from Part 1 focusing on their joint project ECHO: Stories from East Africa. In Part 2, Marcus and David chats to Yoshika about what drives them to volunteer for small NGOs, the growing scrutiny of charities and the relationship between volunteering and art.

Marcus Wong and David Chidgzey collaborated on ECHO: Stories of East Africa, an exhibition that encompasses the trials and triumphs of East African communities through visual media, live music, speeches and stories. Part 1 covers the conception of the project, their volunteer experience and the question of whether who’s happier – someone who faces loneliness or a community who faces problems relating to basic needs.