Youth Week WA KickstART Festival
13 - 20 April 2019
Welcome to the 9th annual Youth Week WA KickstART Festival! We are delighted to offer over 40 free events across seven days for creative young people aged 12-26. This includes workshops, live performances, markets, exhibitions, installations, talks, mentorships, and even a prom to cap it all off!
KickstART is created in consultation with a Youth Week WA Planning Committee and in 2019 there are 30 incredibly dedicated young people sitting on that committee. Each year, Propel offers an emerging artist the opportunity to program the KickstART Festival in collaboration with the Youth Week WA Planning Committee as the Creative Coordinator and this year we have been working closely with Maddie Godfrey in this role.
The Youth Week WA KickstART Festival 2019 is presented by Propel Youth Arts WA, and is funded by the State Government of Western Australia. The KickstART Festival is also supported by Lotterywest, the City of Perth, and the Perth Theatre Trust.
All enquiries can be directed to hello@propel.org.au or 08 9328 5855.
#kickstARTfestival | #YouthWeekWA | #nurtureyouth | #propelyoutharts
About Youth Week WA
Youth Week WA (formerly National Youth Week WA), is an annual statewide celebration of the positive contributions of young people to our community throughout Western Australia.
More than 100 events take place across the State each year, many of which have received a Youth Week WA grant provided by the State Government of Western Australia through the Department of Communities.
The Youth Week WA 2019 theme is Nurture The Now.
To nurture is to ‘care for and protect someone or something while they are growing’. The act of nurturing involves looking after ourselves, our communities and our planet. Nurture can be interpreted as a form of self-care, in which we treat ourselves with softness and compassion.
Nurture The Now places significance on the present tense, and what we are currently conquering. The theme celebrates sustainable growth and encourages young people to validate their achievements and progress right now. By nurturing the now, we affirm the potential for young people to create a positive impact during their current stage of growth.
As stated by our Youth Week WA Planning Committee member Miranda (14); being a seedling or a sapling is equally important as being a fully bloomed plant. By celebrating these stages of growth, we aim to approach youth itself as a quality to be celebrated, rather than a burden or obstacle that must be overcome.
This idea of being present in our current stage is furthered by Youth Week WA’s 2019 focus on process over product.
By celebrating the ways which we develop, rather than prioritising a specific outcome, Nurture The Now illuminates the ideas of gradual inspiration and patient creation. As young people, we want to disregard expectations around success and finality. Instead of this – we give ourselves permission to thrive at our own pace. We are proud of our processes and motivated to share our passions with the people around us.
During Youth Week WA 2019, join us in celebrating and showcasing youth as a stage of growth which deserves to be nurtured.
KickstART Program
The 2019 KickstART Festival program has a recurring focus on stories. As a local poet and writer, Maddie Godfrey believes that giving young people an opportunity to shape and share their narratives constitutes a form of nurture.
When we speak about young people, the role of nurturing is often placed with employers or guardians. In discussions with our Youth Week WA Planning Committee, our awesome interns and the young artists we are collaborating with – I have been constantly reminded of how self-sufficient young people truly are.
These individuals inspire inter-generational action. They are passionate about making positive change in the world, even when that ‘world’ starts in their local café or living room. Whether framed as boxing, visual arts, eco-education or musicality – these opportunities aim to amplify and affirm the narratives of young people.
I am excited and grateful to share this program of enthusiastic individuals, who are pursuing what they love, in so many different ways.
