Propel Youth Arts WA is honoured to be joined by Dr. Richard Walley, who will open KickstART Virtual with an online welcome to country.
We would like to start KickstART Virtual in a way that stays true to our cultural histories. As per tradition, we will have a welcome to country. Propel operates on Noongar Boodjar and we invite young people from the many countries across what is now known as Western Australia to participate. Presented by Dr. Richard Walley, who was part of the first contemporary welcome to country for non-Indigenous Australians over 40 years ago, this short video will KickstART the celebrations of youth arts for the week ahead.
Details
When: Friday 22 May, 9.30 - 10am
Platform: Facebook, Instagram & on the Propel website
About Dr. Richard Walley OAM
Dr. Richard Walley OAM is a Noongar man and one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal performers, musicians, and writers.
Richard is a working director of his family-owned business, Aboriginal Productions and Promotions, which delivers cultural awareness and learning programs and has been in operation for over 25 years. Richard is a committed leader in the promotion of Noongar culture and has extensive experience working alongside Australian and international organisations as a cultural consultant and presenter. Richard lectures on Aboriginal culture at UWA and is a regular host and participant at significant public and cultural events in Perth and the South West.
In 1978, Richard formed the Middar Aboriginal Theatre which has since taken Noongar culture to 32 countries. It is estimated more than 10 million people have experienced a live performance from Middar, contributing to the company’s win of the 1988 Gold Swan Tourism Award. In 2015, Richard was named a State Living Treasure from the Western Australia Department of Culture and the Arts for his lifetime contribution to arts and culture.
About KickstART Virtual
22 - 29 May 2020
For 10 years KickstART has been the flagship event for Youth Week WA, however things are a little different in 2020.
As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent live event cancellations, Propel Youth Arts WA is presenting KickstART Virtual: a week-long online festival of free workshops, talks, and hangouts, specifically tailored to young creative people in WA, and developed by Creative Coordinator Kobi Arthur Morrison with the Youth Week WA Planning Committee.
KickstART takes place on Noongar Boodjar. We acknowledge the ownership and are grateful for the custodianship of the people who originate from the Whadjuk nation. We acknowledge the traditional owners of country throughout Australia. We pay our respect to Elders past and present. We are committed to reconciliation and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
KickstART Virtual is presented by Propel Youth Arts WA and is funded by the Government of Western Australia through the Department of Communities and the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. KickstART is also sponsored by Lotterywest and the City of Perth.