YCulture Metro 2010 Projects
THE YMUSIC PROJECT
YMUSIC | $3000
The YMusic Project was an initiative of a group of young leaders from Curtin University, who identified a lack of music-making venues for young people in Perth. With their YCulture Metro grant funds, the young people engaged youth through music, by providing a series of music workshops held in the City of Bayswater. These workshops provided a place where young people could participate in a range of music activities in a safe and positive environment.
Auspice Organisation: Rotary Club of Morley
FLIRT FICTION
RED RABBIT COLLECTIVE | $2687
Creative development was the focus of this project, providing dance movement, improvisation, physical theatre, and script writing skills to the young people involved. This development phase of the Flirt Fiction project worked towards producing seven vignettes to be performed at the Blue Room’s 25 Summer Nights series. To allow each of the seven scenes to stand alone, different theatrical techniques were used in each scene. Workshops were held with four industry professionals to assist the participants perfect these different techniques.
The project participants also hosted a three hour seminar, sharing ideas about the history, development, and current critique of specific genres of literature and art with the audience.
Auspice Organisation: The Blue Room Theatre
FRIGHT, FIGHT, FLIGHT
ANNA MORCOMBE AND PETRA CVIJANOVIC | $3000
This project was about encouraging positive mental health and recovery from setbacks, through the freedom of art making in a supportive environment. Over a series of visual art workshops, each participant’s art skills were developed to assist them to convey personal messages. The two project organisers also gained mentorship from a professional artist to build their own facilitating experience throughout the project. The focus on recovery assisted participants to work towards achieving personal and artistic goals.
“The participants gained a sense of achievement, pride, and self-esteem through their work being exhibited and their mental health messages acknowledged.” Anna Morcombe, 23, and Petra Cvijanovic, 18 – Project Coordinators
Auspice Organisation: Mental Illness Fellowship of WA (MIFWA)
KARAOKE SATAN MUSEUM
MATT AITKEN | $3000
In the words of the Project Coordinators, Karaoke Satan Museum is “all about youth…and myth-making. Part support group, part ethnography”. This was a challenging project that examined religious myths in popular culture, and brought together artists to present work and create discussion.
An open week of workshops with Indonesian street artist Ican Harem and seven local young artists was followed by two events at Mixtape Gallery. The final event for this pop up museum incorporated performances by local musicians and engaged viewers in a conversation about spirituality and urban identity.
“People were excited by the uniqueness of the project. I think we really achieved our goals of facilitating an authentic cultural dialogue – creating a platform to share ideas, discuss contemporary issues, and deconstruct popular misconceptions about religion and re-appropriation.” Matt Aitken, 22 – Project Coordinator
Auspice Organisation: William Street Collective
AMP'D PHIBIANS
MARIA SORGIOVANNI | $3000
Amp’d Phibians was a unique collaboration developed between Junkadelic Percussion Group, Music Rocks Australia, and the young people of the Swan Friendship Club. The project combined the learnings of a group of potential musicians and performers who have a disability with the experience of Junkadelic and Music Rocks Australia.
10 weeks of workshops resulted in the formation of the Spider Rockin Band. The participants worked together with facilitators to write the music and lyrics for their own songs, which were showcased in a number of performances.
“I think it is awesome. I liked making our songs. I enjoyed singing the music and rapping.” Josh Ryan, 19 – Participant
Auspice Organisation: Swan Friendship Club
EXSIGHT ART PROJECT
FREEDOM CENTRE | $3000
Young people of diverse sexuality and gender often feel that others do not validate their experiences relating to their sexual orientation or gender expression.
The ExSIGHT project provided a safe space to creatively explore these issues through peer-based learning and visual arts workshops. The workshops were held at the Freedom Centre (a drop in centre for young people of diverse sexuality or gender) where local artists Martin Wills and Peter Farmer took on a mentoring role in facilitating illustration and traditional Indigenous arts to the young people involved. The Freedom Centre now has some spectacular wall murals and a dedicated exhibition space as a result of this project.
Auspice Organisation: WA Aids Council
ROLL INITIATIVE
NICOLA DAVISON | $3000
Roll Initiative was about providing an opportunity for a group of local young filmmakers to design and produce their own web-based miniseries.
YCulture Metro funds enabled the project participants to fully develop, polish and promote the pilot episode of Roll Initiative. This was vital in establishing a loyal viewer base and providing security for the production team to grow and continue to create films. Having a professional mentorto instruct and teach the young people helped participants to develop their skills and produce a high quality outcome.
“As a group of young filmmakers, we have come together to create our own opportunity, by undertaking a venture that will be developed and produced entirely by young people.” Nicola Davison, 24 – Project Coordinator
Auspice Organisation: Filmbites Youth Film School
UNEXPECTED MICROCLIMATES
ANYTHING IS VALID DANCE THEATRE | $3000
YCulture Metro funded Anything Is Valid Dance Theatre (AIVDT) for the third development stage of this project. The dancers collaborated with other artists during a residency at the Kurb Gallery, aiming to broaden their approach to performance from an inter-disciplinary angle. The residency culminated in a showcase of work, which focused on mobile sets and improvisation. AIVDT later performed the completed work in Munster Lane, linking into the City of Perth’s Laneways Enhancement Strategy.
“This project was a great opportunity to expand our skills as inter-disciplinary artists. We had the chance to try something new and really develop the design basis for the project.” Serena Chalker, 23 – Project Coordinator
Auspice Organisation: Ausdance WA
KUERAZO!
LAUREN MERRIT & NIKKI BARRETT | $3000
Kuerazo!, through this project, have re-launched themselves as a vibrant youth dance group. The young performers have a strong Latin dance base, and have developed and expanded to include Brazilian dance genres – a new thing for Perth. Working alongside professional dancers, they have choreographed new routines culminating in a public performance.
Through this project, the young members of the group developed management, coordination and budgeting skills which will provide a strong position for future grant-writing, projects, and performances.
Auspice Organisation: Latin American Cultural Association
THRESHOLD
REBECCA WALSH | $3000
Threshold was about giving young people an opportunity to work with a professional choreographer, allowing them to learn skills in dance that otherwise could not have been gained. Tim O’Donnell worked with a group of young dancers from Youth Ballet WA to devise and perform a new work. Four weeks of rehearsals were held and the final performance was showcased at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). The team of young people also took on the coordination and management of the project, which provided them with skills to oversee all logistics from organising rehearsals, to advertising, and the performance night.
“Working with Tim was a fantastic experience. He brought us out of our comfort zones and taught us how to adapt to different styles of choreography. The way he choreographed and transitioned each movement so seamlessly was inspirational and I fell in love with his style of movement.” Rebecca Walsh, 19 – Participant
Auspice Organisation: Youth Ballet WA
