YCulture Metro 2018 Projects

CollageN presented by Drug Aware

Laura Strobech & Amber Kitney | $3000

CollageN is an experimental theatrical performance that occured at Paper Mountain’s 'Peaks' program in February 2018. This project is aimed at the young people of Perth and produced by a team of young and emerging creatives. his project tackles the themes of youth identity, observation and interaction, intimacy, vulnerability, the male gaze, empowerment, and performer-audience connectivity. Perhaps the most pertinent being the idea of being watched.

Auspice Organisation: Paper Mountain

House of Joys presented by Drug Aware

Kate Thresher & Noemie Huttner-Koros | $3000

House of Joys is an immersive performance experience presented by emerging interdisciplinary artists KAN Collective at Paper Mountain, as a part of the PEAKS performance program of FRINGEWORLD 2018. In House of Joys participants are guided individually through a place of fun, play and happiness where the rules of the adult worldare suspended. In this part installation part one – on-one performance, audience members are encouraged to rediscover the freedom and fearlessness of children through a tactile playground like setting.

Auspice organisation: The Blue Room Theatre

Drug Aware If Neapolitan Ice-cream Could Melt the Sun Development

Zachary Lopez & Mitchell Harvey | $3000

This project focused on the research and development of an original dance work called ‘If Neapolitan Ice-Cream could melt the Sun’ and learn from an acclaimed WA choreographer and mentor Chrissie Parrot. Focusing on creating an environment of inclusion in a political climate that mandates exclusion, the cast includes Australian dancers of mixed ethnic heritage. Project organisers who are prolific young dancers themselves, used this project to explore the shifting presentations of cultural identity and its assimilation into western society.

Auspice organisation: Co3 Dance Company 

Drug Aware Josephine! Development

Scott Mcardle & Georgina Crammond | $2999

Josephine! Is a new play for young people written by Scott McARdle and developed by Second Chance Theatre. This high-energy theatre show has been accepted in the The Blue Theatre Summer Night’s program for FRINGE WORLD 2018. This development project is aiming to create a piece suitable for 9+ and to bring polished, mature storytelling to young people, made by young people. This project was a new opportunity for team emerging theatre makers involved to develop skills in performing for a younger audience and experiencing and entirely new genre of performance.

Auspice organisation: The Blue Room Theatre

Minus One Sister – Design exploration and development, presented by Drug Aware

Emily Stokoe & Riley Spadaro | $3000 

Funding for this project went specifically to support the young designers in the creative team to explore design possibilities under the mentorship of Bruce McKinven, culminating in the realisation and presentation of a design to an invited audience of young people from WAAPA and industry professionals from Performing Lines WA, PICA, STRUT Dance and Black Swan State Theatre Company in mid-January. To have the set built by Onstage Arts, a professional scenic workshop, provided an invaluable opportunity to the young designers and helped them to build a professional portfolio and build workshop relationships with leading workshops in Perth. 

Auspice organisation: The Blue Room Theatre

Drug Aware WA Youth Slam

Matt Norman & Katie Bennett | $3000 

The WA Youth Slam 2018 is a slam poetry competition for young people aged 18 and under. It will consist of three heats held at YMCA HQ in Leederville from 3rd to 31st March 2018, as well as a final event (which will not be covered by this funding application). Three finalists will be selected from each heat to compete in the final, and will receive one-to-one mentoring from experienced performance poets. The winner of the final will be crowned the WA Youth Slam Champion 2018.

 Auspice organisation: Said Poets Society

Let Me Finish Development presented by Drug Aware

 Charlotte Otton & Phoebe Sullivan | $3000

Spear headed by young theatre makers Charlotte Otton and Phoebe Sullivan, this project was a two week long creative development in partnership with Fremantle Arts Centre under their Artist In Residence program. The creative development consisted of a small team of young women examining the history of female sexuality and their relationships with their own bodies and sex. Since the completion of this project, Let me Finish has been received multiple critical acclaim and had a completely sold out season at the Blue Room Theatre.

Auspice organisation: The Blue Room Theatre

Newhouse Collective Album recording, presented by Drug Aware

Tim Newhouse & Damian Long | $3000  

Tim Newhouse is a young professional composer and musician, along seven other professional musicians who form the artistic ensemble ‘The Newhouse Collective’, the funding was able to support a professional recording and a public launch of a debut album of original jazz compositions. The album is titled Daily Pages and available on Bandcamp.

Auspice organisation: WA Youth Jazz Orchestra

Development of Valentine, presented by Drug Aware

Rachael Woodward & Noemie Huttner-Koros | $3000

Valentine’s Little Light, an interactive show created by Rachael Woodward, will undergo a two week part-time development in July at Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, resulting in an industry showing. Specifically designed for children and their families, Valentine’s Little Light uses a combination of clowning and shadow puppetry to explore themes of vulnerability and loss. Following the development the team were accepted to present the show during Awesome Arts 2018.

Auspice organisation: Spare Parts Puppet Theatre

Development of Keeping Grace, presented by Drug Aware

David Mitchell & Zoe Hollyoak | $3000

Keeping Grace is an intimate exploration of two young artists who dream of success. Written by Chris Isaacs and based on true events, featuring original music from musician Grace Sanders. The creative team aimed to develop the show and start the devising process which resulted in a showing for young creative peers and industry professional. The team hopes that they will be able to premier the show at the Blue Room Theatre in 2019. 

Auspice organisation: Blue Room Theatre

Magical Women presented by Drug Aware

Asiyah Sumito & Sophie Nixon | $3000

Magical Woman is a group exhibition curated by Aisyah Aaqil Sumito and Sophie Nixon. The exhibition will function as a platform for 6 emerging women and non-binary (W/NB) artists to explore representations of romance in film and popular culture. Taking into consideration intersections of misogyny, racism, queerphobia and transphobia, artists will use the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope as a starting point.  Magical Woman will feature a variety of artistic outcomes, working across video, installation, soft sculpture, ceramic sculpture, textiles, printmaking, painting and drawing. Curators Sumito and Nixon worked alongside the featuring artists and their practices to critically develop and direct their artistic responses. 

Auspice organisation: Paper Mountain

Intrusion Album recording and Launch, presented by Drug Aware

Ethan Dixon & Jye Criddle | $3000  

Intrusion is a 5-piece band comprised of members aged between 14 – 16. This project supported the recording of four original songs and a debut band launch at the YMCA HQ. The project also included participation in a professional development workshop which focused on building the band memebrs skills and knowledge in leadership, successful goal setting and treating the band like a business in the highly competitive music industry.  The training was provided by one of their mentors, Glenda Spain, who is an experienced youth workshop facilitator and qualified trainer.

Auspice Organisation: YMCA HQ

Drug Aware: Sound of Trees

Rebecca Riggs-Bennett & Claire Gillam | $3000  

Sound of Trees is a sensory and interactive installation work that was researched and developed during sound artist Rebecca Riggs-Bennet’s artistic residency at St George’s Cathedral in October, concluding in a public showing and workshop aimed towards young people between 12 – 26 years. With the support of Scitech’s CSRIO lab, the creative team were able to design and test a life sized interactive forest with the use of technology, so that whenever a plant was touched is would trigger a sound, the over aim was to explore the relationship between humans and plants, and our impact on the ecosystem.

Auspice Organisation: The Blue Room Theatre

Development of Court my Crotch, Presented by Drug Aware

Ellen Hope Thompson & James McMillan | $3000  

The Court My Crotch Development was a week of concentrated engagement and exploration of the current issues around inclusion within sporting and drag culture, cuminating in a showing and discussion between emerging artists and community members.  The project aimed to create and finesse material for Court My Crotch, a new 60 minute process driven work presented as part of The Blue Room Theatre’s August–December Season.

Auspice Organisation: The Blue Room Theatre

Uni Goonies Film Festival presented by Drug Aware

Luisa Mitchell & Sophie Witte | $3000  

The Uni Goonies Film Festival (UGFF) is a film festival run by students, for students and young peoples aged 18-25. It is an event aimed at giving more opportunities for students to manage their own creative project, recognise young peoples’ films and thus encourage their creative development, and allow for networking and career opportunities to flourish through the intermingling of youths and professional film creators. It is specifically aimed at young people and professional adults who seek to network; together, these two audiences can spark a unique dialogue about cinema in Western Australia and the talent that its young people have. The screening event was a sold out event held at the State Library of WA.

Auspice Organisation: Revelations Film Festival

Almost There presented by Drug Aware

Chris Beecroft & Nathan Shaw | $3000  

This project is based upon exploring some of the immense, beautiful landscapes of Western Australia and taking stereoscopic photographs using a 1950's Kodak Stereo Camera. The project organisers and young photographers spent three weeks travelling to Karijini national park, the Bungle Bungles & Fitzgerald National Park, to capture stereoscopic photograph which featured in an interactive stereoscopic photography exhibition at Paper Mountain.

Auspice Organisation: Paper Mountain