Colours of Life presented by Drug Aware

Regional Arts WA

The youth of Narembeen participated in a series of art workshops run by local artists. In the workshops they were able to develop new skills in videography, photography, and watercolour painting.

Seven young girls and one young boy all wear their burgundy school uniforms. Three kneel at the front, five stand behind them. They each hold camera and smile at the camera. An older woman stands to the right of them with a camera of her own. Photography Workshop Participants and Workshop Facilitator De Strange. Photo by Narembeen CRC.

In a series of videography workshops, participants learned how to script, plan, produce, and edit their own movies. They learned the importance of lighting, and the basics of acting.

Photography workshops offered advice on working with lighting, positioning, focusing, and angles. Participants learned about landscape photography, abstract photography, and portrait photography. They were even given the chance to edit their photos with support from professional graphic designers.

In the final workshops, for watercolour painting, young participants developed skills in creating texture, learned about proper usage of water colour paints, and learned how to mix colours to create beautiful artworks.

After the workshops, project coordinators set up and managed an art exhibition to showcase their hard work. Family, friends, and the wider community were invited to come together and admire the artworks.

The experience showed the two young coordinators that there is much more to it than “just running an event”. It can actually be a lot of work, with weeks of planning and even paperwork!

“The project coordinators both said they felt an incredible sense of pride after receiving a lot of positive feedback for the workshops and art expo. They also said a few words at the introduction at the art expo and had their first go at public speaking. They felt like public role models, even professionals. They both said they would love to be involved and further develop their skills.”

Collage of 14 photographs. The collage is a mix of landscape photography and portrait photography of young people in school uniforms. Photography workshops collage. Courtesy of Narambeen CRC.

Project Name: Colours of Life presented by Drug Aware
Project Coordinators: Lucy Currie and Sari Cusack
Auspice: Narembeen Community Resource Centre
Amount Approved: $3,972
Funding Program: Drug Aware YCulture Regional
Region: Wheatbelt