Drug Aware YCulture Regional project merges Indigenous culture with new media

Drug Aware YCulture Regional project merges Indigenous culture with new media

Regional Arts WA

Albany residents Jye Walker, 24, and Brandon Ford, 16, received Drug Aware YCulture Regional funding through Country Arts WA for a NAIDOC week project celebrating the local stories of young people in their community through projections, film and animation.

Tyisha Jimbidie is interviewed for the Drug Aware YCulture Regional projections project. Photo: Jye Walker.

Jye and Brandon worked alongside the City of Albany, Albany Youth Support Association, Great Southern Aboriginal Health Service and the Palmerston Drug and Alcohol Service and coordinated a series of workshops. The duo contracted clay artist Pia Sweeting, projection artists John Carberry and Glenn Hegedus and local Indigenous artists to work with young people to develop their multimedia, storytelling and visual art skills.

Participants created works with clay and paint on canvas, merging their interpretation of their environment with concepts around contemporary Indigenous culture. The group also learnt how to use projections, green screens and multimedia technology to amplify, alter and re-present their work.

Drug Aware YCulture Regional is a unique program that empowers young people to facilitate local art projects. They learn how to liaise with artists and community members, write a grant, create project budgets, promotions and manage projects.

Country Arts WA Executive Director, Paul MacPhail, said funding youth arts in regional WA is essential for building leadership skills in young people and the broader social fabric of regional WA.

“The opportunity to learn from professional artists is essential to building arts communities in regional WA.

“Drug Aware YCulture Regional gives young regional people the ability to develop their chosen artistic discipline, while also enabling them to develop vital leadership, project management and professional skills.”

Country Arts WA has distributed funding towards youth arts in regional WA for over 15 years, some recent projects includes theatre masterclasses in the Peel region, dance workshops in the South West and multi-arts events throughout the state for WA Youth Week.

Drug Aware YCulture Regional is funded by Healthway and administered by Country Arts WA to promote the Drug Aware message.

Drug Aware YCulture Regional is available until December, or until funding is exhausted, with applications due six weeks prior to a project’s start date.

For more information on Drug Aware YCulture Regional and how to apply, visit www.countryartswa.asn.au/yculture.