Youth Digital Cultures
Youth Digital Cultures encourages young people from diverse cultural backgrounds to collaborate through a series of digital arts skills development workshops and creative projects to develop their own responses to the issues affecting their lives. This project is about making sure that Western Sydney – Australia’s most culturally diverse region – is producing the creative leaders of the future – a future genuinely reflects and respects our true diversity.
TAG: Leave your mark
With support from the Foundation for Young Australians in 2006, a diverse group of young people undertook a creative digital ‘mapping’ exercise to explore the gaps in cultural expression in their own communities. Working interculturally, this group created a multimedia performance-exhibition-installation entitled TAG: Leave Your Mark adopting in the digital realm the organic forms of expression utilised by young people as they negotiate urban space.
Skills Development Workshops
With ongoing support from the Foundation for Young Australians and additional support from ArtStart in 2007, the Youth Digital Cultures Project initiated a series of projects and skills development activities for young people in Western Sydney, giving them opportunities to collaborate creatively and culturally while honing their skills in particular areas of digital arts. Successful workshops included Paint Your Heart Out, Active Flix, Soundbombing and others.
Y-FLICKZ
Youth Digital Cultures and the Western Sydney Film Forum teamed up in October 2007 to present the Y-Flickz youth film forum at Powerhouse Youth Theatres. At the event, five young filmmakers screened their works and received valuable audience feedback. Guest of honour at the event was filmmaker and former Tropfest winner, Craig Anderson.
The pARTy
Work from a range of Youth Digital Culture projects was showcased at a free youth art festival called the The pARTy. The event, held on November 24 at Holroyd Youth Services, also featured workshops in Parkour, the French art of urban body movement, video production and lyric writing, zine making, a live art mural, open mike, breakdancing, basketball and pool competitions, as well as food, market stalls and live performances.
The next two years
In 2008 and 2009 the Youth Digital Cultures Project will continue to cultivate an intercultural network of creative Western Sydney young people and encourage them to to build their capacity as community leaders, cultural producers and social entrepreneurs.
The learning process and its outcomes will be documented and showcased through a soon to be developed multimedia hub that will act as an exchange space for young people to network, showcase and skill share in the digital realm.
IMAGES
- View the Youth Digital Cultures photo gallery
GET INVOLVED
If you are under 25 and are interested in participating in future workshops, or want to receive more information about this project please contact us on 9897 5744 or email your details.