- New pilot program sees eight organisations share in funding to run arts, culture and creative projects for children and young people across Western Australia
- Titled ‘Creativity and Wellbeing for Young People’, the trial will be jointly delivered by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and Healthway
- Projects to prioritise those from First Nations or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and facing physical, mental, social or educational disadvantage
A new program to improve creativity and wellbeing for young people across Western Australia will be trialled after the State Government approved $600,000 in funding for eight organisations to deliver culture and the arts projects with health benefits.
The Creativity and Wellbeing for Young People Pilot Program is a partnership between the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) and Healthway, with each agency contributing $300,000 for the one-year trial. The pilot program aims to:
- provide opportunities for participation and engagement in arts and creative activities for young people in Western Australia;
- organically build health outcomes for young people participating in arts and creative activities;
- increase the long-term sustainability of employment opportunities for artists delivering and creating work with young people; and
- increase accessibility and engagement of creative experiences for young people with a particular focus on those that identify as: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD), LGBTQIA+, or are impacted by a level of socio-economic disadvantage.
Eight organisations with a demonstrated commitment to, and strong track record in, working with young people will each receive up to $75,000 to deliver a project over 12 to 18 months.
- Community Arts Network – $75,000 for Strange Times (filmmaking) in Midland
- Black Swan State Theatre Company – $75,000 funding for Creative Ground Holiday Workshop Program in the Great Southern, Pilbara and Mid West
- Breaksea – $75,000 funding for youth choirs in Great Southern and East Kimberley
- Centre for Stories – $74,619 for The Spark (writing) in outer Perth
- Boss Arts Creative – $75,000 for Aboriginal Arts and Culture Program in Narrogin
- City of Melville -$75,000forART CLUB in Willagee
- Ravensthorpe Arts Council – $75,000 for ARTitude Adventures: Creative Play for Social Wellness in the Goldfields and Esperance region
- Ellenbrook Arts – $75,000 for Arts Creativity and Wellbeing for Young People
For the list of projects and what they mean for the community, see the DLGSC website
As stated by Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman:
“The Cook Government is committed to providing opportunities for children and young people across Western Australia to engage in authentic creative and artistic experiences.
“This pilot program strongly aligns with feedback gathered through consultations for the development of the 10 Year Vision for Culture and the Arts in WA, where a key priority area of children and young people was identified.
“Four projects approved and being overseen by my department include developing filmmaking skills among young people in Perth’s eastern suburbs, engaging young storytellers in outer Perth to develop writing skills, establishing choirs in the Great Southern and East Kimberley, and theatre making workshops in the Great Southern, Pilbara and Mid West.”
As stated by Mental Health Minister Amber Jade Sanderson:
“Supporting these projects provides a valuable opportunity to improve the mental, social and emotional wellbeing of young people in Western Australia.
“We are using the arts as a way to reach priority communities and provide opportunities to participate in creative activities, no matter what your background.
“The four projects funded and managed by Healthway are arts workshops for youth in Ellenbrook, an arts and culture program for young Aboriginal people in the Wheatbelt, creative play in Goldfields-Esperance and an after-school artist in residence program for First Nations young people in the City of Melville.”
Background:
CREATIVITY AND WELLBEING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE PILOT PROGRAM
Projects funded by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries
- Community Arts Network – $75,000 funding for Strange Times in Midland, Perth
Summary: Strange Times will work with young people from the outer eastern suburbs of Perth on a creative engagement program focusing on developing skills in filmmaking, editing and design, leading to small production outcomes. Professional teaching artists will be based at the Swan City Youth Service where the program will be targeted to young people facing a number of barriers to participation in arts and cultural activities.
- Centre for Stories – $74,619 funding for The Spark in outer metro Perth
Summary: The Spark is a program that will not only ignite development, support and community for young storytellers between the ages of 13-18. The Spark is a program aimed at encouraging ongoing engagement with the craft of writing. We will offer online and in-person training opportunities, networking opportunities with published writers, publication and story sharing opportunities.
- Breaksea – $75,000 funding for Breaksea Regional Youth Ensemble in Lower Great Southern and East Kimberley
Summary: Across a 12-month period, Breaksea’s experienced team of professional facilitators and community leaders will establish, rehearse and celebrate two new youth choirs. Working with youth in the Lower Great Southern and children in the East Kimberley region, Breaksea will deliver weekly term-time sessions for participants. The program will support health outcomes for diverse youth from regional and remote places and enhance career opportunities for artists working with young people. Activity locations: Kununurra, Wyndham, Doon Doon, Albany, Plantagenet and Denmark.
- Black Swan State Theatre Company – $75,000 funding for Black Swan Creative Ground Holiday Workshop Program in the Great Southern, Pilbara and Mid West
Summary: Black Swan’s Creative Ground Workshops are a series of immersive arts activities for young people, aged 10 -13yrs and 14 -17yrs, delivered across regional WA during 2024 – 2025 school holidays. The program’s primary goal is to strengthen social-emotional learning of participants, deepen a sense of connection, belonging and agency. Activity locations: Albany, Port Hedland and Geraldton
CREATIVITY AND WELLBEING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE PILOT PROGRAM
Projects funded by Healthway
- Boss Arts Creative – $75,000 funding for Regional Aboriginal Arts and Culture Program in Narrogin in the Wheatbelt
Summary: The Program involves delivering school holiday workshops for young and emerging Indigenous artists in the areas of contemporary and traditional Indigenous performance and visual arts. Delivered by leading Indigenous artists, the project will provide vital skills training in the areas of traditional and contemporary Indigenous dance, acting and drama, singing and song writing in language as well as visual arts. Led by prominent Nyoongar performer Della Rae Morrison and working with a diverse group of Indigenous community with ages from 10 years and up, the workshop series is designed to promote greater engagement of marginalised Indigenous community in the arts and to empower the expression of Australian Indigenous cultures through performance.
- Ellenbrook Arts – $75,000 funding for The Ellenbrook Arts Creativity and Wellbeing for Young People
Summary: The project aims to foster creativity and provide a constructive outlet for youth by establishing a collaborative workshop series between Ellenbrook Arts and the Ellenbrook Youth Centre. By providing a creative outlet for expression and self-discovery, the project aims to improve the mental health and overall wellbeing of the participants. The culmination of the workshop series will be a public exhibition and event hosted at the Ellenbrook Art Gallery, showcasing material created by participating youth in a range of disciplines, including visual arts and performance. The exhibition will provide an opportunity for participants to share their stories, celebrate their achievements, and connect with the wider community.
- Ravensthorpe Arts Council – $75,000 for ARTitude Adventures: Creative Play for Social Wellness in Goldfields-Esperance
Summary: The project will further enhance the accessibility and outreach of the Artitude program and create an inclusive pilot Creative Play Program specifically designed for school students in Years 1, 3 and 4 at the Hopetoun Primary School. The programs have a strong emphasis on involving parents and carers as key stakeholders, and responds to a significant gap in children’s creative and emotional development in the Hopetoun and Ravensthorpe regions. Activity locations: Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun.
- City of Melville -$75,000forART CLUB in Willagee, Perth
Summary: ART CLUB is a term based, after-school program that engages at-risk and/or First Nations children and young people in meaningful exploration through the arts to build social and emotional wellbeing. Each artist will facilitate a full term of weekly activities, mentoring participants towards a creative outcome that relates to each artist’s own area of practice. Outcomes from each term will be celebrated publicly in appropriate formats dependent on the creative outcomes such as a launch, an exhibition and/or a performance. Participants will also be able to opt in to integrated mentorship opportunities if they choose to extend their learning beyond the scope of the after-school, term-based workshop format.
