PLATFORM Magazine - Issue 6 - Passion Pop by Youth Arts & Recreation Centre

PLATFORM Youth Arts & Culture Magazine

PASSionpop 1

ISSUE 06 // 2015

EDITORIAL The theme of PLATFORM issue 6 is Passion Pop, taking us on a journey of passionate living and pop culture through the eyes of the the inspiring young people who feature in this effervescent and refreshing edition.

Melinda Antal Editor of PLATFORM

The young people who feature in this issue teach us about today’s pop culture and what it means to live passionately while showing us what is most important to youth today. Arabella Adelaide whose digital artwork features on the front cover, knows just how to express her passion through her fun and colourful digital art and through her dedication to music production. She formed ‘HingePop’, a creative animation duo with animator Rex Smeal which you can read all about on pages 30 + 31. We also take a peek inside pop culture with Triple J unearthed artist and musical front man, Harrison Manton who tells us about his inspiring journey with his band empire park. With the release of their new single, ‘We’re OK,’ and live gigs underway, empire park. show us the importance of following our passion. If we listen closely to what’s in our hearts and trust in our abilities to pursue our hopes and achieve our dreams, amazing and wonderful things will follow! What wonderful and creative gifts do you bring to the world when you set your passion free?

Disclaimer All content in PLATFORM Magazine remain the property of the Hobart City Council and all content is copyright to Hobart City Council and cannot be reproduced without written consent from the Hobart City Council and Youth Arts & Recreation Centre. In all cases signed consent has been received for the publication of photos and comment in this Issue of PLATFORM Magazine. Hobart City Council will not be liable for incorrect use of information in this publication. The opinions expressed in PLATFORM Magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the Hobart City Council and the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre.

CONTENTS

EMPIRE PARK.

RHONA MACTAVISH

OWLKEYME

HANNAH MAY

AMELIA WILSON

SOUTHERN TAS. SKATE TITLES

NICK MACHIN

THE BUNKER

HINGEPOP

OBSA ABDULMAJID

DENG GUOT

LIGHT UP THE LANE

NICHOLAS KIRKHAM

DANCE MALL SHOWCASE

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS

UR CONNECTED

PLATFORM

CONTENTS

EDITOR

MELINDA ANTAL // EDITOR OF PLATFORM // YOUTH ARTS OFFICER

PHOTOGRAPHERS

CONTRIBUTORS JESS MATERIA-ROWLAND // FRIENDS’, CLEMES COLLEGE STUDENT

Mel works with teams of young artists, writers, photographers and designers to produce PLATFORM Magazine and co-ordinate SUBSTATION Art Gallery. She enjoys letting her hair down and getting a groove on.

Jess is an artist at heart. You’ll find her with a paintbrush in one hand, a cup of tea in the other, and a camera on her hip, like it’s another limb.

YASMIN DONNELLY // HOBART COLLEGE STUDENT Yasmin’s work in and out of class consists of painting, drawing, photography, graphic design, writing, creating videos and music.

CHRIS MISTER // YOUTH PARTICIPATION WORKER Chris Mister is cybernetically created android designed to introduce young people to the joys of creative activities. You can find him running workshops out of the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre’s art studio as well as running other community lead youth art projects.

AMY BRANDT // MATHEMATICAL MASTERMIND + PHOTOGRAPHER A natural born problem solver, Amy loves formulas like a bee loves honey. When she’s not Einstein-ing her chalk across the blackboard, you’ll find her playing her guitar or battling it out on Minecraft!

JIEMBA SANDS // CIRCUS PERFORMER + STUNT PERFORMER

DESIGNER

When it comes to filming, Jiemba likes to work in front of and behind the camera. He likes to keep fit and healthy, and is training to take stunts to the next level.

SAXON RODMAN // DESIGNER OF PLATFORM Saxon is wondering if that is a very lively potted fern, or a very poorly diguised spy.

PLATFORM

CONTRIBUTORS

Jaye is an 18-year-old dreamer who would love to buy a pet Pug and live in a town house writing novels her whole life. Her guilty pleasures include movie marathons, Thai food, scented candles and indie rock music

TIM CHIVERS // GUILFORD YOUNG COLLEGE STUDENT Tim is an 18 year old dedicated musician. He enjoys doing nothing, with a little bit of creative writing on the side.

JACQUELINE RIX // FREELANCE WRITER Jacqueline is a fiction writer from Cygnet who likes Frank Zappa and reading ghost stories.

ZACK LICITIS // DANCER + WRITER Zack is a dancer who you’ll always find at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre. He loves hip-hop music and will dance whenever he can. He’s always practicing or trying to decipher everything in a song.

JOEL IMBER // YOUTH ARTS OFFICER Joel runs a variety of creative workshops for young people. He is a big kid. He is passionate about funk and soul music, hip-hop culture, and it’s not uncommon to find him recording in the music studio or breaking it down on the dance floor.

YOLANDA ROJAS // ELIZABETH COLLEGE STUDENT Yolanda likes reading, listening to music and hanging out with her friends. She thinks wolves are beautiful and wants to travel the world.

ATAK NGOR // GUILFORD YOUNG COLLEGE STUDENT + WRITER Atak Ngor is an aspiring screenplay writer and actor known for his disturbing on-screen presence.

TULLIA CHUNG-TILLEY // OWLKEYME OPERATIONS MANAGER With a background in health sciences, exercise, dance and education, Tilley is a passionate school teacher dedicated to inspiring young people to dance, explore and be creative!

PLATFORM

CONTRIBUTORS

WRITERS

JAYE BOWDEN // FREELANCE WRITER

Photography by Tim Kling, Sylphonic Productions ÂŠ 2015

empire park.

WORDS: Jaye Bowden IMAGES: Max Crosswell

empire park. a fresh local band on the rise set to tour Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, have been skyrocketing in Tassie this year. They have a CD underway and multiple gigs under their belt, including performing at Festival of Voices and jamming out at a side stage during Falls Festival 2014. Attracting crowds with their individual style and alternative rock flair, they’ve been shaking up the city with nineties vibes and a wild, infectious energy. I was lucky enough to interview their passionate front man, Harrison Manton, allowing us a sneak peek into his musical aspirations and the initial forming of empire park.

J: How was your Falls experience? H: It was on a stage in the back arena, it wasn’t world publicised. It was wild fun! Around 200 people showed up. It was the last gig we played with Oscar so that was an awesome last send-off. J: What are your dreams for empire park.? H: Obviously, everyone wants to play at Coachella. It’s just following in the footsteps of Courtney Barnett, Tame Impala and Chet Faker. Our immediate goal is to be on the bill for Falls or Splendour! Right now we’re being played on Triple J and a community Melbourne station! We love playing live shows too! We’ve finally found our energy!

J: Tell me about you guys, how did you meet? H: Jordan, James and I met at Rosny College last year in music class. It started out as a solo project then I involved more people. Our ex-bandmate Oscar wasn’t available for our January gig, so we told Jordan that there was a free space. He said that sounded sick. That’s how the current empire park. was formed! They’re much quieter guys. Very chilled out. Izaac wears tie dyes, bandanas and just jams out, while James always wears outfits like full denim with a bucket hat and sunglasses. Most of us have nineties influences!

J: Is it harder to bust out of Hobart musically? What’s the extra chilli kick you bring that sets you apart from current bands? H: Hobart harbours so much potential! Everyone is really supportive. Nobody tries to get on top of other musicians. We can’t pick bands that we sound like so I think that’s good! (laughs) We have grungy guitar tones. It’s pretty heavy, I have a high voice in contrast. Our music is targeted at lovers of indie rock, alternative or nineties music!

J: How did you decide on the name? H: Originally the band was under my name. When we first started playing shows we decided there was a different dynamic. Everyone contributed and we obviously have different influences. Then I was inspired while listening to a song to call us empire park. We decided we were gonna be hell indie about it. No capitals with a full stop!

J: What’s the one tune you could wake up to every day? H: ‘Ornate Delicate Creatures’ by The Delta Riggs!

J: What makes you crazy in love with playing music?

J: Any advice for young musicians about kickstarting their careers?

H: I’ve always played music! I got a little acoustic guitar when I was six years old and sang in school choirs. I can’t go to sleep without music! It’s the same with all of us, James and Izaac especially. They’re into different kinds of psychedelic genres.

H: Work hard! I play music constantly and send emails to people who don’t know me saying, “Hey listen to this please, we’re just a little band from Hobart!” (laughs) I’m just trying to throw us out there for the world to notice.

FEATURE

EMPIRE PARK

FEATURE

EMPIRE PARK.

FEATURE

EMPIRE PARK.

TEXT: Rhona MacTavish IMAGES: Sophie Wood & Melinda Antal SPREAD DESIGN: Amelia Wilson

INTERVIEW

CELESTE MEINCKE

WORDS: Tim Chivers IMAGE: Dan Cripps

Early this year I had the immense pleasure of meeting and interviewing the local musician, Hannah May. Hannah is a dedicated, passionate and on-the-rise Tassie vocalist and pianist. She is currently making her name in the Tasmanian music scene and making sure that everyone hears what she has to offer. She delivers a sweet, pleasant and soulful sound, which is derived from soft jazz, R&B and soul. Hannah’s friends know her for having quite a prominent social media presence. From showcasing her music to promoting her events, she is often quite busy constructing an online persona.

In the last few years, Hannah has drawn inspiration from many R&B musicians and bands such as Jill Scott, Hiatus Kaiyote and Erykah Badu. She has worked with and studied under big Tasmanian music figures, such as Matt Boden and Maria Lurighi. She has also performed with Clare Bowditch and has toured in a chorale group for Damon Albarn, from Gorillaz and Blur fame.

“Social media, I think, is essential for your music career. I’ve been using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram continuously for the last 18 months, and it’s just made such an impact on how I’ve been able to reach people. As much as I like Facebook and the social media, nothing beats meeting people face-to-face but I can’t imagine not having social media.”

“(Damon) commented that he had Adele in his studio the week before – just casually … so that was an interesting experience. Damon was so professional, so we all felt this sense of, ‘we’ve really got to lift our game here. We have to be the best we can be.’”

In April of 2015, Hannah launched a Pozible crowd-funded campaign to help produce her album, The Little Things. The raised funds contributed to string quartet compositions by Matt Boden, graphic designs, the recording and mastering of the project and the pressing of the album. She also received Crowbar funding from Arts Tasmania, which awarded her for completing the Pozible campaign and reaching her goal. Arts Tasmania had this to say;

Hannah studied at the University of Tasmania’s Conservatorium of Music and graduated in 2014. Her father was a music teacher who taught for 20 years at local schools and played with local musician John Connelly for around a decade. Her mother was a pianist and recorder player – an instrument that Hannah has affectionately titled “the misery stick”. Last year, Hannah won a competition run by the prominent Australian musician, Clare Bowditch, to perform with her at the Grand Chancellor in front of a sold-out show of 1100 people. Though she didn’t expect to win the competition with a song that she learned in less than a day, she definitely didn’t expect to be accompanying some of Clare Bowditch’s most famous songs on the stage. However, her performance on the show was a massive success, and it brought her a lot of positive recognition.

PROFILE

“Members of the Panel were very supportive of this project and commented on the professional nature of the campaign.” The campaign was an overwhelming success, and Hannah reached her goal less than two-thirds of the way through. The raised money allowed her to further reward her generous patrons. For more info on Hannah May, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/HannahMay 15

HANNAH MAY

TEXT: Tim Chivers IMAGES: Phill Kitt

WORDS: Joel Imber IMAGE: Jiemba Sands

you’re in a band you jump around a bit more, a bit more fun I guess. You experiment around more...and solo, I suppose if you stuff up it’s your fault and no one else’s, haha. There’s a lot more pressure when you are playing solo.”

Youth Arts Officer and resident Bunker Music Studio guru Joel Imber sat down with young musician Nick Machin to ask him a few questions about his musical journey thus far and talk about his future plans. For those who don’t know, Nick is a young 16 year old Hobart musician who regularly performs his music at local venues around Hobart and his usual busking spots down at the Salamanca Markets.

Nick recently recorded his first debut single “Blame” at Zion Song studios with Zarven Kara which he has submitted as a Triple J Unearthed entry and is now getting some great feedback. Future plans for Nick’s original songs are recording in ‘The Bunker Music Studio’ for an upcoming EP where he’ll be playing all instruments! I suppose having those skills come in handy for occasions like this!

Not only can Nick write his own music (which, I think are very catchy songs) he is also a very talented multi-instrumentalist, after many years of playing the guitar and drums. Nick Machin started jamming on his guitar at the age of nine. Nick said “When I got my first guitar for my birthday, I started going to lessons but didn’t really like it but six months later I picked it up again and liked it.” He tells me that in his earlier stages of music, his guitar teacher Devon Robson would get him into a regular slot jamming and singing for a monthly blues band night at The Duke in Hobart. These regular gigs exposed Nick into the world of performing and playing at live music venues in Hobart at a very young age.

“There’s a lot more pressure when you are playing solo.” When asked for words of wisdom to share with other young songwriters and musicians he said, “Play as much as you can, not for the money, just for the experience, experiment, get out there and busk! Sometimes you can get a really good crowd of people listening to you, other days people will just walk past you. I suppose you aren’t just playing to the same crowd in a bar, you meet new faces all the time. It’s good to get out and get some experience!”

Nick would continue to develop a unique style of singing heavily influenced by Jeff Buckley (who was shown to him by Devon) and a more Blues and Jazz style of playing and writing music. He says the thing about writing songs is “There are no rules! You can write music that has different rhythms and feelings and they can change from song to song.”

If you’d like to find out more information about Nick and his music head over to: www.facebook.com/nickmachinmusic www.triplejunearthed.co/nickmachinmusic

When I asked Nick what the benefits of playing solo or in a band were, his response was: “When INTERVIEW

NICK MACHIN

D I J A M L U D B

A A S OB WORDS: Joel Imber IMAGE: Jiemba Sands

“It was hard to express what I had to say!”

When eight young Tasmanian musicians came together for Festival Of Voices “Keep one eye on the stranger” workshop they were complete strangers. After an amazing two day workshop with former Australian Idol winner Wes Carr, they soon became very good friends. Youth centre regular and skilled rapper Obsa Abdulmajid sat down with Joel to talk about his amazing experience being selected for “Keep one eye on the stranger”.

What was the workshop like? Over the two days we worked on two original songs with Wes Carr who played piano and his band which played drums and bass. There were six musicians, myself and Lawrence as rapper. On the first day we were at Backspace theatre looking at one song and the second day at The Theatre Royal working on a song that we had only half finished. Wes helped us with song ideas to make them complete and ready to perform for the next night at the Theatre Royal.

How did you get into rap? I started writing my own raps three years ago, before that I was doing rap covers. When I got into it, I was inspired by hip-hop artists such as Eminem but mostly Machine Gun Kelly. I’m inspired by them, but not influenced as a lot of rappers rap about some negative things or how much money they have etc. I’m inspired by their creativity but most people like us don’t have those things. I think people need to hear about our point of view, people like me and you. So I rap about that!

For me as a rapper (and not a musician) it was different, I usually use a recorded beat to rap over. But we got to make our own music over the top of my raps with the band and it was great! My main song was called “Give Me Strength” which everyone was involved in. The band played music and I rapped with backup singers which was the best!

Why are you passionate about rap?

What did you learn from your experience in the workshop and performances?

I like the idea of storytelling with rap, especially with my story as I’m from Ethiopia in Africa. I’ve been through a lot. To change that into music and let the audience feel it can be hard especially as English wasn’t my first language. It was hard to express what I had to say! But it’s not even about language; it can be body language, expressions or something like that. I had to teach myself to open up, that expressing myself is a good thing. Through my raps I want to make people change their life to make better decisions.

I learnt to adapt to the new beat created as I had my own beat and raps already structured. I was able to change them a bit and make it work with the band. That taught me to be flexible with my music. I learnt from different people and different worlds, we all learnt from each other. I learnt many things from Wes too. He’s not only a mentor, he’s a celebrity and he’s really down to earth. Where to from here?

How did you get involved with “Keep one eye on the stranger”?

I would love to make it! Be a big star in Australia! I’m still learning because English is not my first language. But first things first, I need to improve my vocabulary for rapping and metaphors and things like that. One day you will see me. I’d like to work with Wes again. I look up to him, he’s like an idol. He’s not just like any artist, there’s a connection! He’s like a big brother or something! It was a great experience working with him.

Matthew Fargher from PULSE Youth Health centre in Glenorchy told me. I work with him a lot in the studio. He helps me a lot with my lyrics and making beats. He was the one who connected me with Tim Kling (who organised FOV workshop). When I found out I was selected I felt “Yo! There are a lot of better rappers out there in Tasmania, but I thought this is a great chance to stand up as a young person in Tasmania.”

INTERVIEW

OBSA ABDULMAJIDS

nicholas kirkham

art & design FEATURE

NICK KIRKHAM

WORDS: Melinda Antal

Our local arts scene is truly blessed with multitalented artist Nick Kirkham, an incredible graphic designer and illustration artist. He recently contributed artworks to the building projections for ‘Light up the Lane’ at Mathers Place and in September 2015, launched a solo exhibition of his collection at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre’s Substation Art Gallery.

the city. His series from Japan and Hong Kong highlight these details beautifully, capturing a somewhat messy and industrial scene with details such as the chaos of electrical wires that tangle their way around building rooftops and down the streets. He says the artworks that came out of his travels were a great success, with many people expressing how much they liked his work.

At 25 years of age, Nick has struck a fine balance between support from his part-time job and the pursuit of his creative work as an illustration artist and graphic designer.

Nick draws inspiration from artists like Tyler Stout who also use black and white drawings with minimal colours and Evan Hecox who is an American print artist using a monochrome street focus with bits of colour.

With a foot in both the corporate and creative worlds, Nick likes the stability of his job while being free to explore his art which he says is all about the enjoyment, “I really find drawing and the whole process really relaxing.”

Nick is passionate about sharing his travels and the places he’s been to through his art. His next adventure in October this year will take him on a five week tour of the USA and Canada. While there, Nick plans to visit Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver. Having lived in Hobart his whole life, he says excitedly, “Doing drawings from these big cities will be a welcomed challenge”.

Nick says he always liked to draw, from as early as two years of age through to his teens where he participated in art classes from New Town High and Elizabeth College. After that “I had over a year off travelling and working and then I went to Tafe to study a Certificate IV and Diploma in Graphic Design.”

Art has also played a significant role through the years in helping Nick grow as an individual. Nick said, “I’m more confident in putting work out there now and showing people what I can do. My teachers at Tafe were really supportive by saying they wanted to see more work and that I’ve got a great freehand illustration style.”

During his year off, Nick decided to visit Japan and Hong Kong with an interest in their culture, food and language. Nick said, “I’ve always had a desire to go there because it’s so different from western culture and I really like video games, anime and comics which are a big part of that culture.”

Nicks believes, “If making art is what makes you tick, just keep at it. Keep drawing what you like and what interests you, create whatever inspires you. Ask for feedback from friends, creative criticism is the best. If you’re just starting out then practice makes perfect!”

Drawing on inspiration from Japan, Nick became inspired by their cities and street scenes taking heaps of photos while there saying: “I like to use my own original photos to draw illustrations from rather than other sources because I really enjoy photography as well”.

To check out more visit Nick’s webpage: http://nhpkirkham.com/

Nick looks for the geometry, symmetry and angular shapes in building landscapes and the small details one might miss when just walking about

FEATURE

Or look up ‘Nicholas Kirkham Art & Design’ on Facebook

NICK KIRKHAM

FEATURE

NICK KIRKHAM

IMAGE (Above): Amy Brant

WORDS: Jacqueline Rix IMAGE (Above): Zoe Maeneu

RHONA MACTAVISH

Rhona MacTavish has packed a lot into her art career in the past year. Her stunning portrait of her older sister, Kenna, won the 15-16 year old category in the Tasmanian Young Archibald prize in 2014. The same piece then went on to be displayed in the Taroona High School art show, “Metamorphomix.” Rhona’s success has continued to soar this year with her portrait of Zen Cane called “Anti-Zen” recently winning the 2015 Tasmanian Young Archibald prize also, including winning the Department of Education’s ‘Secretary Award’, the ‘Overall Secondary’ category award and the ‘Overall Year 11 to 12’ category award.

important to her; such as her art and reading more books. Rhona said, “It’s been a period of self-reflection. Once you can hang out with yourself and learn to spend time alone, you’ll be a lot happier,” she affirms, smiling.

Softly spoken and wise beyond her years, Rhona and her family moved from England to Tasmania when she was 11 years old. Rhona tells me that she only began trying her hand at drawing during her last year of high school. After experimenting for a while, she found that faces were what fascinated her the most. It is clear that Rhona possesses natural gifts for the human face; specifically portraying emotions. Her high school art teacher encouraged her, telling her to not be dispirited by mistakes or perceived imperfections.

When I ask Rhona where she hopes to take her art in the future, she pauses before answering. “I’ve never really seen it as a career, to be honest,” she laughs. “What I really want to do is become an animal scientist, although I wouldn’t mind doing some commissions for people. But I wouldn’t want to compromise my art into something I wouldn’t enjoy anymore.”

“Don’t be deterred by mistakes. When it comes to your faults, you’ve got to own it. Embrace them.”

Rhona’s drawings are intimate and beautifully invasive pictures, giving us a glimpse into the vulnerable, hidden sides of the people she chooses to draw. It is not only her skill, but learned positivity, that is certainly going to take Rhona a long way in the future. In the coming years, Rhona hopes to develop her style and is inspired by hyperrealistic artists such as Adam Lupton, Alyssa Monks and Eloy Morales.

Rhona is currently studying at Hobart College. Her art teacher is inspiring her to experiment with her style, different types of paper and the drawing materials that she uses. Her plan for next year is to complete eight A1 portraits, each depicting a different emotion. Rhona said, “It would be interesting to see how different people respond to the drawings, to the various emotions...and that’s what I want to do, really; to be able to tell a story from someone’s face.”

It is wonderful to hear a young artist speak about their work with such pride and satisfaction. I asked Rhona if she has any advice for other young artists that are just beginning to develop their own style and she answered, “Don’t be deterred by mistakes. When it comes to your faults, you’ve got to own it. Embrace them.”

Rhona clearly has a very strong sense of self for a young person. She tells me that she’s been taking a break from social media for a while in order to concentrate on things that are more PROFILE

RHONA MACTAVISH

Amelia WILSON WORDS: Yolanda Rojas IMAGE: Amy Brant

Amelia Wilson is an inspiring and creative 19 year old who loves all things art and opened the door to her inner creativity in year nine at Taroona High when she first tried graphic design. Discovering that it was something that really interested her, she continued with it at Hobart College in the following years.

she can thrive to do whatever she wants to and can be successful in her artwork and career choices. Amelia says she would like to be a teacher of graphic design and is currently studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in Visual Communications at the University of Tasmania while she works towards her dream. “If I don’t get into teaching then I’d choose something in the area of graphic design or another art area, or even in an area where I get to work with youth.”

It was then that Amelia’s creativity lead her to the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre with her friend Mauli, who first showed her how to make T-shirt prints and designs. She said, “It took a while to get used to but once I got the hang of it I fell in love with the art. I began experimenting with new techniques and realised I could do multiple layers to make dynamic and intricate designs.” Using Pinterest for inspiration on new ideas and designs, she says, “It took me about a month to make my first shirt, if not longer and then just the other day I made a twelve layer stencil in only three hours. I was really proud.”

“I actually think I’m better at helping people do it than actually doing it myself. I just really enjoy that.” Amelia says that being creative is good because you can also make presents instead of buying them! People seem to appreciate made things because they come from the heart with a knowing that you’ve put in time and effort to make it perfect which makes it all worthwhile. She believes it’s easier to make a gift exactly the way you want with a little bit of creativity and time. Amelia said “I’m passionate about creating things and spreading the love of creativity and art. It’s that rewarding feeling that you get at the end, knowing you’ve made something, it’s really good.”

It was from this passion for t-shirt design and teaching others that Amelia decided to start volunteering for the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre where she could dedicate her time and effort towards assisting during the art workshops. Her passion and volunteer efforts paved the way for a paid job at the youth centre where she could continue to co-facilitate the art workshops. She said, “I just really like helping other people do creative things. I actually think I’m better at helping people do it than actually doing it myself. I just really enjoy that.”

To live passionately Amelia says it is important to look after yourself. One way to do this can be to get into yoga which is what Amelia does, or try something else that spices up your life, something that you really enjoy doing and can do well.

With the support and encouragement of her family and friends, and her graphic design and visual communications teachers, Amelia feels as though INTERVIEW EVENT

AMELIA WILSON TWITCH

THE BUNKER WORDS: Tim Chivers IMAGES: Yasmin Donnelly

IMAGES: Yasmin Donnelly

In June the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre hosted The Bunker, a free music concert featuring several up-and-coming Tasmania bands and musicians. These acts included the smooth contemporary folk sound of Jed Appleton, the indie rock styles of empire park. the pop/rock blend from Maddy Jane and her band, the whirring psychedelic vocals from Zac Henderson and the jazz/funk rhythms of Nikayla Taskinen-Smith who was accompanied by Sean Hall on guitar. These incredibly talented musicians provided a lively atmosphere for Hobartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth community and made a memorable night for all involved.

IMAGES: Yasmin Donnelly

N E G D

GUOT

WORDS: Atak Ngor IMAGE (Above): Jess Materia - Rowland IMAGE (Right): Amy Brandt

WORDS: Atak Ngor

Deng Guot is a bright young South Sudanese man who was born in Kenya. Deng grew up loving and playing his favourite sport, basketball.

“...keep going at it and success will be around the corner.”

Deng is a grade 10 student at New Town High School and next year will be transitioning to college to complete two more years education. Deng was first interested in basketball when he was in grade three.

Deng was inspired by Kobe Bryant, the shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. Another idol is Kevin Durant, the small and powerful forward for Oklahoma City Thunder. He believes that his basketball training, and connecting with teammates, coaches, supporters and referees has helped him develop other skills such as communicating and coping appropriately with the passions of both victory and defeat.

As I was seated in the room with Deng, it was easy to see his passion for his chosen sport and his regret at leaving the indoor basketball court for even a moment to be interviewed.

“If you love the sport never give up” I ask, “What do you like about basketball?”

One question I had to ask was what advice he would give any other young athlete who is just starting. Deng’s response was the answer of the day: “If you love the sport never give up. If it is meant to be, it will be. So keep going at it and success will be around the corner.”

Deng answers: “Basketball is a sport that you can play with your friends and it’s a good way to keep fit.” He hopes to improve his skills on and off the court and, like millions of other kids out there, “to play in the professional league.”

PROFILE

DENG GUOT

EVENT

DANCE MALL SHOWCASE

WORDS: Zac Licitis

It was great, I danced to music I was unfamiliar with. It was a bit frightening even if it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look like it. Each dancer had a turn, showing individual styles and demonstrating all the tricks they knew. Then a performer would call on someone else in the group of dancers to perform spontaneously. I was on edge and excited because I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know when I was going to be called next. No one in the crowd knew what to expect and the best part was, neither did we. It was a lot of fun and at the end of the day everything turned out to be a massive success.

On the 17th of July, the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre held a performance in the Elizabeth Street Mall with singer, Nick Machin and dancers Fabrice Bisimwa, Daniel Breen, Patrick Eli, Joel Imber, Benjamin Allen, Jelly and myself. It was a pretty cold day and it was even raining at one point. Nick sang some original acoustic music as well as some acoustic covers. Everyone seemed to enjoy the music being played. A lot of people stopped and listened to see what all the fuss was about and ended up staying the whole hour.

EVENT

DANCE MALL SHOWCASE

WORDS: Tullia Chung-Tilley

OWLKEYME is a not-for-profit, positive youth development organisation with a strong focus on personal and artistic growth using creative projects to engage young people. It’s about offering real opportunities to young people of any ability. We adapt to our young people, keeping creative projects flexible so that a true connection is created with participants and their community. Workshops and projects are strongly directed by the interests of participants which is a unique and empowering approach.

centre hosted a workshop with Timomatic and Lamb a few years ago and I facilitated dance teaching and mentoring there. A relationship evolved from there as it’s such a great, central place for OWLKEYME to have workshops and meetings with a cool atmosphere. The name OWLKEYME plays on the deeper meanings of ‘Alchemy’ and ‘Owls’. Alchemy is about transformation of yourself and the energy around you. The Owl is a powerful animal totem that represents intuition, change, wisdom and life transitions.

The founder, Nicole ‘Lamb’ Iovine was part of ‘So You think You Can Dance’ and has danced for Timomatic and Samantah Jade, as well as featured in numerous television and live performances. Her experiences as a dancer, community worker and mentor inspired the beginnings of OWLKEYME, which lead to the development of formal aspects with me as a Director, Mentor and Project Manager.

We’re all about being creative and I love seeing our work inspire others. Dance, drama, music, acrobatics, and photography to name a few are amazing art forms that help express our individuality. This year I had a fantastic opportunity to go to Kununurra in far-north WA and work with a school group to create a live performance for their local Barramundi Festival. It’s a great energy in that community and I was proud of the kids involved.

OWLKEYME and the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre first became friends when the youth FEATURE

OWLKEYME

At the moment we’re working on a project named ‘You Tell You Yell’ where young people will be writing, composing, and recording a song about Hobart and then making a film clip to accompany it. It’s going to be really exciting and we have some great creative’s’ involved. We’re also working towards a social awareness campaign to speak up on racial equality via a flash mob which is going to be huge and awesome! Our participants get so much out of their involvement too, here’s what one of our young people had to say:

“OWLKEYME means I get to do a lot of things I couldn’t dream about doing...”

about breakthroughs and successes and support each other through tough times. We want young people to develop, plan and participate their own creative experiences. You want to do a fashion parade - ok, how do we do it? You want to inspire people with your creative journey - ok, let’s make a show!

like performing in all different events of things around Hobart and best of all, being able to make wonderful projects with younger peers. I am personally improved in being able to handle situations better and learning to not get angry when I am stressed and just breathe and move on.”

“...just breathe and move on.” If you’d like to get involved please contact me! We have an amazing Creative Crew in Hobart that meet weekly to organise and work on projects. Email tilley@owlkeyme.org

Ultimately, our hope and dream is to bring young people together so they can share their interests and learn from one another. We’re a national family of creatives that get excited FEATURE

OWLKEYME

WORDS: Melinda Antal IMAGE: Joel Imber

The annual Southern Tasmanian Skate Titles competition was held in February 2015 at the North Hobart EC Skate Park. The free event saw guys and girls from all around the state getting involved and competing at the highest level of skateboarding in Tasmania. The event brought the local community together including family, friends and skaters of all ages and skill levels for a day of true camaraderie and showmanship. The Under 14s female winner of the day Chloe Andrews said that she has been “Skating for the last two years,” because it makes her “feel free and relaxed.”

Rocking out with pink helmets and a wicked t-shirt design, it’s hard to miss a ‘She Shredder’ in the crowd. Though, they’re well worth keeping an eye on as Jared looks to the future with an all girl competition down the line and the hope to be able to supply equipment to all newcomers. As he said, “The possibilities are endless!”

Chloe is part of an epic girls-only skateboarding crew called ‘She Shreds’, which stole the limelight this year. Her dad, Jared Andrew, started the group after skating with Chloe and her sister Bridget for about 14 months. Jared said his daughters “wished there were more girls to skate with,” and soon after that, ‘She Shreds’ was born.

If you’d like to get involved checkout the She Shreds Facebook Group at: https://www. facebook.com/groups/1381789365440231/

Since then the crew has continued to grow with more and more girls joining up. Jared said, “‘She Shreds’ offers a non threatening environment to learn and be apart of the skateboarding community,” and perhaps that’s the reason for much of its success. OUTDOOR ACTIVATION

Or find them on Instagram at https://instagram.com/p/ze3tzCERei/

SOUTHERN TAS. SKATE TITLES

HINGEPOP HINGEPOP

WORDS: Melinda Antal

Digital animator and music producer duo Rex Smeal and Arabella (Bel) Adelaide are wowing Hobartians and the online world with their combined special powers. They’re developing creative and innovative short film animations for a diverse range of projects and commissions under the name HingePop. I first discovered them when they entered a short film into this year’s ‘Light up the Lane’ digital art festival and since then, worked with them to launch their current exhibition in the Substation Art Gallery. I got chatting with the pair to find out where it all started and got the juice on their marvellous work.

Their first collaboration happened when Rex decided to enter an animation competition called Loop De Loop. He noticed a lot of other entries had music in the animations and decided to put a creative ‘call-out’ on Facebook to see if any musicians wanted to collaborate. Bel eagerly put her hand up and soon their first animation called ‘Faces’ was complete. “It’s all about having fun and doing something we enjoy while building our skills” they tell me. Bel adds, “we had such a great time making ‘Faces’, we decided to do more work together and then HingePop was born!” The next animation project became a response to ‘Light up the Lane’ digital arts festival. The concept began with Rex’s idea to animate ‘lightning’ and Bel wrote a story and song for it. Over the week that followed, the pair put in about 100 hours of combined creative production time. Bel explained that, “The animation is about a singing robot named Aya who undertakes a system reboot to better experience emotions but consequently destroys a part of herself to become those things she wants”.

They first met in the ‘Tea Room’ at the School of Computing and connected on Facebook after bumping into each other years later. By that time, Rex had completed a computing degree and developed a love of animation while Bel completed a music degree following her passion for music production. Kickin’ goals at what they do, Rex became an animator at ‘The Secret Lab’, a game development company while Bel wrote an album and took on commissions to write music for short films. FEATURE

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“As long as I have enough money and I’m doing what I like, I’m good...y’know... live for the moment!” Rex says, “Animation wise, I represented this through visual energetic changes, with lightning and sparks, things breaking and destroying components.” The resulting efforts became an awesome four minute film animation, viewable on YouTube HingePop at https://youtu.be/m4zWctPx3LA. The artists’ journey has helped them both grow and develop as individuals. Rex explains laughing, “I’ve thrown off the whole imposter syndrome, you know the one where you can’t help but think, oh my goodness I’m an artist and making money, is that right!?” With new confidence in the creative process Rex’s says, “It feels like I’m actually making something of the world, making something for the world.” For Bel it’s a chance to make the music she really wants to hear. She says, “It’s taught me to be really versatile in what I do.” Just like her vivacious and bubbly personality, Bel has a passion for making things that are fun and enjoyable and sharing that positivity with others. Besides that, she says with a smile,

For now, the HingePop magic continues with a project in the works called ‘Shatter’. “It’s super cool,” Rex says. “Art is all about creating a simulated experience.” And if digital art is your thing, Rex says, “You’ve got to follow your passion and practice the technical skills like drawing, painting or sculpting, whatever your thing is.” To the budding creatives out there Bel says, “Keep learning! There’s always more to know and you’ll never know everything so you may as well learn as many things as you can.” Check them out on Soundcloud at ‘HingePop’ or Tumblr at: rexsmealart.squarespace.com

FEATURE PROFILE

HINGEPOP TERESA SITO-CAUKER

LIGHT UP THE LANE

WORDS: Melinda Antal IMAGES: Graziano Di Martino

Mathers Place and its surrounding laneways were once again revitalised in April this year as we celebrated National Youth Week with our second annual ‘Light up the Lane’ digital arts festival.

This innovative visual and performing arts event hosted a range of musicians including DJs Close Counters and KOWL playing electronic music in Criterion Alleyway. The Bathurst Street end featured laid-back live acoustic performances from Celeste Miencke, Nick Machin, Hannah May, Maddy Jane with Hugh Foley and Chris Belbin. Alongside the myriad of exciting performances, digital artworks were projected in and around the laneway walls, while short films were playing in a ‘Cinema Room’ and music/dance videos in a ‘Music Showcase Room’. The artworks from over 60 young contributing artists included animation, photography, narrative short film, documentaries, graphic design, written word and dance. Successfully activating the city with over 1000 people in attendance, our community celebrated the skill, passion and creativity of our young artists, transforming the urban landscape into an exciting pop-up digital art gallery.

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LIGHT UP THE LANE

IMAGES: Graziano Di Martino

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS

Juliette Wright

I like this photo because of the colour of the greens and yellows. When I look at the photo I feel a sense of calmness and relaxation. The bamboo, reeds and the design of the bridge have a distinctly exotic Asian feel in stark contrast to the classic Australian landscape. I particularly like the rippled reflection which adds another abstract dimension to the photo.

IMAGE (Above): Juiette Wright

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PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS

Brighton Seeley

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Beautiful wispy pastels,â&#x20AC;? was one of the many comments made about this photo. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to capture this image; auroras are a very rare occurrence and cloud cover can make them all the more difficult to see. I was waiting for my friend to arrive so we could depart on our usual aurora expedition, as the probability of one happening was high. Standing on our balcony making space on my cameras memory card, I was totally unaware of the symphony of colours dancing through the sky behind me. Once I realized what was going on I ran down to my car and made my way to our local beachfront. As I was setting up my camera, I noticed a flash of light out of the corner of my eye, then again on the other side. It was the side of my eye picking up more light then the centre and I could see the waves of light shooting up through the sky. The aurora then increased in strength and I could now see the waves clearly moving and beams forming, it was spectacular! I started snapping away with my camera, changing the settings as the light began to over expose the photos. In all, the show lasted for about twenty minutes then the cloud began to creep in and the power of the light started decreasing.

IMAGE (Above): Brighton Seeley IMAGE (Background): Brighton Seeley

I felt overjoyed to be able to see such a show first hand and I feel blessed living in this part of the world where I can experience a wonder of nature most people will never see.

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PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS

Kayla Andrewartha

This photo represents a group of friends enjoying each others company and the amazing view. Impromptu photos like this are something I love taking. I find that photos that are taken in the moment have a special significance. ~~~

IMAGE (Above): Kayla Andrewartha IMAGE (Background): Kayla Andrewartha

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Fond memories, captured forever.

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS

Lucy Palmer

The reason I chose this photo is because I love taking photos of the ocean with the contrast of the sky, so many different beautiful shades of blue. Also in this particular photo, the stillness of the clouds and the rock formation, reaching out like a road to nowhere.

IMAGE (Above): Lucy Palmer

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This photo was taken on the Tasman Peninsula, which is one of my favourite places to relax with family.

PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Cook WORKSHOPS

PLATFORM

VOX POP

WORDS: Melinda Anatal

What do you love about your community and how do you feel connected? Earlier this year, UR Connected came to visit the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre for an exciting workshop with special guests from the North Melbourne Football Club. The workshop saw a turnout of approximately 80 people, with club players participating in the art process. All participants, with and without disabilities, were invited to explain their art pieces, offering narratives and storytelling.

UR Connected is a collaborative community art project developed by disability support organisations, STAR Tasmanian and Parkside. The project has been designed to explore the values of human interaction and engagement through the creation of personally drawn art circles depicting peoples’ connection to each other and their community. The 10cm circles will be used to create a 4 x 4 metre sculpture of an atom which will be a visual representation of our community coming together as one. The sculpture aims to have 2015 completed art circles by the end of this year. Once that happens, the sculpture will be officially launched on International Day of People with a Disability, on 3rd December 2015.

The whole process brought about new understandings as people with and without disabilities took the time to connect and share inspiring stories and journeys with one another. The artist for the project, Maggy Agrey, said that she believes, “The collective consciousness is often too busy to relax. The project is an opportunity for participants’ self reflection and reprieve from being busy to being present. It Invites people to sit and draw ‘together’, refuting the notion: That we often don’t have time.” UR Connected shows us that there is an “artist in all of us” and that each art piece is a marvellous mystery unfolding. Find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/URConnectedJourney If you would like to make a time for your community group, school or business to participate in UR Connected, contact Megan Cunningham on 6244 9444 or 0418 386 186 to book in a session time.

PARTNERSHIP

STAR UR CONNECTED TAS