PLATFORM Youth Arts & Culture Magazine
ISSUE 2 - OCTOBER 2013 - IDENTITY
Editorial Sitting against the backdrop of Trent Fischer’s mural, featured on pages 13-14. Read all about these incredibly talented young people and more...
PLATFORM magazine is all about young people who are doing amazing things in our local community. PLATFORM introduces a number of young rising stars from the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre. PLATFORM Issue 2 is themed around IDENTITY – who we are, what we do and why we do what we do!
Editor of PLATFORM, Polly Dance dancep@hobartcity.com.au
Issue 2 has engaged young writers, designers and photographers in every element of the production of PLATFORM magazine.
Acknowledgements Thanks to all who contributed to PLATFORM magazine and special thanks to our partners: Karen Demangone, Allison Jones, Gini Ennals and Tendeka Dos Santos.
The front cover image was taken by young photographer Melissa de Hoog; it shows some of the young identities that make up this issue of PLATFORM. Fynn Doepel, a 13 year old magician and card trickster (left), Shuang Shuang and
Cover photography: Melissa de Hoog
Harrison Manton both young singer/songwriters.
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. In all cases signed consent has been received for the publication of photos and comment in this publication 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 Youth Arts & Recreation Centre and the Hobart City Council.
Editorial
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Acknowledgements
Contents Asta Binnie
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Harrison Manton
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12 Shuang Shuang Instagram Exhibition
16
14
Trent Fischer
TADA
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20 T-shirt Workshop B-Boys
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24 Ben Sarossy
International Youth Day
28 Fynn Doepel Daniel Mason
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Nathan Guy
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30
10,000 People Project
Partnerships
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Contents
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Contributors Designers Laura Wilkinson | Fine Art Student Laura exists in a constant state of confusion with little in the way of social skills. She struggles to talk about little else than her dog Gabby. What she lacks in cool however, she more than makes up for in enthusiasm.
Mahalee Smart |Visual Communication Student Mahalee is a quiet girl with an interest in magazines, in particular Frankie and Peppermint. She has a mild obsession with Coke and sausage dogs, and cannot go more than a day without checking for updates on Instagram.
Photographers Melissa de Hoog Melissa is an all round frother with a crazy imagination, her ideal day would be spent on the beach with a camera and some clean hollow waves.
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Contributors
Writers Polly Dance | Editor of PLATFORM | Youth Participation Worker Polly has a love hate relationship with words. Some days they the best of friends, others they’re not even on speaking terms.
Joel Imber | Youth Arts Worker Joel runs a variety of art, music, dance and digital media projects and workshops for young people. He is passionate about Hip Hop culture and it’s not uncommon to find him recording in the music studio or breaking it down on the dance floor.
Maddie Kramer | Journalism Student Maddie is currently in her 3rd year at UTAS, majoring in journalism and photography. She hopes to one day travel the world and work for a prestigious magazine.
Miriam McGarry | Writer Miriam is an art enthusiast and writer. She is wittier on paper than she is in person.
Ella Reed | Youth Participation Worker (Trainee) At the age of 22 Ella hasn’t wasted a moment; when she’s not coordinating Zombie themed short film Festivals or a stand up comedian and event producer of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival she works with young people. Ella is obsessed with pugs!
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Contributors
Asta Binnie shot to fame in 2012, when she was crowned winner of Triple J’s Unearthed High Competition. As a 14 year old, Asta was involved with the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre where she performed and practised. Miriam McGarry interviewed the Tassie songstress about her sweet and salty music, her sources of inspiration, and boundless creativity. Could you tell us a little bit about your background in music? Growing up, I always remember being a performer. Singing came first, and then painting and dancing. Then I picked up the guitar at around the age of 11. It came naturally (I like to think); rhythm was in my blood. I remember going through a phase of not wanting anything to do with music anymore in High School. Which was silly, of course. I couldn’t get rid of it. I was like an empty milk bottle in the ocean, I couldn’t push it down; it would inevitably rise back up to greet me. My mother was a dancer from a young age and my dad has the tendency to tap on surfaces and get into the groove in any musical environment. As a kid, the memories that stand out the most are the ones where I either had a paintbrush, a pencil or a rainbow skirt on.
“To be a Tasmanian artist is something quite unique...” What does a ‘normal’ day in the life of Asta involve? A normal day for me would be getting up at 9am, making a smoothie full of healthy super foods, then straight to my desk to reply to emails. At the moment I am mainly sourcing inspiration from photos and creating a mood board trying to get a grasp on ‘what is me’ and ‘what makes me tick’. Fashion is something I have always loved, so I cannot wait to be collaborating with designers in the near future sewing up a storm! I absolutely love to cook, so I will try and cook every meal in the day. I find it so satisfying buying local and getting creative in the kitchen, knowing what you are putting into your body. 11am I may have a band rehearsal then at 6pm I go to hot yoga and stretch out all my limbs. Then when the sun has fully gone down I usually start to get a bit itchy and feel the urge to write. So I light up a candle and pull out my new synth or my
You recently performed an acoustic set as part of Festival of Voices: how was that in comparison to your previous performances? It was so reassuring to be honest, knowing that I still have it in me and can stand alone with a guitar and belt my heart out, casting an imaginary net out into the audience and taking every single person with me on a journey. That is an amazing feeling. To be able to bring another human to tears with song is so magical and beautiful. In a strange way it is very touching to know my music has that much impact.
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Asta Binnie
guitar and have a play. I honestly feel like the luckiest girl in the world but sometimes it’s not all pretty!
quite unique and there isn’t this competition vibe happening in the state, so you blossom naturally as an artist and gather your roots before fleeting off to the big smoke. I feel in general Tasmanians are beautiful people, and you definitely notice that when you move out of the state. You miss the smiles, warm hearts and free things!
What role does design/costume/makeup play in your work? Your creativity seems to expand far beyond music! You are right, I love being in a profession where all creative aspects come into play. On stage you can basically wear what ever you want and pull it off if you work it, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. My design and makeup play a huge role in my overall act because it’s an expression, just like music. The more you express the better, I say. There isn’t enough ‘shock’ in the music industry these days. There is so much scope to go wild!
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing? I could not possibly see myself doing anything else. If I had to drop music, I would try out acting or as mum suggested last night, radio presenting. I am not the study type, so University would definitely be off the cards! Where can readers expect to see you in five years time? Knowing my determination, I hope to see myself playing at some of the biggest festivals around the world and hitting that overseas market. All I want is to be present in the industry for as long as possible; performing, meeting people, traveling, learning, expressing, experiencing and giving.
Are you still living in Tasmania? What does it mean to be a Tasmanian artist? I am currently living up in Sydney (I know I escaped the cold quick-smart!) but I am back and forth because I do miss my family and the fresh air. There is a different lifestyle up here, that’s for sure, but it’s great being in the same state as my whole team. To be a Tasmanian artist is something
“The more you express the better, I say...”
Photograph: Phil Kitt
Interview
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Asta Binnie
Photography: Justin Vague
Follow and listen to Asta online: http://www.youtube.com watch?v=kZnqOFcX--0 Instagram username: asta_music www.astamusic.com Interview
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Asta Binnie
HARRISON MANTON Harrison Manton is only 15 years old and a rising star in our local music scene. Harrison sings, plays guitar, piano, drums and bass – “all for fun” he says! He started playing guitar when he was 6 years, started performing when he was 10 and played his first gig in September last year. Harrison’s style is acoustic indie and he describes his sound as “eclectic.” Harrison sat down to talk to me at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre recently and shared his achievements, best experiences, motivations, inspiration, influences and aspirations. Harrison’s greatest achievements (to date) have been launching his own EP in November (2012) and playing in the Festival of Voices as one of eight Tasmanian songwriters selected to perform. Harrison said it was, “Awesome show! Awesome experience!” When I asked Harrison about playing at the Youth Centre he said, “It’s got a really good niche because there’s a lot of different genres that people play and everyone is accepted! Everyone can fit in! Anyone can come along and get into it.” Harrison spoke very highly of the Hobart music scene saying, “Everyone knows everyone and everyone’s pretty close. It’s like a whole support group. I get a lot of help and gigs from the older more established guys like Ben Wells. It’s good to know them. Hobart music scene is good for building up your confidence here before you head off. It’s a strong community.” Harrison shared that he draws inspiration for songwriting from situations or emotions. He commented that his songwriting is very vague
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and usually associated with things he sees or imagines. Harrison’s main influence is Matt Corby. When I asked Harrison whether his dream was to meet Matt Corby he said without skipping a heartbeat, “Oh God! Yeah!” He is a self-confessed Matt Corby fan boy! Harrison jokingly said, “I just want to be Matt Corby pretty much!” Harrison identified, “Matt Corby has been singing for sixteen years and that’s longer than I’ve been alive so there’s hope.”
“Matt Corby has been singing for sixteen years and that’s longer than I’ve been alive so there’s hope.” In five years time Harrison sees himself ‘semi-struggling’ in a major city like London. He really likes the European music scene. He said he almost went onto X-Factor – but had a battle of integrity wondering whether it was “the easy route” but when a family holiday collided with the call-back he declined the offer.
“I give people a bit of a shock...” There is no denying that Harrison is incredibly talented for his age and shows a maturity beyond his years. He’s not afraid to tackle tough songs at gigs and people often remark on this. He says, “That’s always nice when they find out how old I am - I give people a bit of a shock...” He continued by stating, “It’s just self-gratifying performing. It’s so so nice when people are getting into it and showing that they appreciate it – it’s awesome! There’s nothing better to me! It’s all I do and it’s all I look for self-gratification in.”
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Harrison Manton
Follow and listen to Harrison online: www.facebook.com/HarrisonManton www.triplejunearthed.com.au/HarrisonManton
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Harrison Manton
Shuang
Shuang
“Music is my home. It’s my love, my all...”
comfortable there, as if it were my own home, because I was new to Hobart and I didn’t have many friends like in my country. Sometimes I never had anyone to talk to but music for me has been like a really old friend. So when I am in the BUNKER I am really relaxed and comfortable. Because music is my home. It’s my love, my all. It’s amazing.
What motivates you to make music? When I was a little girl I was very shy and quiet. My mum was worried about me so encouraged me to learn how to paint and play the piano. I started singing too. I began to love music from a very young age. I felt like I could express myself through music.
Who inspires you, and why? Firstly, my mum and my dad, without them I wouldn’t have come here and wouldn’t have been able to do all the things I have done and meet all the people I have met. Secondly, I would like to thank my teacher, Gini. She is a lovely teacher and very important to me. She introduced me to Joel. And lastly my friend Joel, he is a nice and supportive man. Joel has taught me a lot about making music. He has amazing skills and abilities in making music and we both enjoy making songs together. When I’m making music I am so happy.
What does your music say about you and who you are? I like to write down words and make a song on my own. I’m an original singer/songwriter. Sometimes my songs are about my story but some are stories I’ve borrowed from another song I might like. When I am singing, I just want tell a story about me and who I am! What have you learnt about making music in the BUNKER at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre? I have learnt many things like how to use the computer to make songs and how to write English songs ... And I get to practise my English also!
Tell me about yourself? What is an average day in the life of Shuang Shuang? Now I’m a full-time student studying English at Polytechnic. When I finish school I have lots of fun too. Every Wednesday from 3-6pm I make music with Joel. Every Tuesday and Thursday when I finish school I go to university to learn how to radio broadcast on Edge radio station. On Friday I do drama with the girls. On Sunday I go to church. I have a busy week but I enjoy it! Because I like to try new things!
What does the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre mean to you? Youth Arts & Recreation Centre is a very important place to me. I feel really
Interview
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Shuang Shuang
“When I am singing, I just want to tell a story about me and who I am...�
Exhibition
The Instagram Exhibition and competition started on 3 July and final entries were posted on 31 July. The exhibition was opened Wednesday 31 July at the Substation Gallery in the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre. Ella Reed the co-coordinator of the gallery chose to kick-start the exhibition program with a social media application to give the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre more of an online presence. She explained that she was aiming, “To give us the next level of communication rather than just being a Centre that young people can access, they can also check what we’re up to online.” Fittingly, the launch of the exhibition also coincided with the launch of the ‘youth arts and rec’ Instagram account. Because this was a totally new endeavour for the Centre, we gave young people an incentive to contribute to the exhibition. The winner of the $100 Footlocker voucher was Terry, Instagram name ‘freakyolo’, getting 581 ‘likes’ on his photo of his friends playing pool (centre page 14). The runner up (top left page 15) won two movie vouchers.
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Instagram Exhibition
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Instagram Exhibition
TRENT FISCHER Polly Dance, the Editor of Platform in conversation with the young and talented mural artist, Trent Fischer. Tell me about yourself – What do you do? How long have you been doing it for? Why do you do it? By day I’m a carpenter but if anyone ever asks me what I do, I say, “painting” because that’s what I live for. I only go to work to make money; I don’t really like my work that much. I love painting. I have since I was about 15-16. I started scribbling in schoolbooks. I was always good at art, always good at drawing. What motivates you to paint? It’s just the quest to try and get better. I sit in my head a lot. I don’t watch TV. I just think a lot about my next piece... it starts in my head... I can hold an image and work on it in my head throughout the week and then come the weekend I can play with it. I get most of my ideas during the week. Anytime I have a bit of free time I think about it. What are the subjects in your work? Are they mostly words? Words mostly but I enjoy painting landscapes, characters, a bit of everything! I like to try to push my skills and see what I can do. How do people identify your work? What’s your style Trent? Well, people say my work looks very angry. Is that because it’s angular? Maybe, it’s probably because of all the sharp angles but I actually find that I do my best work when I am angry, it sort of vents into the piece. You just pick up habits and don’t realise that it’s defining you and the way that you put art up onto a wall. By following little habits Q&A 16 Trent Fischer
MONA FOMA Live Art
What’s the biggest challenge of being a mural artist? Often the biggest challenge of doing commission works on walls is that people usually have something in mind. Trying to get something out of someone else’s mind and into your own mind can be a nightmare. But I like it when someone says, “I don’t know what I want.”
that you always seem to come back to, that guide your work. What habits do you tend to come back to? Particular colour combinations. I really love blue and yellow, and I really love green and purple – just clashing off each other! At the same time I like to have a base colour like a grey to mellow it out. If you go too bright it can be a bit too much and can take away from the actual brightness of the colour. I like to do 3-D work as well.
Usually when I go to someone I say, “Just give me a theme” and then I run with that because that way they haven’t got an exact image in their head, they’ve just got an idea. You can play with an idea.
You’ve said that you do characters and that you do your best work when you’re angry. Is art an emotional outlet for you? Most definitely! If I don’t paint for two weeks I get agro. I’m quite a passive person when I’m painting. Sometimes I’ll yell at the piece but be totally happy. It very much depends on my mood. Some days I’ll do a nicer piece and some days I won’t.
“When people look at my work I want them to scratch their head and think...” What does what you create say about who you are? I like to think that people can see that I think about it a lot. When people look at my work I want them to scratch their head and think, “How the hell did he come up with that?” I’d like people to see that I’m dedicated. That I love it! Art is sort of like the girlfriend that doesn’t exist.
Can you tell me about the performance that you did at MONA FOMA? How amazing was that? A group of friends and I practised for a couple weeks, came up with the first half of it and then the second half we did completely freestyle and made it up as we went along. Ended up getting covered in paint! It was lots of fun! Q&A
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Trent Fischer
TADA
TADA stands for Teen And Diabetes Art. TADA was established by Royal Hobart Hospital’s Paediatric Diabetes Clinic in 2011 and has been running art workshops at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre for almost three years. These workshops provide young adolescents living with Type 1 diabetes with a supportive and creative outlet to express themselves.
is something nice about it.” Other projects took found materials and diabetes paraphernalia such as plastic from caps, old blood glucose strip containers and tubing to make sculptures. Kieren aged 13 commented, “I like the free range over the art materials and making sculptures. I enjoyed tinkering with the diabetes stuff... anything destructive gets a thumbs up!”
TADA is facilitated by arts professionals including Tasmanian artists, Allison Jones and Caroline Amos.
“I enjoyed tinkering with the diabetes stuff...”
When I spoke with the Paediatric Diabetes Educator, Karen Demangone recently about TADA she said, “The kids were really engaged. They really enjoyed it!” Danielle aged 15 shared, “I like art and having the chance to use my own ideas.”
A positive outcome of the TADA workshops is that young people are able to work together to heal and seek support through non medicinal means. “I liked mingling with other people and hearing how they dealt with diabetes” Evie (12 years old). As Karen explained, “Diabetes doesn’t need to be so medicalised.” TADA gives support to teens with diabetes away from the hospital and something just for them.
Up to 36 young people were able to attend the 1 ½ hour workshops held fortnightly in the art studio at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre. TADA workshops encourage young people to express what it means to have diabetes and what diabetes looks like. Through the use of various art materials and techniques young people developed paintings and sculptures and showcased their work in the Substation Gallery at the Centre. Some of the workshops used old books to make hanging mobiles. Ebony 16 years said, “I liked folding the books, there
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“I liked mingling with other people and hearing how they dealt with diabetes” Evie (12 years old).
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TADA
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TADA
T-shirt Workshop
Hello. My Name is Sam Tooker. I am 14 years old. The print on my t-shirt is of Nutella because I really like chocolate. My favourite part of the t-shirt design workshop was making it and printing it. The Youth Arts & Recreation Centre is a place for me to have fun!!
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Workshop
Hello. My name is Emmanuel. I am 13 years old. The print on my t-shirt is of Paris because I really like Paris. My favourite part of the t-shirt design workshop was printing and painting. The Youth Arts & Recreation Centre is a place for me to come to have fun.
Hello. My name is Amelia. I am 17 years old. The print on my t-shirt is of the GriffIndor logo, Tardis, zombies etc. because I really like Harry Potter, Doctor Who, zombies, etc. My favourite part of the t-shirt design workshop was working with Chris and learning new skills. The Youth Arts & Recreation Centre is a place for me to do art and my school work.
Hello. My name is Mathew. I am 18 years old. The print on my t-shirt is of Assassins Creed because I really like it. My favourite part of the t-shirt design workshop was Chris and his amazing teaching skills. The Youth Arts & Recreation Centre is a place for me to do art. Yay!
Hello. My name is Karnan Satchithananthan. I am 13 years old. The print on my t-shirt is of the logo of Skyrim because I really like the dragon.My favourite part of the t-shirt design workshop was painting it and working with Chris. The Youth Arts & Recreation Centre is a place for me to come because it is fun and it’s a place where you can do whatever you want.
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Workshop
B-Boys
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B-Boys
So what is b-boying? Joel Imber, Youth Centre Coordinator tells us...
I recently talked to local b-boys Jonny Preece and Cty Chen who regularly come to the Centre to practise. We found we shared common ideas about what it means to be a b-boy. Both Jonny and Cty agreed, “It’s definitely about the music and expressing yourself!” That it’s good to have your own style and moves because that’s what makes you stand out. Jonny is known for his footwork, not really his power moves.
Most people think of break dancing as people spinning on their head or doing the robot but in fact it goes a lot deeper than that... Break dancing is a general term used to describe a certain kind of dance that became popular all over the world in the early eighties. Believe it or not, Tasmania even had a break dance crew called “Electro-Rock” in 1984.
Cty told me that in his hometown in China he had a great mentor teaching him how to dance. When Cty first started dancing he had a lot of doubt in himself. He never believed he would become a good dancer because he couldn’t do a lot of power moves like the headspin and windmills. His mentor asked, “Do you think you are different from other people? They have two hands and two legs, so do you, why can they do the move but you think you can’t?” Cty says he often reflects on what his mentor told him and tries to become a better dancer.
Some say b-boying is about being dedicated to the dance, and the music you dance to. A lot of dancers see it as a lifestyle or attitude. B-boying is an element of the hip hop culture that incorporates rap, graffiti art and dj’ing.
“It’s definitely about the music and expressing yourself!” Since opening in 1998 the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre has been a vital hub for dancers to practise, teach and learn. The Centre has been blessed with a diverse range of dancers and teachers coming to Hobart from all over the world.
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B-Boys
Ben Sarossy is an energetic 17 year old passionate about dance in all its forms. Maddie Kramer recently had the chance to chat with Ben all about what makes him tick!
actively participates in after school programs, coaches a cheerleading squad and has formed a hip-hop and dub-step dance crew with a friend. In between all this, Ben likes to unwind at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre with friends.
Upon meeting Ben for the first time, I was surprised at how easy it was to talk to him. He was so confident and comfortable in his own skin. As soon as we started talking about dance and cheerleading, it was immediately clear that he loves dance!
You can often find Ben at the Youth Centre shooting some hoops and practising his dance moves. He is best known for his flips! He has made many friends at the centre including Fabrice Bisimwa, who is the other half of his dance crew. The pair were always sharing new moves and skills with each other and a crew seemed like a great way to continue doing this as well as showcasing their talents to others. Ben says, “One weekend, Fabrice asked me if I wanted to start a dance crew with him, so I instantly said yes. I was so excited, and so was he!” They train after school twice a week and occasionally on weekends, putting together their own routines. They recently performed in Elizabeth Mall at International Youth Day (see pages 26-27) and are set to do a performance at the half time interval of the Kingborough Roller Derby.
When he was 11, Ben did gymnastics and jazz dancing, but once he tried cheerleading; he knew it was for him. He has been cheerleading for six years now and in that time he has achieved more than most people his age. Not only has he travelled interstate to compete but he has been to Florida, Hawaii and Las Vegas with his squads to compete against some of the best of the best! His greatest achievement to date is being a two-time National Champion for a solo routine at Nationals in Brisbane earlier this year. Although it isn’t as well publicised as it is in the USA, Ben says that the number of cheerleaders in Tasmania has increased dramatically since 2009. He encourages anyone to give it a go, and says there is a spot for anyone regardless of their previous experience. “There are endless possibilities of what you can do and you make a lot of friends along the way.”
Ben hopes to continue with cheerleading after he graduates from college, whether that means competing or continuing to coach squads. He already has his foot in the door with three cheer clubs on the mainland, who want him to join their squads next year. Ben is also working towards becoming a personal trainer and will be travelling to Brisbane soon to complete a cheerleading judging course through World Cup Cheer and Dance. A combination of talent and sheer determination has served Ben well so far and it seems that nothing’s going to stop him dancing his way to the top!
His cheeky personality and vast amount of energy may be what makes him so good at dance and particularly cheerleading. He is also seriously committed to it. Currently in his final year of college he still finds time to be part of two cheerleading squads,
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Ben Sarossy
“There a of wh re endless at you possib i can d you m o and lities ake a lot of along friend the w s ay.�
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Ben Sarossy
INTERNATIONAL
YOUTH DAY
International Youth Day celebrates young people all around the world on 12 August every year. The Youth Arts & Recreation Centre took to Elizabeth Mall with a DJ, break dancers and other performers showing people what they’re made of!
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International Youth Day
His full name is Fynn Derek Hill Buzbee Doepel. He gets called “Kid Fynn”, “Magic Fynn” “Doepel”, his performance name is “Pysches” but most people just call him “Fynn”. He is 13 years old and an amazing magician.
switches it back into the ace of spades. He likes Two Card Monte because it’s kind of different, not as traditional and “It’s simple.” Fynn describes that “Stitches is where I’ll take a coin and then swallow the coin and cut it out of my arm.” He says he likes it because it’s different to all the card moves and gives people a bit of a shock.
Fynn was inspired to become a magician when he and his family saw a street magician performing in London in 2011. Fynn got all the books the street magician told him to get and started teaching himself magic.
When asked if he wanted to be famous. Fynn responded, “I’d like to have a TV show I guess. I go busking with it. I do it because I like doing it but I’d like to make money from it.” Then when I questioned whether busking at Salamana Market had helped him build his confidence, he admits, “Oh, I was always pretty confident! Never really shy but I guess it did help a bit.”
He tells me, “It takes a fair bit of practise. I couldn’t shuffle when I first started”, but he’s a wiz at it now! It is evident that Fynn practises a lot; he will practise a new trick for two weeks before he shows anyone and goes through one deck of cards per week. When I asked, “Who’s your main support?” Fynn said, “My step-dad. I guess I learn new tricks, show him and he tells me if he saw anything.” He practises at home first before he incorporates it into his street performance.
His performance name “Pysches” is derived from someone calling him this when he was busking. “Pysches” is a great magician name for him, as he explains, “You’ve got magicians who claim to have magic powers. You’ve got ones who don’t really claim to have anything. I just claim that I’m good at cheating. My whole thing is that I can beat you at any game. So I’ve got straight up illusions, then there’s gambling games that I play – Two Card Monte is one of them. Games that no one can ever win.”
He can’t help but shuffle a deck of cards in numerous different ways while he tells me, “When I first started my friends and I got into magic together and now I’m the only one that is still doing it.” I was glad at this point that I was recording the interview because I had forgotten to take notes. He is a natural performer and his cards tricks are totally captivating.
Coming into the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre has helped Fynn get into making YouTube videos. He now works with his best friend Theodore, producing videos, building up “Psyches MAGIC” online profile: Facebook fan page, YouTube channel and Yelp and entering the videos into the film festival competitions.
Fynn’s favourite trick is either the Two Card Monte or Stitches. The Two Card Monte is a gambling game. He demonstrated it for me... He gave me the ace of spades and then asked me to put the card onto the top of the deck, asked me what card was on the top of the deck, I responded with “the ace of spades” and turn the top card over and it’s a two and then right before my eyes he Feature
‘Like’ and subscribe to Psyches MAGIC today!
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Fynn Doepel
“My whole thing is that I can beat you at any game.”
DANIEL MASON Tell me about yourself. I’m 12 and turning 13 on October 10th... so not long now. Dad introduced me to skating when I was three years old. Dad really helped me and showed me everything and let me pick what I really like. I’m not the best at maths and English, I’ve got dyslexia and I need tutors but I love skating, surfing, dancing, rapping and travelling.
What does skating mean to you? I turn into a different person when I skate. It just feels so great and you just feel so free – all the schoolwork just whooshes out of me and I’m free and easy. I forget EVERYTHING! It’s so incredible, I love it! When you get a new trick it feels really good. You know you can come home and go to sleep thinking, I learnt something new.
What have you been up to recently? This year has been a really big year for me because I auditioned for nationals, which is under 16’s. It was up at Devonport, which I’d only skated at three times before and I qualified for nationals. So I just came back from Victoria, doing nationals with my best friend and that was awesome. I went up there with my Dad and my whole family.
“I want to show people what skating really is!” What do you think skating means to other people? Lots of people make snap judgements about skaters. Lots of people think that all skaters are just drop-kicks. It has a bad rep. I want to make a new rep for it. I want to show people what skating really is!
Do you take part in the free StreetWise learn-to-skate clinics? I usually go up and help out the younger kids who are just starting out at the Saturday StreetWise clinics. When I’m older I really want to teach for StreetWise. That would be awesome. You have to be 16 so I’m going to have to wait a few more years but I love showing people how to do something. I never hold secrets of how to do something.
What’s the skating culture like in Hobart? Hobart’s got a brilliant vibe down at the skatepark. Every skater has got a different personality. I think I get a bit of, “he’s pretty good but he’s really young so he’s amazing!” If I’m at the skatepark and there’s group of teenagers and older skaters, I’ll definitely go skate with the older skaters because they really push me to learn new tricks.
What’s your favourite trick? My favourite is the 360 nose dive – definitely that! I love them! I spent so many months learning them and now I take them everywhere. I kind of like getting a trick and getting it really really good and then I’ve got my tricks for life. Yeah, it’s definitely the 360!
Q&A
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Daniel Mason
Check out Daniel in action at: http://www.youtube.com/youthartsandrec http://www.youtube.com/SuperMcmason
Nathan Guy Nathan is passionate about creating images from his everyday life; at the beach, at the library, at a gig, in the street. At only 17 years of age his skill in compositional contrast of light, colour, line and reflection is beyond his years. Nathan is a natural composer of images, capturing fleeting moments in time of the people and places that surround him. Precious moments like the glint in a friend’s eye, the reflection on a glass plane or the moment the sun shines onto a snow encrusted horizon line. Moments that could easily slip by you but when brought into crystalline focus show the intricacies of life in all its sublime beauty. Nathan is in his final year at Rosny College in Hobart, Tasmania.
Picture Gallery
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Nathan Guy
Picture Gallery
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Nathan Guy
10,000 people
project by Manabu Kondo
Photography
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10,000 People Project
See more images here: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=UIiqT-8rgLE and here: https://www.facebook.com/ tasmania.10k.people.project Manabu’s other work can be found here: http://www.manabukondo. bigpondhosting.com/
Photography
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10,000 People Project
PARTNERSHIPS TELL A STORY
The Youth Arts & Recreation Centre is fortunate to partner with many like-minded organisations that support young people around Hobart. I had the opportunity to sit down with Gini Ennals, a teacher of the Young Adult Migrant English Program (YAMEP) at the Tasmanian Polytechnic and Tendeka Dos Santos, a Youth Support Worker at the Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) to talk about how our organisations are working together to support culturally and linguistically diverse young adults.
up was to meet the needs of young people between 16 and 25 years of age who have arrived in Australia and who need time to learn English before they go into mainstream education.” Young people who have migrated to Hobart are eligible for 910 hours of English tuition, which can sometimes be one to two years in the Program. As Gini explained, “This time provides an opportunity for young people to learn English and to work out what options are available to them and how they fit into the options.”
Gini gave me an introduction to the YAMEP: “This is the second year it’s been running in Hobart. The reason that YAMEP started
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The YAMEP offers intensive English, maths, science, and IT classes, and also works with
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Partnerships
partnership organisations like MRC and the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre to provide project-based learning outcomes for 16-25 year olds. Projects are diverse, and vary from bee keeping and JUNK Percussion, to theatre productions such as August performances of TORN held at the Backspace Theatre. ABC Open in partnership with the Youth Centre provided a postcard filmmaking project with YAMEP. The MRC also offer recreational activities such as swimming classes and soccer games. Gini said, “Luckily we’ve got the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre down the road and we’ve been able to use that space as well as their expertise. The other fantastic thing is that on Fridays,
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outside of school time, the Migrate Resource Centre can step in and offer lots of different activities.” Tendeka added: “It’s a collaborative approach. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to deliver all these services.” As Gini and Tendeka discussed how they have been working together, what is evident is that everyone is working towards a common cause – providing supportive platforms and resources for young people to reach their full potential. Find out more: http://www.yamep.com/index.html http://www.mrchobart.org.au/
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Partnerships
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