PLATFORM Magazine - Issue 5 - Metamorphosis by Youth Arts & Recreation Centre

PLATFORM Youth Arts & Culture Magazine

METAMORPHOSIS 1

ISSUE 05 // 2015

“To become a butterfly, you must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar”.

Melinda Antal Editor of PLATFORM

Trina Paulus must have known a thing or two about ‘Metamorphosis’ as her quote captures the idea of change and transformation beautifully. Metamorphosis is the theme of Issue 5 of Platform. The young people featured in this issue show what is possible when ‘they want to fly so much’ that they have the courage to follow their heart and live their hopes and dreams. Sarah Ethridge whose artwork features on our front cover ‘has become a butterfly’ through her art. She has soared from being a Hobart College student to working with famous magazines Axiom and Aphra and now with Melbourne’s BlackBook Tees. Metamorphosis dares us to pick up the camera, paintbrush, guitar, journal, basketball or any other dream within our heart and promises us opportunity, growth and transformation if we are willing to take the first step! What amazing and wonderful things are you capable of when you let yourself fly?

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.

PLATFORM

EDITORIAL

CLOSE COUNTERS

MOSTAFA FARAJI

FRANKLIN SQUARE MUSIC SHOWCASE

CELESTE MEINCKE

TWITCH

STREET ART PROJECT

MADDY JANE

PATRICK TABAN ELI

BANDWAGON STYLE + PHOTOGRAPHY

SARAH ETHRIDGE

TERESA SITO-CAUKER

ATAK NGOR

METAMORPHAMIX

CHIN & EDWIN

VOXPOP Q&A

STAR TAS

PLATFORM

CONTENTS

EDITOR

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

WRITERS

JAYE BOWDEN // FREELANCE WRITER

Mel works with teams of young artists, writers, photographers and designers to produce PLATFORM Magazine. When she’s not at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre you’ll find her in the nearest life-drawing class.

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

RHONA MACTAVISH // HOBART COLLEGE STUDENT Rhona loves to travel anywhere and everywhere, writing and drawing along the way. As a Hobart College Student, she hopes to one day be successful in drawing hands and become an author.

MATHEW MORRISBY // UTAS FINE ART & HUMANITIES STUDENT Mathew is an aspiring graphic designer and artist. He has a penchant for emotive imagery and a deep interest in the human condition. His favourite place is deep in conversation about anything from morality to metaphysics. He also was part of the design team for this issue - check out pages 28 & 29 for his designs.

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.

HANNAH HULL // ST MARY’S COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT

DESIGNERS

Hannah is a high school student biting her nails over exams and can’t decide if she’d rather write, make music or sleep. She’s the sort of girl who would rather stuff her face (mostly with chicken nuggets and noodles) than go on a diet.

SAXON RODMAN // GRAPHIC DESIGNER Saxon has been investigating the woeful tale of a young man followed by misfortune. He spends a great majority of his time searching for things in strange places and hiding from bears. www.saxontomas.com

AMELIA WILSON // UTAS FINE ART STUDENT Amelia is a first year Fine Art student, specialising in Visual Communication. She aspires to teach graphic design one day. Check out pages 8 & 9 for her designs.

PLATFORM

CONTRIBUTORS

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.

SEBASTIAAN JANSEN-MUNDAY // TAROONA HIGH STUDENT Sebastiaan loves cooking European cuisine, taking photos, diving and driving. He loves Photoshop and appreciates graphic design. He’s also interested in Architecture, Automotive Design and Modern Design Objects like the G4 iMac. He listens to a lot of Jazz and drinks a lot of tea.

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.

KISHKA JENSEN // BANDWAGON PHOTOGRAPHY + STYLE Kishka is a Hobart based freelance photographer who isn’t good with words

JOEL IMBER // YOUTH ARTS WORKER 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. CHRIS MISTER // YOUTH PARTICIPATION WORKER Chris Mister is a 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. He is the coolest bean.

SOPHIE WOOD // PLATFORM PHOTOGRAPHER Sophie is a blossoming photographer who loves adventuring out in nature, where she captures her best photographs. She enjoys playing the piano and jamming with friends, as well as a good groove to classic funk and soul music; the best cure for anything.

PLATFORM

CONTRIBUTORS

PHOTOGRAPHERS

JESS MATERIA -ROWLAND | FRIENDS’, CLEMES COLLEGE STUDENT

WORDS: Melinda Antal IMAGES: Nathan Guy

Finn: Yeah I haven’t studied Music Production at the con yet, so there’s so much more that Allan picks up on during the process.

Back from their national tour, CLOSE COUNTER’S 19 year old Allan McConnell and 17 year old Finn Rees bring us new future-beats on their debut self titled EP combining electro, dance and hip-hop. Having met at The Scientists of Modern Music in 2012 at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre, the duo began experimenting with samples, synths and sounds. Since then the pair has received attention from the likes of Triple J, Rage and international music blogs. We got to hang out with the uber cool duo at the centre and here’s what they said...

Describe the making of your music... Allan: Most music is made together in the same room using software like LOGIC 9 for sequencing which uses MIDI data and other audio work stations. Finn: LOGIC 9 is like the big brother of garage band which comes with an Apple to make music. Allan: We use keyboards as the inputs for everything, programming drums, bass and using all that to come up with our melodies and chords. Any vocals are added later unless it’s a remix. Before our EP launch we made as many as 30-40 tracks that didn’t make the cut. We also work on remix competitions that have prizes up to $10,000 but end up with a kajillion remixes for it.

What do you each bring to ‘CLOSE COUNTERS’? Allan: We both are in pretty similar mind frames which helps make it work well. Finn: When it comes to writing a song, sometimes I’ll start messing with a sample and then I’ll send it to Allan and he’ll start adding to it.

What influences and inspires your work? Allan: It started with meeting Cal at The Scientists of Modern Music which got us the opportunity to support him being on the same bill. Next to that it’s been inspiring to support musicians like Kite

Allan: Maybe Finn’s specialties lie more within piano playing, harmony and chords and maybe mine more in mixing and production. INTERVIEW

CLOSE COUNTERS

String Tangle, The Ashton Shuffle and playing at events like Falls.

Allan: Yeah, all the blogs we’ve been in, love milking the fact we’re from Tassie and Australia.

Finn: We also played a gig at MONA which went down really well with people sitting on bean bags and kicking back. I also like Flume, Hermitude, Disclosure and used to listen to Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs which we both liked.

Finn: Yeah I think sometimes we’re seen as the underdog. Allan: One write up called us “Supreme Vibes from the deep south” (Haha). Like, I wouldn’t call myself a ‘deep southern Australian’.

Allan: I draw influence from other music genres as well. Jazz plays a big part, because we both grew up playing piano and are educated Jazz pianists.

What’s been the big METAMORPHOSIS for you? Allan: If you told us a year ago when we were mucking around that we would be going to Sydney on the weekend to play in one of the biggest clubs in King’s Cross I would probably be like WHAT?! But it’s still coming together piece by piece. Hopefully next is an album and some more mainland shows. We want to feature more established vocalists from Australia and we’re ambitious about working with international artists too!

How do people respond to your music? Allan: Finn’s friend in France linked us to an article in this French magazine called Le Encablor (the equivalent of NME). She said “Oh my god congratulations” and we were just like EH? We checked out the page, (and translated it) and it was calling us the “Tassie Devil” upcoming act. It was pretty funny reading the translation. And Indie Shuffle, a huge blog from LA posted about our soundcloud and we got 3 times more traffic from US than Australia.

INTERVIEW

To purchase a copy of the EP visit iTunes, Spotify or Ruffcut Records For more information check out at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/closecounters 7

CLOSE COUNTERS

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

Celeste lives in the bush in Sandford where she has a horse called Skipper and a dog called Storm. She has ridden horses for over ten years and used to compete but has now ditched the saddle and bridle and rides bareback on her land. She says the horse is her ‘soul animal’ and is very grateful to have the experience of being so close to one.

brought me to transfer to Tarremah where I truly found those people… Music got me when I was going through that stage of really opening up and finding myself.” Celeste told me that music has played a big role in her self-development this past year and her style has changed while her influences have grown. She says John Butler was one of her first influences, “I got into his music a lot and I loved the message he was putting out, especially one of ‘Revolution.”

In November 2014, I met with Celeste who is a beautiful acoustic musician to talk about her music, inspirations and passions. Celeste is sixteen and recently attended Tarremah Steiner School, which she says was a massive change compared to her years at MacKillop College.

All her influences have an effect on her music style but Celeste says she wouldn’t categorize herself into one genre at the moment while she’s still finding her own voice.

Celeste spoke of a ‘spiritual awakening’ while she begun meditating and learning about herself throughout the year and said that she found new people by her side as she began to truly find herself.

During the interview Celeste graced us with her talents and beautiful voice in The Bunker at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre’s music studio, playing us an original song she had been recently working on. Celeste is an amazing musician and it was easy to see that as her passion and dedication came through when she played her music.

“I did have a bit of a dark time for a while, but something triggered me and awoke my inner flame; it was a massive change. I changed a lot of friendship groups as I felt I needed to be around people on the same wavelength as me. It’s what

INTERVIEW

CELESTE MEINCKE

Celeste would love to be a professional musician but is just letting everything unfold and maintaining a positive path through busking and meeting new people. She says music is her ‘partner in crime’ and is intrigued by communicating through this universal language which she feels is on another level compared to just talking.

“It’s a real soul thing, definitely. It’s your soul speaking as you’re in such a raw and vulnerable state while playing and that’s what I love.” She loves to let loose and just be at one with the music - feeling free and in the zone.

INTERVIEW

CELESTE MEINCKE

TEXT: Tim Chivers TEXT: Tim Chivers IMAGES: Phill Kitt IMAGES: Phil Kitt

Maddy Jane is a young Tasmanian pop, rock musician. She possesses a bright and classic sound, drawing inspiration from Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, and other independent musicians. Her confident vocals and intelligent lyrics produce a healthy blend of modesty and pride. She boasts a clean, wholesome and soulful sound, complete with jazzy undertones and smooth melodies. In November of 2014, I had the opportunity to meet her in The Bunker, the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre’s music studio to discuss her rising musical career and her recent EP.

Their song, Ronnie, was written with deeply personal and intimate lyrics, and was produced to create a wistful, dreamy sound. Their second song, All the Way, switched up the tempo, and introduced a more bubbly and bright sound, whilst holding on to the personality Maddy gives to her lyrics. “It’s a completely different style to what I have been used to. I’m not hiding behind my guitar; I’m standing out, singing by myself … and that first song we did, Ronnie, was just a song that I had written, and Allan had messaged me asking if we could collaborate. He showed me a track, and the song that I had just written sounded like it was made for it.”

Maddy has been singing for as long as she can remember. She grew up on Bruny Island and found a lot of support in the local community. From there, she started playing the guitar in grade seven and writing music when she was in grade eight.

Maddy studied at the conservatorium in 2013 and took a gap year in 2014. In the meantime, she got a band together for her EP with whom she hopes to tour in the future. She thinks Tasmania is a good place to network and get to know other musicians, and the musicians in Tasmania are pretty close.

Explaining the experience Maddy said, “I got a few support gigs … one of my first support gigs was Monique Brumby, and I supported for The Middle Names when they were starting up, as well.”

“I think the music scene in general is really good down here, compared to Melbourne and Sydney where, I think, a lot of the music venues are closing down … because people aren’t going to smaller live gigs as much anymore.”

Maddy’s lyrics are often reflective of her environment and events surrounding her.

“My lyrics are about what is bothering me or is on my mind; what I’m passionate about at the moment. It’s relevant to my age and other people my age”

Currently, Maddy Jane is forming a thriving social following. In the future, she hopes to begin travelling, doing some national tours, more collaborations, and finishing her degree. Maddy Jane’s self-titled EP was released in January of 2015. For more info on Maddy and her new EP visitt: https://www.facebook.com/maddyjanemusician

She recently collaborated with Close Counters and found the new format interesting. The two contrasting musical styles worked very well. PROFILE

MADDY JANE

TEXT: Melinda Antal IMAGES: Liberty Dominic

M: What opportunities have you had through your work?

At 17 years old with the world at her feet, Artist Sarah Etheridge is beginning her career in hot demand, with commissions for APHRA and AXIOM Magazine as well as Black Book T-Shirts in South Yarra, Melbourne. Mel met with Sarah during her exhibition at Hobart College to find out more about this cool cat and her amazing work.

S: Heaps! I’ve been lucky to network through my family and friends doing logo work to start with for Bondi Bikkies on the mainland. I’ve also worked with Aphra Magazine doing a design for issue 15 online and Axiom Magazine who loved my work. Most recently I was commissioned to do t-shirt designs through people on Instagram and just today the Black Books T-Shirt company in South Yarra Melbourne asked me to work with them!

M: How would you describe your style of art? S: We’ll I’ve never actually described it myself but I’ve had lots of other people tell me what they see which has helped me figure out what I do. My teacher said “I feel really claustrophobic when I’m standing up against it” and other people tell me that it feels like melting cheese or guts, which have all contributed to my technique.

M: Have you thought about where you want to go with your art? S: I want to travel and go to university but I’m not sure which will be first. I’d like to study a Bachelor of Fine Arts and hoping my freelance and commissioned work will broaden even further in the future.

M: How has your art evolved? S: I started off by doing ‘Zentangles’. I remember watching ‘The Secret Walls Battles’ on YouTube and they had two artists work on a concept. I thought “Hey I want to do that one day!” Then I started doing really small pieces at Hobart College where my art teacher suggested making them really BIG! Before that I was more into playing the guitar, piano and singing. This year the drawing really exploded and I began developing my style with the rabbit and later cheese and brains too.

M: Do you think Social Media is an important platform to showcase your works? S: Yeah I’ve had so much opportunity through Instagram being able to publish my work with quite a few followers. It’s really all expanded from there. Even though my mum’s always trying to get me off the computer. I can truly say that I need it, I’m working! (laughs) That’s my excuse!

M: Who most influences and inspires you?

M: What’s your advice to other young aspiring artists?

S: I really like Gemma Obrien who does murals on the mainland and also Mike Giant who’s really cool, I’m always scrolling through his stuff mesmerized by it, I love it. Over time my influences have become broader too. For instance I used to have to think a lot for new ideas and now I can just see something or hear a conversation which will spark my thoughts. The other night for example, I was listening to ‘Empire Ants’ by the Gorillaz and felt inspired to draw from the lyrics.

FEATURE

S: Figure out your technique and do things based around that. Try to develop it so that it becomes your own unique style which people can learn to recognize you by. Be humble about it and don’t worry about trying to impress other people. The people who are really interested in your work will be loyal anyway.

SARAH ETHRIDGE

M E T A M O R -

PHAMIX

On the 6th of November 2014, the Youth Arts and Recreation Centre held an exhibition for a collection of wonderful art pieces with a mixed medium of paint, pencil, pastel, photography, sculpture and e-media featuring the students from Taroona High School in their â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Metamorphomixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; exhibition. The art students collaborated with the Centre team to organise the exhibition launch night and plan the pieces to be featured. The curators for the exhibition felt their time and efforts had been worthwhile and an achievement they could all be proud of. The exhibition opening included diverse music performances which made the evening a great success! The art remained at the Centre for a month long exhibition and received positive feedback from everyone who came to see it. For a lot of the artists, it had been their first presentation of work outside of school so it was a fantastic experience for their creative growth and development. TEXT: Rhona Mactavish IMAGES: Sebastiaan Jansen Munday

EVENT

METAMORPHOMIX

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METAMORPHOMIX

Mostafa On Painting

Mostafa Faraji is an 18 year old artist, originally from Iran who has been coming to the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre for the past year. Mostafa has been able to share his amazing talent and work to motivate and inspire other young artists within our community. Mel Antal from the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre got to spend some time with Mostafa to talk about his art.

Mostafa says he developed a great love for drawing landscapes in particular, especially fantasy PROFILE landscapes of places he dreams up or creates from his own imagination. He says when he’s drawing these places “it takes him to a place where he feel most peace”, giving him an outlet that leaves him feeling a real inner calm.

Mostafa uses a photorealistic style to explore landscape, portraiture and a variety of still-life objects through drawing and oil painting. When looking at his art work, the incredible detail and precision really show a timeless, classical, fine art skill that Mostafa has worked hard to acquire.

On Practice Since moving to Hobart, Mostafa keeps a solid art practice in his studio. He says committing to an art piece is a lengthy, thoughtful and planned process. He plans his work first by drawing the subject, which in itself can take up to two weeks to complete. The next part of the process is where he introduces paint. He experiments with layering until the finished result, which take up to four months.

Becoming an Artist Mostafa first began drawing and painting as a young kid in Iran. He told me that his uncle is a great artist and he learnt as much from him as he could. That’s when he quickly developed his own painting and drawing style and really started enjoying the freedom to express himself during the creative process.

PROFILE

Inspiration Mostafa is strongly influenced by the late American oil-painter Bob Ross who had his own TV show called 16

MOSTAFA FARAJI

MOSTAFA F

Faraji

FARAJI

‘The Joy of Painting’. Bob Ross was a renowned landscape artist who used a ‘wet-on-wet’ technique for oil-painting which is exactly what Mostafa is interested in and keen to develop further. Current Projects Mostafa is currently working on a 10 metre long mural that depicts Australia’s history. It’s basically a story board or collage that begins with a precolonised Australia to the society we see ourselves living in now. He says “it’s a visual representation of Australia’s own metamorphosis”. He’s planning to complete the piece and put it on exhibition at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre later this year. Sharing Wisdom For aspiring artists, Mostafa says the most important thing is to follow your passion and allow yourself the freedom to try new techniques and give everything a go because that is what will really help you to grow.

PROFILE

MOSTAFA FARAJI

WORDS: Melinda Antal IMAGES: Jess Materia - Rowland

CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS

IMAGE: Rijks Museum

Anonymous

During March the Youth Arts and Recreation Centre had a first ever partnership with the Tasmanian Writers’ Centre to deliver TWITCH creative and professional writing workshops. The series of 5 workshops were facilitated by the brilliant Caitlin Richardson who recently wrote for the Australian Theatre of Young People in Sydney for The Voices Project and has written plays as part of a Cultural Environment and Heritage project with the University of Tasmania and produced by their theatre society, PLoT. TWITCH gave its students the opportunity to develop their own style, covering everything from fiction to non-fiction including story writing, journalism, poetry and prose. We had the privilege of receiving these submissions from some of the students...

“She looks out to the sunset shimmering over the waves. She felt calm and closed her eyes. She saw a white flash, hearing Beep, beep beeeep… She awakened into her living room, her last family Christmas dinner. They were laughing and having a merry time, but they slowly dissolved away in her memories. She saw a white flash again and she stood in a hospital ward, she saw her family and the surgeon shook his head. Marcia looked at the stars; the sea was still, embracing a fluorescent light over her body, overwhelmed by memories before she saw the white flash guiding her into peace.”

Loveth Ochayi “Forced and thrown into the lane way, he stopped to observe his surroundings. Visions of darkness, insecurities and narrow perception clouded his mind. Afraid of spoiling his custom made tuxedo or even damaging his prestigious image that took a lifetime to build and transform.

Tom’s story “He walked along the stony path, wondering what to do. “The people are in danger…” he said to himself, worriedly. “Bad things are caused by good men who do nothing.” That quote was yet to be written, but Leif sure knew it at the time. If he did nothing, everyone would die. This was true. They knew the recipe. He, however, didn’t. One scroll. One cave. One tunnel. One chance. He continued to walk along the path, even though he was still debating whether it was really ever worth it. But it was, and he found himself in the cave.”

Never actually noticing that it ever existed as he had no need to ever look in between the cracks of things, both in reality and fiction. All of a sudden with a new perspective he slowly made his way, with each step recognising something new. His growingly inquisitive nature, but terrible fear led him somewhere he had never been. Of course he could go back, all he had to do was turn around. Instead he persevered. At first it looked long and never ending but for the first time, he had to rely on faith. Something strange, but equally exciting. Through the lane way, complete opposites of his nature flashed before his eyes.

Sideshow Alley (excerpt) by Jacqueline E. Rix “Suddenly, her body convulsed. So much so that she was nearly thrown off her feet. She began to hyperventilate. What was happening? The water shivered horribly below the surface. Something rose up, unclear at first, then horrifyingly unmistakable: a doll. A fat baby doll with closed fists and long, dark eyelashes. She plucked it from the water, stared at it in disgust and then looked up at her parents who were watching from the shore. Their fear, too, was unmistakable. She threw the doll down and tried to run, her parents looked relieved as she moved, but their expressions quickly changed to horror as she exited the water.”

Finally he realised and expanded his knowledge on life in general. Starting to break down and almost feeling famished, his faith, and eyes finally led him to see ahead. Beyond what was present. Realising his journey that had almost seemed like eternity coming to an end made him realise. It’s not really coming to an end, but becoming and transforming into something new, bright and fulfilling. There are things more than the present. The future” EVENT

TWITCH

WORDS: Melinda Anatal

WORDS: Melinda Antal IMAGES: Jess Materia - Rowland

EVENT

Freestyle Dance Competition

Patrick Taban Eli or ‘Hot Chocolate’ as he calls himself is a talented and humble 16 year old dancer who is currently studying at Guilford Young College. Patrick has been entertaining and inspiring audiences with his dance for the past five years. His style includes popping, locking, hip-hop and break-dancing, which he was first introduced to at the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre’s Dance Workshops by his close friends Greg and AB in 2010.

Patrick hopes one day to be more like his dance idols ‘The Les Twins’ and ‘Chachi’ who are contemporary hip-hop dancers. He says 2015 will be a year of learning contemporary dance so that he can get closer to his dream of becoming a professional choreographer and dance teacher. He says with a cheeky grin, “Maybe I’ll audition for Australia’s Got Talent because lots of people keep asking me to go (haha)”.

Before moving to Hobart 14 years ago, Patrick lived with his family in Sudan. They moved from Sudan because of the war, moving to Australia where they found lovely little Hobart to settle down in.

“In situations when I’ve felt angry or negative, I go for a walk and listen to music and find myself dancing all of a sudden, It just calms me”.

For Patrick, living and enjoying the rhythm of life means being in step with the rhythm and beat of the music. Expressing himself through dance and body movement soon became a profound part of Patrick’s identity

The key to becoming our best says Patrick “is to learn the basics, maintain a practice and just keep dancing no matter what you’re doing”. He recalls a story of when a dancer from ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ America’ came to the Youth Centre one day and taught him that there are no mistakes, only new movements to explore, flow and change with. “So if you fall don’t think of it as a fall. Think of it as another movement and learn from that”.

“When I first came to the youth centre I saw people dancing and I just thought that looks like such fun, I want to get into that!”

Dancing has so much to teach us about ourselves if we are only willing to listen in the way that Patrick has learned to do. When life pulls us in all sorts of directions, having a creative way to express ourselves is beneficial great way to stay grounded and maintain a sense of identity to take on the journey with us.

Patrick’s passion for Hip-Hip and break dancing was born and he began to develop his own style and practice. Dancing is a form of expression for Patrick which he is one of the things he loves most about it, “When I’m dancing it gives me a sense of solitude, like I’m the only one in the room dancing and I can block everything else out and let go”.

For more information on Dance Workshops please contact the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre on (03) 6231 5150 or check out our website at www.youthartsandrec.org

It is also personal development for Patrick, helping him grow and mature over the years. “In situations where I’ve felt angry or negative, I go for a walk and listen to music and find myself dancing all of a sudden, it just calms me”.

INTERVIEW

Instagram: ‘Hot_Chocolate’ Facebookpage: ‘Hotchocolate’

PATRICK TABAN ELI

WORDS: Hannah Hull IMAGES: Jess Materia - Rowland

If you dance or if you don’t, remember the name Teresa Sito - Cauker; a woman of modesty paired with impeccable talent. In her own words, “a perfectly imperfect human being”. As a young girl of that awkward age, somewhere between thirteen and fourteen years old, Teresa Sito - Cauker was already a passionate dancer.

not all things have worked out for her as dancing has. But by having dancing as an outlet she has ‘been able to fly like a butterfly’ and keep her spirits and head held high.

“Dancing was and still is something I use to soothe my problems and the best way for me to express myself”. Her unique style of dancing is a quirky mix of R & B and hip hop, making the perfect recipe for a fun, sometimes silly and creative way for Teresa to show who she really is. Teresa’s talent is not built from hours on hours of training alone, but created from the passion and love she has for dance and the comfort dancing brings her. Her method of learning is to be creative, silly and confident and to take inspiration from that which motivates her. Teresa is most inspired by people who are passionate about life and those who work to inspire and motivate young people. Teresa believes that, “Kindness is the sound deaf people can hear and blind people can see. It’s something I really value in people that inspire me” she says.

“I don’t know who I am; I just know I am really lucky to be where I am.”

A major support in Teresa’s life is the Youth Arts and Recreation Centre. Since she was thirteen years old, Teresa has been mapping the inside of the tall walls of the city building, which naturally became her second home. When things get rough, tough and scary, she finds refugee and love at the centre.

Teresa represents a philosophy we could all live by. To simply meet life with a sense of curiosity and wonderment. She says “I don’t know who I am; I just know I am really lucky to be where I am”. It’s in this spacious ideology that we make room for our everchanging and growing individuality to become our greatest hopes and dreams.

Like everyone Teresa has had her ups and downs and PROFILE

TERESA SITO-CAUKER

WORDS: Jaye Bowden IMAGES: Jess Materia - Rowland

A talent, a dream or a passion can be formed in one moment. For close brothers, 17 year old Chinedu (Chin) and 18 year old Kadibia (Edwin), a passion for basketball was found through moving from their familiar childhood home in Ghana to Australia. They had spent the majority of their lives in the small African country and moved to Australia six years ago with their family. A big change and a challenge but with these changes came the chance to discover a sport that has now become a big part of their lives. “Pretty much ever since we came to Australia was the first time I saw a basketball. I saw the other guys playing. I was thinking ‘Wow that looks cool, I’m gonna try this out’. So I picked it up and just started lovin’ it and started learning tricks” Edwin said. “In Africa no one really plays basketball, only soccer” Chin explained. Edwin has been playing basketball for six years and introduced Chin to the game not long after. They both developed a talent, with Edwin joining a Launceston club called Japara while Chin played at New Town High. They played together at a Launceston school too and although they don’t always get the chance to play big games together now, they are rumoured to have an advantage when they do. “To be honest we trash the whole game” Edwin grinned confidently. He added that friendly one-on-one games keep them challenged, “I used to win but now Chin’s become really strong at his game.” Chin added, “Edwin’s also dislocated his knee a fair few times and since then he hasn’t been able to play at his one-hundred-percent!”

“You could miss a shot, but you try again.”

Chin and Edwin agreed they get a lot out of basketball including working together with people to achieve goals, getting a workout and becoming fitter. They also agreed having their family and friends join in is an enjoyable experience. “You can even play with your grandma!” Edwin laughed, “Hopefully she doesn’t break anything.” Like many sports, Chin felt that basketball contains life lessons that can teach players, coaches and sideliners a thing or two. “Basketball teaches you about self-discipline, especially how to work as a team. It teaches you to be calm, play the game, be humble and work harder.” Edwin added “It teaches you how to deal with frustrations. Like when you don’t have control of the ball, it’s like life. You’ve just got to accept that sometimes you don’t have control of it. You could miss a shot, but you try again.”

“You can even play with your grandma! Hopefully she doesn’t break anything.” Inspired by the likes of professional basketball players, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, the brothers dream of playing for state clubs and possibly even becoming known worldwide. “We need some guidance on getting into state clubs.” Edwin said. “I’m looking for a basketball club at the moment that both of us can enter, which has been going pretty well!” Chin added. Each day Chin and Edwin will be jumping for that next shot at the hoop, facing the challenges that follow and with each new shot comes another opportunity to uncover something new. Win or lose, they’re still playing the game!

BASKETBALL CHIN & CHUCK BASKETBALL BROS 25 CHIN Jiemba + EDWIN Sands PROFILE

The scene was set for a magical event with a beautiful bright day, green lawns and a lush garden that lifted the crowd into a dreamy afternoon of soulful tunes and good vibes.

This January, the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre organised the public space activation of Franklin Square in Hobart with a live Music Showcase. The event included performances from a diverse number of local Tasmanian musicians who put on a great show of solo acoustic performances.

WORDS: Tim Chivers IMAGE: Joel Imber

The crowd was treated to the smooth, easy tones of four young singer song-writing artists; Nick Machin, Tim Chivers (me), Celeste Miencke, and Chris Belbin.

OUTDOOR ACTIVATION

MUSIC SHOWCASE

WORDS: Melinda Antal IMAGES: Chris Mister SPREAD DESIGN: Mathew Morrisby

During November 2014 Chris Mister from the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre coordinated a street art project at the Burnett Street underpass in North Hobart. The project was a fantastic opportunity for young people to engage in legal street art that enhanced a dull community space. I took a closer look during the painting process and got chatting to Luis, a 16 year old artist to learn more from his experience.

Luis joined the project because of his natural love of art and motivation to share his skills in a community space. He has gained a strong sense of purpose and accomplishment from being able to make a contribution.

As I approached I could see vivid colours leading into the underpass. It was exciting coming around the corner to discover the bright and colourful artwork Luis and the team had been working on.

Working within a team meant that the artwork could include the diverse skills of the different artists, creating an opportunity for them to bounce ideas off each other and come up with a number of super cool images and themes. “Street Art is my way of having a secret identity” Luis Said. “I get to do whatever I want without having to identify myself.” Luis says it would be great if there were more opportunities for street artists to earn a living from

FEATURE

STREET ART PROJECT

this type of work. “It takes a lot of time to build up skills and be confident. It’s all about following your passion”. His advice to artists who are still learning is stick to paper to start with. Practice outlining so that when you get the chance to share it in public it’ll be worth it and be rewarding. Next to that, the most important thing is to respect other people’s art and remember that not everyone will relate to your work, but someone out there will. Remember, you should only spray a public wall if you’ve got permission from the owner or its part of a legal project. If you’re interested in opportunities to get involved in legal street art keep an eye out on the Youth Arts & Recreation Facebook page. Clarence City Council also runs regular spray days.

FEATURE

Visit http://www.youthartsandrec.org/

STREET ART PROJECT

WORDS: Melinda Antal

Mel: What was the first camera you ever used?

A couple of like-minded creatives, Kishka and Phoebe are the trending femmes behind Bandwagon Style + Photography. Having first met at the age of 17 with a shared interest in fashion and photography, they started experimenting with creative concepts, shooting for fun and producing fashion shoots. The METAMORPHOSIS into their self-made business ‘Bandwagon Style + Photography’ took place after sharing their work on social media and receiving serious business enquiries. Mel Antal from the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre got talking with Kishka about their work to get a glimpse inside the glamour world.

Kishka: My mum’s point and shoot film camera. I was seven at the time and had a bunch of fun with it! I didn’t really know how to use it to be honest but the shutter button seemed like a good place to start. Mel: What unique skills and roles do you both play? Kishka: As Wardrobe Stylist and Creative Director, Phoebe has always sort of been the level headed and organised one out of the two of us. She never seems stressed on set; at least she’s pretty good at hiding it if she is. It’s a good quality to have during shoots; she’s the bearer of good energy. I transform the crazy ideas from our heads into photographic stills for your viewing pleasure! I sketch a lot of ideas (we don’t even communicate with words) and just expect her to understand it! ...and she does! So I guess my skills include mind-reading and having a great eye for detail. The producer!

Mel: When did you develop an interest for Photography? Kishka: I was in grade seven. My parents bought me a tiny camera and now armed, I made use of my spare time by photographing my family, friends, pets and just about anything else too. By college, I was interested in photographing people. It wasn’t until I finished school that I realised I wanted to take photos professionally. FEATURE

BANDWAGON STYLE + PHOTOGRAPHY

Mel: What have been the biggest contributors to your success?

Mel: Where else would you like to see your career heading?

Kishka: Being able to work alongside very talented hairstylists and makeup artists! The stronger the team, the stronger the end result. We’re also major beneficiaries of social media, which has given a lot of free exposure. Organisation and planning have also helped. We’ve always had creative flare but we’ve come to realize that every detail from refreshments on set, to lighting, music and make up direction, is paramount to nailing the end result.

Kishka: We’d like to start shooting nationally and be able to travel and work at the same time, hoping our work takes us internationally at some point too. Mel: What tools would you recommend to photographers just starting out? Kishka: Photography doesn’t have to be over complicated by lots of tools! All I had when I first started out was a small point and shoot and my imagination! I think people seem to forget that your gear doesn’t necessarily make you a better photographer. Creative thinking, planning and practice are a great start!

Mel: What are the highlights of your career so far? Kishka: Being published in The Journal, Hair’s How and Vogue are probably our biggest personal achievements. We also recently had one of our images uploaded to Culture Magazine’s facebook page. That post was their most popular to date with over 53,000 views and thousands of likes within a week. Probably not so big to other people, but it was a fairly big accomplishment for us. Other major highlights include being finalists in the Australian Hair Fashion Awards and winning last year’s Goldwell Colourzoom competition with one of our images. Also having worked with so many different people over the last five years has been incredible! FEATURE

Photography courtesy: Bandwagon Photography + Style For more info visit http://www.bandwagon-style.com/ http://bandwagonstylephotography.tumblr.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ BandWagonStylePhotography

BANDWAGON STYLE + PHOTOGRAPHY

ATAK NGOR WORDS: Mathew Morrisby

Atak Ngor is in year 12 at Guilford Young College. He has a passionate interest in all things to do with directing, acting and film-making. I recently had the chance to talk to Atak about the impressive and diverse range of projects he has undertaken in a short amount of time.

After being on set with Rowan, Atak began planning a short film. He wrote, directed and starred in ‘The Ash’ (2014) which is about a man who receives a strange package in the mail. Inside is, as the title implies, Ash. The protagonist then discovers that ‘The Ash’ belongs to someone close to him, and that he must then bury it. Atak submitted this work for the Mystate Student Film Festival 2014 which made it into the finalists.

He made his first debut as a lead actor in the inspiring true story ‘Bearing Witness’ (Theatre Play, 2013). The play is directed and written by Tasmanian playwright Sue Benner, alongside The Phoenix Centre Hobart. Atak tells me that ‘Bearing Witness’ was shown at the Guildford Young Theatre followed by The Friends School, MONA and more recently the Port Arthur Historic Site. The producers have plans to show it in Melbourne and Sydney in 2015.

“My life has been changed by this great man. I truly believe Rowan Woods is unlike any director or individual that I have ever met.”

Atak says that he is very much inspired by director Rowan Woods. He and Rowan met after Rowan offered him a role as the director’s attachment. This was while filming ‘The Kettering Incident’. He was the motivation to start doing short films. Atak considers Woods to be one of Australia’s greatest film directors. “My life has been changed by this great man. I truly believe Rowan Woods is unlike any director or individual that I have ever met.”

PROFILE

He also wrote and directed a Hothouse short film called ‘Hope’ (2014) which was presented by Wide Angle Tasmania and the Clarence City Council. The film was made possible from the support of the producer Abi Binning and mentor filmmaker Lucien Simon. At about that same time, Atak also appeared in ‘The Hit’ in 2014 which was written and directed by Damon Heather. 32

ATAK NGOR

“I was playing an ex-Navy Seal and I had always wanted to do something like that.”

he travels through different events in his life using a mirror. His latest work which is too early to name is in its script-editing phase. While I can’t give too much away, I can say that the plot involves a beautfiul and touching story about a refugee boy from Sudan who takes us on a journey that is about justice and honour. So be sure to keep your eyes on this talented filmmaker and remember the name Atak Ngor as his career in the spotlight is set to be a promising one!

Atak was director and lead role in his latest film ‘Guilt’ (2014) which he says is his finest film so far considering the film has no dialogue. It is about a guy who has had something happen to him and still feels ‘guilt’ or ‘shame’. So the audiences follow him, as well as the decisions he makes. We understand who this person really is and what motivates him. At the moment, Atak has a couple of projects on the go with one in post-production phase called ‘Winter’s Poor Stranger’. He worked with Jiemba Sands who was the director of photography or ‘DOP’. With a smile, Atak recalls his memories of doing the stunts “We had a few accidents and at one time I was in the water. That was at the wharf. Jiemba got a belt and threw it to me. The other time I was hanging upside down for an hour. When we finished we went to Salamanca to do my other scene and I just felt so sick. We ended up with footage of me throwing up. It was fun though, really fun”. The pair did this for a time travel scene where PROFILE PROFILE

Screenshots courtesy of latest film ‘Guilt’ To watch Atak’s recent short films ‘ The Hit’ and ‘Hope’ visit www.vimeo.com For more info visit www.IMDB.com

ATAK NGOR Chris Cook

IF YOU COULD BE ANY REAL OR MYTHICAL ANIMAL, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

Allan - I would be a bird, I could fly around and it would save me on travel costs ha!

Luis - I would be a cheetah cos they run the fastest! Celeste - I’d be a horse because I have the same passion for freedom and flight. I don’t feel like there’s any separation between my horse and I when we are galloping at our beach or jumping logs in the bush. They are so powerful and majestic, with such a big heart, infinitely beautiful and divine

Atak - I would be a Zebra because you can’t tell if a Zebra is black with white stripes or if it’s white with black stripes! Edwin - A lion cos they’ve got such a loud roar that even monkeys lose their mind and go crazy when they hear its power!

Maddie Jane - I would be a mermaid. Definitely a mermaid … because mermaids are awesome

Chin - I would be an eagle, cos they can see things from a distance, they’re just so majestic! And they fly higher than any other height of other birds!

Mat - I think I'm going with a crested drongo ha ha ha. Aside from the obvious fact that I am a bit of a drongo, they have a cool sticky upy thing on their face. And you know, being a bird, I could fly places easily.

Phoebe - I'm sticking true to my star sign Leo, a lion for sure! Sometimes I'm roaring loud and acting like a boss and other times I'm super chilled and just want to lie around in the sun in complete utter silence.

Jess - I'd choose to be a Selkie or a mermaid! Because I'd love to spend my life exploring the ocean

Kish - I would probably be a domestic cat haha. Phoebe and I are both crazy cat ladies!

Tim - Giraffe - because they are the only creatures I see "eye-to-eye" with, if you catch my drift (haha)

Sarah – I’d love to be a leopard! I get lost in their eyes watching them on shows like David Attenborough. Leopard clothing is not really my thing, but their actual fur is beautiful. They do as they please, and I'm quite a sleepy person myself, so I would probably turn out to be a pretty lousy leopard, but I'm not to unhappy about that.

Teresa - I have a huge thing for Unicorns, I even have a onesy! They were a massive part of my childhood. The Horse represents for me strength agility and a thick skin, the horn for me, it exudes light. When depression gets heavy i put on the onesy and fight against the big black hole and reach the light type stuff, nothing too deep ;b

Patrick - If I could be any animal it would have to be a lion. Not only because my start sign is Leo but also because it’s my favourite animal. When I think about lions, it makes me think about Africa, my home! And how I would like to go back! I would also like to have a pet lion- that would be AWESOME!!

Jiemba - I would be a dolphin because they are so free and acrobatic, and they look sexy.

PLATFORM

Mostafa - I would be a WOLF because they don’t sleep at night-time and they’re strong and never scared of anything

VOX POP

WORDS: Melinda Antal

STAR Tasmania, a disability support organisation partnered with the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre last October to co-facilitate creative workshops with the ‘Daly Road’ crew, a team of young people aged 18-21. Joel Imber a Youth Arts Officer and Beau-Elise a Support Worker from STAR worked with 19 year old Casey and 18 year old Mitchell who have been attending the creative workshops.

It seemed that everyone was having fun, Beau saying “I particularly like working with young people and the best part is that we get to do whatever they want making it more fun for them”. “It’s pretty unusual for a Community Access Program like STAR to take the lead from their participants so I feel lucky working with an organisation like them”.

“I particularly like working with young people and the best part is that we get to do whatever they want making it more fun for them”

Joel and Beau made a great team facilitating the workshop for Casey and Mitchell. Beau was able to support the independence of each participant while Joel mapped out the creative project for the session. It meant that Casey and Mitchell were able to accomplish some great artistic achievements. In the past few sessions, Casey and Mitchell completed workshops on photography which they both really loved. As a result they were able to make copies of final photos and hang them in their office as well as print and frame their work to make Christmas presents for their families.

She added, “The participants have developed a much greater strength of independence since coming to the workshops at the centre over the past few months. It’s a result of their involvement in the community, having fun and being in an inclusive space where they have freedom to create with such diverse resources”.

Both families told Beau they are so happy with everything they have come up with to engage Casey and Mitchell in these creative ways. Beau says, “The benefit is also in the creative process itself as it gives Mitchell and Casey some great accomplishments to feel really good about”. Both Mitchell and Casey agree.

The ability to develop, transform and grow is nourished by the Youth Arts & Recreation Centre’s partnership with STAR, where people like Casey and Mitchell can explore their interests such as Casey’s passion for art and Mitchell’s love for music.

“The benefit is also in the creative process itself as it gives Mitchell and Casey some great accomplishments to feel really good about”

PARTNERSHIP

To be involved please visit: http://www.youthartsandrec.org/creativeworkshops/ For STAR Tasmania info visit: http://www.startas.org/ or phone: 6244 9444

STAR TAS