Shockwave hits Central West Queensland!
The Shockwave Youth Arts Festival has come and gone for 2010, leaving in its wake great memories for young people and adults alike who attended the event in Blackall over the 22nd and 23rd May.
Under a clear Central West Queensland sky, Shockwave 2010 began with a busy program of workshops and activities. Circus-themed, the colourful event promoted young people’s interaction with creative arts as a means of self-expression and collaboration.
“The arts workshops were all well attended throughout the day,” explains Event Producer Steph Vajda, “with young participants making their way through them all, creating skate deck art, lanterns, songs, temporary tattoos, street art and tie dyed materials.”
Circus and acro balance were also extremely popular, with young participants learning how to flip and balance on their own or with a group.
Inside the Blackall Memorial Hall, drama workshops, video blogging of young people’s stories and opinions and the screening of short films made through the Way Out West program were also in full swing.
Blackall-Tambo Mayor Jan Ross officially opened the Festival at 1pm on the main stage, with the planting of a native tree by young people form the region.
From 3pm, local Central West acts including Take It Back, Rachel Thiele and Minor Details entertained on the main stage, supported by performances from the Blackall State School year 7’s and the Edrine Keegan School of Ballet and Dance Blackall.
Headliners Melinda Wells, Myth and Tropics and Coalition Crew continued the quality entertainment on stage, as workshops and activities wound down, with local Tambo beatboxer, Justin Bailey, contributing a memorable performance.
There were many highlights to the second annual Shockwave Festival, with facilitators, youth workers, teachers, participants and audience unanimously positive about the event.
Aleem Ali, Human’s Managing Director describes some of these highlights.
“The interactive video dance mats programmed with sound and video loops.
The young man from Longreach who got ahead in his school work so he could take a week off school in the festival lead-up and be mentored in film production.
The involvement of young people in all elements of the production.
The clown troupe of young women who, after performing their own routine, were so in character they refused to change for their school choir performance, and the generous and down-to-earth opening speech by Mayor Jan Ross, are just some of the many, many highlights of this years festival.”
Shockwave Youth Arts Festival is more than an annual event.
It provides an opportunity for young people to collectively showcase their talents and artforms.
The Festival is also a chance to bring together young people from throughout the region, to meet and share in a cultural experience, in an alcohol and drug free environment. Young attendees at this years Shockwave, interviewed following the event, supported the festival remaining drug and alcohol free – sharing positive stories of “the best weekend of the year so far”.
Additionally, Shockwave allows community agencies and partners to demonstrate what is possible in the region, in terms of creative arts industry development, inspiring young people with the many opportunities for their own career and skill development.
“More than anything Shockwave shows all of us,” continues Steph, “that through collaboration and creativity young people in the region can achieve anything.
It’s important not to forget that the ideas for this event, and a significant amount of the organisation, comes directly from young people that we work with.”
Shockwave Youth Arts Festival would not have been possible without the dedication of local youth workers, teachers, community workers, councils, local businesses and individual community members who have generously given of their own time, expertise and resources.
“In this way, it’s important to see Shockwave,” describes Steph, “as a chance to not only bring people together for a common vision and purpose, but also a way of developing local economic outcomes for the Central West.”
Special thanks must go to Blackall Tambo Regional Council staff Lisa Goodman and Mandy Duke, as well as the volunteer supervisors who accompanied young people from Longreach, Charleville, Aramac, Tambo and Isisford for the weekend.
The Shockwave Youth Arts Festival is an annual event that aims to provide an opportunity to celebrate creative young people in Central West Queensland. Shockwave is proudly supported by Blackall Tambo Regional Council, Longreach Council, local schools and art teachers, Rural Young Males and Alcohol, CICADAS and all youth workers in the Central West region.
The Way Out West creative arts and enterprise workshops and Shockwave Festival is currently supported by: Australia Council for the Arts, Blackall-Tambo Regional Council, Department of Communities National Youth Week, Regional Arts Development Fund, Longreach Council, Rural Young Males & Alcohol Project (RYMA), The Stockwell Webber Foundation, Longreach Youth Development Office, Longreach Arts Council, RAPAD, CICADAS and Human Ventures.
