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I took two trips to the York Peninsula to film an episode following the Port Pirie Youth Theatre's journey rehearsing and performing their 2025 production of 'Madagascar'. With a 45 year history, the PPYT has united the community through performing arts. I was lucky enough to interview youth theatre alumni and ensemble members about its local impact, making for a really compelling story about the importance of regional arts.
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This week, I travelled to Port Augusta to film an episode about the Gig Rig, an all-terrain, custom built, media and music studio operated by Carclew. The van travels around providing creative workshops and pop-up activities for schools and communities across the state with focus on under-resourced and remote areas. We visited Port Augusta Secondary School and Umeewarra Media Centre for music and song writing sessions, and I chatted with young people and Carclew staff about the project. Over 3 days at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, I interviewed students, watched their performances, and filmed what was happening behind the scenes. Schools Challenge Australia is an annual event inviting schools and dance groups to present a performing arts item to a live audience in the AEC Arena. The performances focus on Schools Challenge's key values: positive mental health, a growth mindset, positive body image, and having a voice. Groups from all over SA performed. For the first part of my story about Schools Challenge Australia, I visited four incredible groups during their rehearsals. The week prior to the event at the Entertainment Centre, I caught up with DX Studios, Hopak Ukrainian Dance School, Rockit Performing Arts and Salisbury East High School. Each group had a unique and spectacular performance in the works, each with a different meaning or story. As part of my collaboration with Barossa Wildlife Rescue, I filmed at Nuriootpa High School where students were working on their wildlife-themed designs. Local schools from Gawler, Barossa and Light areas are completing nature-themed artwork, and the winning picture will be printed on Barossa Wildlife Rescue's merchandise. 🖼️ Students learned about the importance of local wildlife conservation, as well as being filmed for the TV show! It was also great to see the numerous other wildlife-inspired art at the school. The student artworks will be displayed at a community exhibition in Nuriootpa on August 1st-2nd, with more details to come. In November, I was lucky enough to visit Government House in Adelaide, to interview Her Excellency The Honourable Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia! Her Excellency is a huge supporter of South Australia's creative community, and patron of numerous arts organisations. She's a passionate supporter of creative arts for young people, which made for some very good discussion. We talked about lesser known arts opportunities for youth in SA, including local government-run arts programs, and their benefits for promoting community involvement. And, Her Excellency came up with some awesome advice for young artists wanting to expand their creativity and get involved in the arts! Not only did we speak about local youth arts, but we had some great conversations around our arts community overall, and what the arts mean for South Australia. Keep an eye out for our interview on BTS with Jess on community channels. It was lovely to interview First Nations visual artist Jackie Saunders, at Tutti Arts in Brighton SA! Jackie is a contemporary Ngarrindjeri and Wirangu artist who describes herself as ‘the daughter of a saltwater woman and a desert dwelling man’. Jackie's work incorporates themes of family and culture, while reflecting her connections to both the human and natural world, exploring different weathers, land, light and water. We discussed Jackie's journey into the arts, and how she went from starting out to having her own solo exhibitions and displaying some of her work at the Adelaide Airport. Tutti Arts is a South Australian not-for-profit organisation empowering artists with disabilities. Programs are offered in visual art, dance, music, and screen for youth, kids and adults. In September, I dressed up and hit the red carpet for the Australian Film Diversity and Inclusion Foundation Festival in Adelaide, to watch a range of films and interview young filmmakers. AFDIF is all about providing a platform for creators from diverse backgrounds, empowering them to succeed in the industry and share their stories with the community. This made for a terrific story for BTS with Jess, featuring a variety of diverse voices from the film industry, and I can't wait for it to be broadcast! Congratulations to everyone whose film was screened and who received an award! Every year, the Adelaide Youth Orchestras runs an event in Rundle Mall called Sidewalk Symphonies, not only as a fundraiser for the orchestras, but to put on a spectacular show for the public to enjoy. This year, I MC'd Sidewalk Symphonies and featured it on BTS with Jess! Over $13,000 was raised to support the young musicians with training and equipment, and the performance was incredible! Watch out for the story airing on community TV channels! I recently paid a visit to the Payneham Youth Centre to film one of their performance gymnastics and team gym classes, and speak with young people who are learning how to be gymnastics coaches. The Payneham Youth Centre teaches gymnastics in a non-competitive environment, focussing on friendships and community in a safe and caring environment. Looking forward to the episode airing on TV! |
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