Deaf poetry, street art and animation projection are among the exciting activities on offer to young Melburnians this month as part of the City of Melbourne’s Signal Summer program – a ten-day creative arts program jam-packed with workshops, mentoring opportunities, conversations, exhibitions and performances, which kicks off on Monday 11 January.
The Signal Summer program offers young people aged 13 to 25 years an unrivalled chance to develop their skills across a wide range of art forms and present new work under the mentorship of acclaimed artists. Arts and Culture Portfolio chair Councillor Rohan Leppert said Signal Summer was an exceptional opportunity for young people to connect and collaborate with highly-respected creative leaders.
“Signal Summer gives young people from all walks of life a wonderful chance to work with professional artists, hone their skills and explore their creativity with like-minded peers,” said Cr Leppert. “Through our Arts Strategy 2014-17, the City of Melbourne is committed to the continued growth of our city’s vibrant arts scene. To that end we think it is vital to encourage and support our talented young artists through creative programs such as Signal Summer.”
Artworks produced by Signal Summer participants will be presented in the laneways of Melbourne, ACMI, Sugar Mountain Festival, M Pavilion and Signal. The program wraps up with a showcase of works on 22 January.
Young audiences will also have the opportunity to engage in conversations at M Pavilion, a curated film night presented by Still Nomads, street art tours, studio visits throughout the Nicholas Building and live performances featuring the Federation Bells and the Giant Theremin.
Signal Summer has its hub at Signal, the City of Melbourne’s creative studio for young people aged 13 to 25, located in the Les Erdi Plaza behind Flinders Street Station. Signal’s creative arts program allows young people to gain accreditation and open pathways into the creative industries. Program highlights include:
Deaf Slam: Young deaf people, their siblings and children of deaf adults will learn to create their own signed poetry and perform visual vernacular storytelling. These workshops, which are taught in Auslan, will be led by deaf performance artists Medina Sumovic and Walter Kadiki.
Street Art Mentoring: Work with Melbourne street art royalty from Blender Studios and explore free hand painting, junk sculpture, stencils, paste ups, drawings and experimental street art all taking place across Melbourne’s laneways.
Inside Out: Explore projection art using a personal device working with accomplished video and projection artists Yandell Walton and Amy- Jo Jory. Investigate the medium of projection to create a series of works to be exhibited throughout Melbourne’s city laneways.
Lifelike: Work with visual artist and illustrator Andrew McQualter to create standalone figurative artworks for a large-scale installation to be presented at ACMI.
Vessels and Objects: Make colourful clay vessels with Jessilla Rogers, wearable ceramics with Kim Jaeger and Anna Varendorff, wool and wire creatures with Baluk Arts and resin works with Kate Rohde.
Public Disturbance: Play with sound and robotics with Dylan Martorell to a create series of durational sound works for the Giant Theremin and Federation Bells.
Fandom Pieces: Work with animator Dell Stewart and visual artist Kenny Pittock to create a fandom animation piece inspired by the musical stars of Sugar Mountain Music Festival. Your work will be presented as part of the festival program.
Summer Signal runs 11 – 22 January 2016. For more information, visit: www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/signal for details.
Image: courtesy of City of Melbourne