CAPTURE THE MOMENT: An image by young photographer Laura Hanna captures a moment from ‘Titanamarcy’, a physical theatre work created and starring artists all under the age of 30, Bathurst 2011. Photo: Laura Hanna.
YAOW! Arts OutWest have just launched new website exclusively for creative young people across the central west.
The new www.yaow.com.au website acts as a showcase for film, music, visual arts, writing and other creative projects made locally by and with young people.
“So much amazing, creative stuff is happening in our region, from the work of young career artists to high school kids just starting out. At Arts OutWest we wanted to show and celebrate that and provide an online environment where these like minded people can meet,” Arts OutWest youth coordinator Zoe Rodwell said.
YAOW (short for Young Arts OutWest) has been developed over the past 18 months as part of Arts OutWest’s young people’s program.
“The YAOW site is more than just a showcase, we hope young people use it to find each other, to set up collaborations,” Ms Rodwell said.
What is YAOW? It’s a portal for video, visual arts, music, radio, writing and multi-media. You can watch films, check out photography, design or writing and listen to audio tracks.
Some of the work online at the moment includes short films and documentaries made during Arts OutWest’s recent workshops and highlights from the ArtStart youth arts and skills program. There are also contributions from a range of young artists from their own projects.
“There’s some stunning stuff up on the site. It’s a really inspiring lot of ideas and images,” Ms Rodwell said.
“What also comes through is how many quality projects in this region are being created and entirely driven by young people themselves.”
As an ongoing, collaborative site, work will be accepted from anyone under the age of 30 living in the service area of Arts OutWest (the 12 local government areas from Lithgow to Lachlan).
The site also includes a ‘briefs’ section where regular activities and calls for content will be posted, offering up creative challenges.
“People can also suggest their own briefs - a band looking for a film clip to be made, for example. We’ll also work with other groups and organisations to use the site as a platform for all kinds of creativity by young people across the region.”
The first brief on the site is a quirky request to create something that reflects ‘your town icon’, be it an artistic shot of the town sign to a song about a legendary local.
The site development was funded by the Australian Government.
YAOW goes live in August 2012 at www.yaow.com.au