I’ve been employed by Carclew as the Creative Producer of ExpressWay Arts, a joint initiative of City of Onkaparinga since July 2013.
ExpressWay Arts is an umbrella term which covers a series of philosophically connected projects and artistic interventions with young people living in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. My approach as Creative Producer has been to develop three core strategies to nurture young artistic and cultural leaders in this region:
- initiating, nurturing and investing in a youth arts ensemble making socially engaged performance work (Kids Against Humanity)
- commissioning and developing a series of projects/outcomes with artists that happen in public space and explore the boundaries of ‘open art making’ with young people in these spaces (examples include The Third Place and My Beautiful Radio Station)
- developing foundation relationships with Aboriginal young people and local cultural leaders to amplify the artistic voices of Aboriginal young people (including a pilot Yarning Group project in collaboration with Christies Beach High School in 2016)
I have a commitment to nurturing young people who have faced barriers to arts access/expression and in other areas of their lives and as a result many of our projects are socially challenging (for professional artists and young artists, for our community and our audiences) and operate as both artistic experiences and platforms for youth advocacy/development.
The Third Place (2016)
An audio theatre work in Ramsay Place, Noarlunga Centre
Created by Brienna Macnish
Sound design and composition by Robert D Jordan
Creative Producer Alysha Herrmann
The Third Place would not exist without everyone who shared their stories about the Green Area. Thank you to Ashley Yeo-Megeny, Kyle Whennan, Tyler Turnbull, Portia Clark, Jayda Harwood, Jessie McGrath, Tammy Dean, Molly Wilson, Lou Rankine, Bonnie Goergens, Jake Waring, Taylea Fry, Alan Jones, Sebby “Kitty” Rivera, Eryka Burns, Brandon Hogben and Jessica Salter.
Residency: 17-21 February 2016
Listening Sessions: 8-17 April 2016 (Youth Week)
Third Places are welcoming and open to anyone and everyone, they are the places we go to meet with the people we know and perhaps with people we don’t. But what happens when individuals or communities don’t have the social, cultural or financial capital to feel comfortable in these Third Places? What happens when people – especially young people – try and create Third Places for themselves? – Brienna Macnish
Audience feedback:
“You look at them (young people) and think one thing about them and then you hear their stories and you get a better understanding of what issues and struggles they’re dealing with.”
“It’s important to have adults hear this work and understand us better.”
“Loved it. It was awesome.”
“It was great / challenging / intriguing / almost voyeuristic feeling to do it in the space and watch the area from a distance and understand the full context. It was intimate and public all at once, and that’s what that space came across as for those young people who inhabit it.”
“I found it really thought provoking and it challenged my preconceived ideas of why people would ‘hang out’ all day at Colonnades. While I still think there are other options, the work helped me understand how and why people can spiral into this lifestyle.”
“I was privileged to experience The Third Place at an afternoon session on Friday 8 April. I was keen to experience the work because I knew that Alysha Herrmann had selected the artists and my expectation was that the work would be successful. It surpassed my expectation, due in part to the fact that as participants/listeners we were in situ – we could hear the work in our ears and see Ramsay Place in action in front of our eyes. I was surprised by the number of times I found myself being impressed by the vitality, bravery and foresight of the young participants who were interviewed. (…) I would strongly urge anyone to experience the work and also to engage Alysha and Brienna to undertake similar processes with other communities or sectors of the community in need.” – Anthony Peluso, Country Arts SA
Other photos of current and past ExpressWay Arts projects can be seen on the ExpressWay Arts instagram account here: https://www.instagram.com/expresswayarts/
Futher detail on recent ExpressWay Arts projects here: http://carclew.com.au/Program/ExpressWay#
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creating art in the desert 