Voices of the Wheatbelt
The Voices of the Wheatbelt project has been a two and half year photography exploration with students and adults from eight towns across the Eastern and Southern Wheatbelt.
news
Voices of the Wheatbelt - Wheat Beats DVD / CD publication out now!
Inside the publication you will find the history of the project, the lyrics of the songs, the profile of the artists, and a DVD of the four music video clips. There is also a 'behind the scenes' documentary of the project with commentary from teachers, parents and students, as well as an audio CD of each groups' original song.
Listen and enjoy the soundtrack 'Tru Dat' a sample from Narrogin of the creativity that has emerged from the voices of young people living in the Wheatbelt: on the Vimeo site.
Read about the Voices of the Wheatbelt: Wheat Beat launches in Perth and Narrogin here.
project website
phase three: '10 - '11
For over two years, Voices of the Wheatbelt project has been exploring the artforms of photography and film in the Eastern and Southern Wheatbelt - the overwhelming success of the project has seen it funded for a further year! Voices of the Wheatbelt phase 3 is all about hip hop, dance and filming video clips across the Wheatbelt.
Starting in Kellerberrin District High School and Quairading District High School, the workshops are already a resounding success with the students and school involved.
Scott Griffiths (AKA Optamus from Downsyde), Olman Walley (Cultural dancer) and Mat de Koning (acclaimed local music video producer) have teamed together to create a series of workshops across the Wheatbelt, which will also take place in Brookton District High School, and Narrogin later in Term 4.
Culminating in an original hip-hop song and music video clip for each school, the groups formed will also be invited to perform their song and dance performance at the Keela Dreaming Festival in Kellerberrin, March 2011.
Image credit | Olman Walley and Scott Griffiths together for Voices of the Wheatbelt phase 3
Phase two: '09 - '10
With the success of the first phase of the Voices project, the Department of Families and Housing, Community Services, and Indigenous Affairs extended their contribution for a further year. The focus of the second phase of Voices of the Wheatbelt became the Southern Wheatbelt towns of Brookton, Narrogin, Pingelly and Wagin.
Download Voices of the Wheatbelt: Our Place, Our Stories publication
PDF (7.2MB)
launch
CAN WA travelled to the communities of the Southern Wheatbelt, running photography and film workshops in Brookton, Pingelly, Narrogin and Wagin. Voices of the Wheatbelt: Our Place, Our Stories explores the cultures of these communities through the lens of the camera, showcasing them in a full colour photography book. An exhibition featuring selected prints from the book will be on display at the Narrogin Nursery and Café until 22 July 2010.
Making Movies Roadshow
The second phase of the Voices of the Wheatbelt program focused on four Southern Wheatbelt towns, with Noongar photography workshops taking place in each of these towns.
The Film and Television Institute Making Movies Roadshow travelled to Wagin to work with 14 students from Wagin Senior High School on three short films in the genres of animation, comedy and horror: A Hero's Quest, Mr Fuzzy and The Trespassers.
The students were involved in all aspect of film creation from the development of the storyboard, to the acting and filming.
indigenous community stories
As part of CAN WA's Strong Culture, Strong Communities project, CAN WA invited the Indigenous communities of Brookton, Narrogin and Wagin to tell their stories.
These stories were recorded through FTI and Screenwest's Indigenous Community Stories initiative. Indigenous Community Stories is an initiative which aims to film 100 Western Australian Indigenous stories and digitally archive them for future generations to view over the next 100 years and beyond.
Phase one: '08 - '09
The first phase of the project involved more than 200 people from the Eastern Wheatbelt towns of Kellerberrin, Merredin, Tammin and Quairading.
The project was developed from the concept of giving 'voice' to the individual and collective perspectives that inform local identity and sense of place, through the medium of photography. With the support of the photographic facilitators, students learnt about the technical and artistic aspects of digital photography, including the elements of design, elements of composition and ways to use light.
This phase of project culminated with exhibitions in the towns and the launch of a photography book and exhibition at Kidogo Arthouse in Fremantle.
Voices of the Wheatbelt publication
Voices awarded
The Voices of the Wheatbelt project was awarded the Excellence in Arts Enterprise Award in the inaugural WA Cultural Achievement Awards 2009. The Award was presented to CAN WA by Minister for Culture and the Arts, the Hon. John Day MLA.
The judges commented that 'It was highly encouraging to see an organisation bravely using an easily accessible, yet non-traditional art form to assist the community develop an identity. The wide-reaching and well managed project is a true reflection of the organisation'
Voices launch, 4 June 2009
On Thursday, 4 June 2009, the VOICES of the Wheatbelt photography book and exhibition was launched by Dr. Carmen Lawrence at Kidogo Arthouse on Bathers Beach in Fremantle.
Guests, including participants, teachers, local government, politicians and community members were treated to canapés while gazing on the photographs on display and perusing the book for their photos.
photo credit [L - R] | Pilar Kasat, Carmen Lawrence, George Kingsley and Ivy Penny at the Voices of the Wheatbelt launch, 2009 | James Berlyn
photo credit | Students look up their photos in the Voices of the Wheatbelt photography book | James Berlyn