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Youth arts & culture programs

We believe that young people’s energy, perspectives and creativity can be harnessed to revitailse and inspire communities. For more information on CAN WA's youth arts and culture training programs, click here.

beats, breaks and skills

northbridge youth engagement pilot program

CAN WA has been running an arts based youth engagement pilot program for young people aged 10-16 in Midland and Armadale. The project aims at decreasing the number of young people unaccompanied in Northbridge who engage in antisocial behaviour on a Friday and Saturday night.

Evening workshops commenced in February 2010 on Wednesdays and Fridays at the Midland PCYC/Swan Park Leisure Centre and the Champion Lakes Christian Church in Armadale. Young people learnt new skills in circus, drumming and break dancing, improving the participant’s artistic and social skills.

Statistics show that there has been a 30% drop in the number of children taken from the streets under WA’s curfew laws and 10% drop in non-domestic assaults in the Northbridge area for the 2009-2010 financial year. (Police claim Northbridge win, The West Australian, 19 July 2010).

CAN WA produced the Beats, Breaks and Skills documentary to evaluate the pilot program by capturing interviews with the young participants, facilitators, youth workers and coordinators. The documentary clearly calls for an ongoing arts based youth engagement programs in Armadale and Midland in the future.

Beats, Breaks and Skills Documentary from Community Arts Network WA on Vimeo.

This project is funded by Department of Culture and the Arts, to encourage local young people in the Midland and Armadale areas to get involved in positive arts-based workshops on the weekend evenings.

Youth Engagement Support program (YES)

The Youth Engagement Support program is a consulting and advice service for local governments. The program provides the necessary ideas and skills to engage young people in the local community through arts, creativity and training. 

This program will be offered to local governments in 2010.

 YES can help benefit your community by:

  • Offering new and different ways of engaging young people and connect young people to other parts of the community
  • Assisting in developing innovative community art projects
  • Applying the use of best practice principles to community events and festivals
  • Finding new sources of funding support for young people and the arts
  • Exploring innovative arts-based ways to advocate the issues of young people to your council.

CAN WA will:

  • Provide creative arts-based approaches to engaging and consulting young people in your community
  • Find creative solutions to developing and implementing arts programs
  • Assist in finding and applying for grants appropriate to your arts programs
  • Connect you and your council with innovative ideas for working with young people and the arts
  • Provide professional development for Youth/Arts Officers
  • Help you with creative survival skills for Youth/Arts officers in administrative overload
  • Put the fun back into your working relationships with young people.

For further information on these programs, contact Sian Brown, Arts and Cultural Development Manager on 9226 2422.