Vol. 19 No. 18
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Ararat hip-hop first I
BY SARAH SCULLY
ndustry professionals have thrown their support behind Victoria’s first youth-focused hip-hop festival, in Ararat at the weekend.
Rapper 360 is among high-profile artists to back the two-day event at Ararat Performing Arts Centre, sending a motivational video urging young people to follow their hearts and be themselves when creating art or music. Centre programming and venue coordinator Dianne Toulson said the festival would provide young people with opportunities to follow in the footsteps of established artists by giving them a chance to create their own work. “The interest in our festival from the
industry and through schools has been fantastic,” she said. “It is the only festival of its size and type in Australia for young people, outside of one in Sydney. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the Wimmera.” Ms Toulson said youth from across the region and as far as Melbourne would attend the two-day event on Saturday and Sunday. She said the festival aimed to engage young people aged 12 to 25 interested in working in the arts. “It will provide access to a high level of teaching, guidance and mentoring from artists and industry professionals,” she said. “Hip hop encompasses a lot of things – music, dance, art and rap. It
has its own culture. We’re trying to incorporate a lot of different aspects through workshops, creative activities and public performances.” Saturday’s workshops will include DJ skills, hip-hop performance, poetry, rap and the creative process. “There will also be graffiti workshops covering authorised and unauthorised graffiti, which will hopefully change the behaviours of some people by giving them an artistic outlet for expression,” Ms Toulson said. “From 7pm the arts centre becomes a big performance space. There will be a big poetry ‘slam’, where artists get up and ‘face off’ against each other, followed by live shows and an open-mic section. “The event is open to everyone be-
fore 9pm and then people need to be 16 or older.” Ms Toulson said participants were invited to a ‘sleep over’ in the town hall. “They can bring a sleeping bag and a pillow, so they don’t need to worry about getting home,” she said. “The kids can come for two full days. “It’s free and we have a lot of food donations, so parents don’t need to worry about the cost.” Sunday’s activities include live performances and revealing of artwork. “Youthworx Media will be teaching people how to make a documentary and produce footage of the festival,” Ms Toulson said. “At the end we will have a story told
by young people, seeing the festival through their eyes.” Ms Toulson said organisers wanted the region’s young people to take ownership of the festival in the future. “We absolutely want to make it an annual event,” she said. “We’re hoping some of people who do the workshops progress through to run the festival next year. “We will need to get ongoing financial support for it to continue.” Ararat Rural City Council received $15,000 from Creative Arts Victoria to run the event. People can visit www.ararathiphopfestival.net.au or search Ararat Youth Hip Hop Festival on Facebook for more information, including a schedule of events.