MENTORING

Over 2019-2021 our Foundation has supported diverse programs for mentoring in music and the arts which has had over 40 individual visual artists and musicians participate across the country. The mentoring programs include

  • Youth song writing and performance as part of the “They Took the Children Away” project in partnership with the Archie Roach Foundation and the Culture Is Life Foundation.
  • Mentoring workshops for emerging women artists to further develop their career plan and goals across both music and poetry as part of the “Reconnect” program conducted in partnership with the Arts Centre Melbourne and senior mentors with the foundation.
  • Rock music camp for young First Nations women at Worawa College to amplify their voices and use music to provide a culturally safe empowering and confidence building experience in partnership with Girls Rock Melbourne

  • The ‘In The Park’ Series of outdoor concerts to showcase established First Nations artists performing their own music in partnership with the City of Yarra.

GRANT SUPPORT

Covid has severely impacted the wider arts community and we have not been an exception. It has caused us to reschedule and cancel multiple events and programs, however we have adapted. We set up an internet fund raising appeal in April 2020 to support our community during Covid and Bad Apples Music publicised it alongside the release of their hit HouseFyre (Lockdown Video) by Briggs and Tim Minchin. The general public provided wonderful support and by December 2021 we had raised over $50,000 which we were able to distribute to First Nations artists and high priority Indigenous health services.

YAWALA PROGRAM

The Yawalyu program was a series of highly attended and curated performances across venues Melbourne in 2019 and 2020 with many talented artists including Maylene Slater-Burns, Allara Pattison Briggs, Maurial Speerim, Alice Skye, Bumpy, Kee’ahn, Lauren Sheree, Madi Colville, Key Hoo, Jess Hitchcock, Fred Leone, The Deans of Soul, Carissa Watts and Scott Darlow.

PARTNERS

We could not do this work without our program and funding partners and thank them for their support. Our major partners in 2021 include:

  • Archie Roach Foundation

  • Arts Centre Melbourne

  • Australian Communities Foundation (National Crisis Fund)

  • Aboriginal Housing Victoria

  • Bad Apples Music

  • City of Yarra

  • Girls Rock Melbourne

  • Vic Health

  • Modernisters

  • Worawa College

  • Sony Music

  • Universal Music