Jumpstart Wyndham

Across the first half of 2023, four brilliant Artists from Melbourne’s West have facilitated workshops with young people investigating fine art photography, filmmaking, theatre making, hiphop, spoken word and social media content making.

With mentoring support from All The Queens Men, these Creatives unpack the ethics of engagement, the cultural significance of hair, making space for first timers on the mic and expressing perspectives and lived experiences of young people throughout Melbourne’ West. 

Wani Le Frere: Fine Art Photography / Filmmaking 

A six-week workshop series to cover Art making process: making a body of work, Ethics of engagement, and getting work ready for exhibition/performance for 5-7 participants. Workshops will include guest speakers that will cover a series of subjects.  Workshops to run once per week every Thursday evening for 2 hrs. 

wani toaishara is a multi-disciplinary artist, and performer working across photography, installation, and avant-garde video art. His practice explores ideas concerning Africans, Blackness, Statelessness, Indigeneity, and the effects of dislocation for those on the margins of movements and dialogues

Tennesse Lavelle: Theatre Making 

Stories about hair, its beauty, it’s unsightliness and even its mythological power pervade our stories throughout time. Our relationship to hair, personally and culturally, is as complex as working out exactly which combo of products will get your hair sitting just so (was it leave-in, then oil, then gel? or gel then oil? And are we combing through or scrunching it in now? What was that latest tiktok trend again?  From biblical status to gender affirmation to “the curly girl method”, Rupunzel will tease out the stories we tell about ourselves, our hair and it is woven into the fabric of who we are. 

Tennessee Lavelle is a theatre maker and artistic leader who’s practice is rooted in decolonial and intersectional ways of working. By using co-design, consultation, collaboration and deep listening, they work to build and support community through process-driven rather than outcome-driven ways of working.

In collaboration with: Akwal Magek, Savanna Wegman, Amarachi Logo, Chanella Macri and Rex Letoa-Paget. Mentor: Roslyn Oades.

Jumess Dinanga – Voice It Out: Filmmaking and Media Advocacy 

Short film creation for Voice It Out; a media platform exploring and expressing perspectives and lived experiences of young, people of culture people throughout Melbourne’ West produced and facilitated by spoken word Artist Jumess Dinanga. #voiceitout_ 

Jumess Dinanga is a Melbourne based artist and Founder / CEO of ‘Voice it out ‘ organisation, who focuses mainly in writing performance speeches that she shares in the hope of giving a voice to the voiceless.

Jumess in collaboration with: Benedict Mukanu, Rachel Bangana, Massa Capard and Emerald MacGill

Damon Paraha: Hip Hop Rap and Spoken Word 

PHASE ONE: To gather Wyndham-based hip hop/rap/singers/spoken word Artists in the same space for an intensive 14-day period to write new lyrics, compose new music and record them with the intention to create an album and documentary reflective of our local scene at present to create collection of new music featuring emerging talents. 

Damon Paraha A.K.A. Nomad, is a Hip-Hop and Spoken Word artist from Melbourne’s western suburbs. Nomad is a multi-faceted, multi-hyphenated artist but at his core he is a proud community man intent on utilising his platform to represent his culture and encourage peers to chase their dreams and challenge the status quo. 

NOMAD and V!na in collaboration with: Cass AKA CushDaKid, Torrey Stazio AKA Stazi, Liva AKA, Oyo Hunna, Hope, Silas Gaye and Harrison Noble

Program design & Mentoring: All The Queens Men. Special thanks to Trish Carlon, Wyndham City Council. Documentation by Emerald MacGill, Melbourne Minute