History

“(In a region) where nothing is secure, the ability to be multi-skilled, to be able to think creatively and laterally provides the foundation for creating opportunities were employment options are limited.” ArtStart Coordinator, Far West NSW

The first NSW Youth Arts and Skills Festival, as the ArtStart program was originally called, was initiated in 1991 as a strategic response to a growing body of evidence showing participation in arts and cultural activities are successful in engaging young people in education and training.

Since its establishment, there have been nine ArtStart Festival programs involving an estimated 90,000 young people in over 18,000 workshops and projects. Over this time, approximately 1,600 events have been held, including exhibitions, concerts, film festivals, radio broadcasts and launches.

ArtStart is designed to involve all young people aged 12 to 24 years throughout NSW.  Particular emphasis is placed on involving and fostering the skills of young people whose access to education, training and cultural opportunities may be limited.

In 1997, an independent evaluation of ArtStart recommended a greater emphasis be placed on its skills development objectives. It also recommended professional development and promotional strategies aimed at increasing knowledge among youth networks of arts-related education, training and employment pathways. To facilitate this new focus, the overall management of ArtStart was moved in 1998 from the Youth Services Strategies Section of the Department of Education and Training to TAFE NSW Access and General Education Curriculum Centre.

Toyland

Toyland was an innovative project involving young school leavers with disabilities on the Central Coast working with renowned Australian sculptor, Col Henry. The young people created an 11 foot fibre glass teddy bear for the set of Laycock Street Theatre’s production, Toyland.  The Central Coast community supported the project by donating hundreds of pre-loved teddy bears that were used to cover the sculpture in “fur”.  On 14 September 2003, the Central Coast’s Teddy Bear made the long trip to Sydney to be exhibited outside the Museum of Contemporary Art as part of the ArtStart Festival. It stood proudly in the location where, some years earlier, the celebrated Puppy sculpture by acclaimed American artist, Jeff Koons had been exhibited.

Craig’s Story

Craig Rozynski was the winner of the 1999 ArtStart Design Competition. His mysterious and evocative digital image of floating bubbles has remained one of the most popular ArtStart campaign images, with its clever and enticing campaign slogan, “Your Time Has Come”.  ArtStart was the perfect opportunity for Craig to put his design skills into practice, to build his portfolio and to enhance his employability skills. Since 1999 Craig has worked as an Art Director in marketing and has established his own freelance web and communication design consultancy. Craig has just returned from Japan. “I concocted all sorts of wild ideas while I was away, and now that I'm back I'm busy making those ideas realities. It's my golden age of creativity.”

Marina’s Story

Marina Grasso began her involvement in ArtStart as a 16 year old living in Faulconbridge in Blue Mountains.  Her initial experience sparked an interest in pursuing a career in the visual arts. Six years later, Marina joined the local ArtStart Advisory committee and took on the role of curator for the Blue Mountains ArtStart exhibition. She also provided mentoring and advice for younger Advisory committee members and ArtStart participants. In 2005 Marina was completing her degree in Art Education (Honours) at the College of Fine Arts (University of NSW). “I am keen to give back to the program that gave me the confidence to follow the career path I have taken. I believe in the ArtStart program because I’m where I am today as a result of the opportunities I had back in 1999”.

ArtStart’s profile and effectiveness rests on partnerships which have been formed and consolidated over a 15 year period. These partnerships include the network of organisations that coordinate ArtStart in 23 metropolitan and regional areas. Most critically, the success of the program is due to the input of over 200 local cultural agencies, schools, youth and community centres that facilitate ArtStart projects on the ground.

Celebrating young people’s creative achievements has been a core element of the ArtStart program since its inception and the two week biennial festival in September has traditionally provided this showcasing opportunity. Since 1991, the festival has been held in a number of regional and urban centres, with the state launch taking place in a high profile Sydney location. The festival has served to focus energy; foster an exchange of ideas and help generate publicity and recognition for everyone involved.

To expand the opportunities for participation and exchange, the 2007 ArtStart state festival has moved online. The move to an online presentation reflects young people’s engagement with new digital technologies. More importantly, it means that from 2007 onwards, the ArtStart festival will be virtually everywhere!