I. Kral & R.G. (Jerry) Schwab,
Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, ANU

International research suggests that arts-based projects and organisations in particular offer the opportunity for locating and assembling information, honing skills, performing risk laden tasks, and expressing a sense of self, while simultaneously linking with literacy and language development. Engaging in creative projects allows young people to build a sense of belief in their own potential and to experience what it is to produce something that is of value to others (Heath and Smyth 1999; Heath 2004). Such approaches have received little attention from educators and policy makers in Australia.Language plays a critical role in the construction of social identity (Ochs 1993). In the projects we are seeing young people merging the intercultural elements of Indigenous language, gesture and style with global youth culture and English, thus forging and expressing new cultural perspectives, understandings and identities. In this way we are witnessing a blend of cultural continuity, innovation and transformation across the generations. Where activities are tied to meaningful community projects, we are seeing youth engaging as the mediators and facilitators of multimodal productions in collaborative, intergenerational activities that positively affirm their contemporary Indigenous identity.

With increased personal ownership of small mobile media technologies and greater access to resources, young people are producing and controlling new and unique art and information. Music and video recordings, packaged with artwork and lyrics for sale and/or uploaded to the internet, have been common to most of the projects. Yet despite the ubiquity of Western media images and icons, remote youth are engaging in new forms of cultural production (film, music, theatre) that are forming a repertoire of strikingly persistent and predictable localised themes and discourses that bridge tradition and modernity. The character and shape of these creative, cultural productions are particular to each locale.

Djilpin Arts has integrated youth media into their various community arts projects. The non-formal digital learning project has been funded by a philanthropic organisation for young people to engage with their cultural heritage and learn media skills. Collaborations between traditional songmen and Western musicians have provided a focus for the annual Walking with Spirits Festival and the production of innovative traditional and contemporary dance and music videos. Projects are multiplying and young people are taking on new roles as filmmakers, writers and directors pitching stories to ABC TV and creating music videos for sale.

At Ngaanyatjarra Media young Ngaanyatjarra and Pitjantjatjara musicians have learned GarageBand—free music recording software available on Mac computers. Previously music recording was a long process often controlled by non-Aboriginal ‘experts’. Now young musicians not only perform in bands at festivals, but also write songs, use a computer to lay down tracks, and create their own text and artwork for CD covers. GarageBand provides an opportunity for young men in particular, to privately focus on something that really matters and to do it well. It is a collaborative endeavour that also allows individuals the space to shine. In this private recording environment young musicians seek perfection and rework tracks over many days of improvisation, focused practice, recording and rerecording to create their own unique sound. These new local producers also train young people in other communities; here they demonstrate their skill to others and their peers aspire to rise to the same high level (Daniel Featherstone pers. comm. 2009).

Old people, he’s like a tjilpi, he like our music and want our CDs. Old men telling us we made good songs. We can make different sounds now, like we learnt more. Now we can make our own sound. Like keyboard sound, we used to copy sound from other bands but we can make our own tune, our own style of music now. They heard the bass, that sound that he was doing and now other band copies our style. They use our sound now.

Chris Reid and Nathan Brown, Wingellina community 2009.

Acting with little institutional support, young people at Lajamanu have independently harnessed resources to acquire skills and produce innovative work linked directly to a broader community commitment to language and culture maintenance and re-generation of a strong cultural identity through the bi-annual Milpirri Festival. Here two young men make music videos, and cultural documentaries with elders, (often with Warlpiri or English titles) that are uploaded to YouTube and Facebook or bluetoothed between mobile phones.

The Ngapartji Ngapartji project is underpinned by its commitment to language and culture maintenance and to facilitating learning through all aspects of its work. The theatre show is a success because it is telling a story about Indigenous language, culture and history that Australians want to hear. Through rehearsing, performing and touring around Australia with Ngapartji Ngapartji young people have engaged in an intense, highly disciplined, rule bound and physically demanding work routine involving real responsibilities and timetabled activities leading to income reward. At Ngapartji Ngapartji multimedia has also been integral to community engagement in Alice Springs and Pitjantjatjara-speaking bush communities, yet it is out bush rather than in the town environment that youth engagement has been the strongest.

It was good because they found now how to communicate through the arts, through theatre. Theatre has a certain protocol, has also a similar protocol with their traditional ways, their performing and telling stories and such so they understood that.… Just keep reminding young people ‘you done it, you did this here, you accomplished … and they can walk away proud because they’ve accomplished something that has changed people’s lives ... If they keep reminding themselves of that, then they can do anything!’

Trevor Jamieson, Co-creator of the Ngapartji Ngapartji theatre performance, 2008.

Through access to resources in long-term projects we have observed a three-phase activity cycle that begins with trial and error exploration and leads to independent or collaborative interest-driven cultural production.

Increased access to smaller mobile technologies and digital media resources in long term projects enables:

• Early phase trial and error experimentation and exploration
• Project-based learning, skill acquisition, interest-driven engagement
• Independent production

References:

Heath, S. B. 2004. ‘Learning language and strategic thinking through the arts’. Reading Research Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 338-342.

Heath, S. B. and Smyth, L. 1999. ArtShow: Youth and community development. A resource guide. Washington: Partners for a livable community.

Ochs, E. 1993. Constructing social identity: A language socialization perspective. Research on language and social interaction. Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.