PressPress kits and media releases will soon be available to download directly from this page.
Until then all media inquiries can be directed to
Pip Stafford
Producer/Publicist
03 6224 2362
0408 358 671
pip@kickstart.org.au
WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID
“Kickstart Arts was successful in engaging 32 vulnerable young people from a range of ‘at risk’ backgrounds. They included 21 refugees most of whom had recently arrived from African countries and 11 young people from Hobart. Among this group were those living with mental illness, histories of self-harm and/or substance abuse and domestic violence. Despite their differences the group shared a sense of social isolation, difficulties in trusting others and conflicted ideas about home, family and place. Eighteen exhibited at the exhibition and a further 14 participated in workshops and weekend camps. Considerable time and energy was required to both engage and sustain the engagement of the young people and those involved described it as ‘challenging’. Engaging such a diverse group in these circumstances must be seen as a considerable achievement.”
(Hinton 2004)
‘One person who had nothing to do, was not part of the community and was very bored now feels valued and has a role, wants to study and to step back into life. She usually struggles with bonding, letting go but she overcame her fears and gained significantly in confidence.’
( youth health worker, 2004)
“Engaging such a diverse group in a creative process was a considerable achievement and very dependant on the skills and abilities of the artists involved.”
(Hinton, independant evaluation, 2005)
“Their involvement had lessened feelings of isolation, reaffirmed their identity and as a consequence improved their well-being.”
(Hinton, independant evaluation, 2005)
“For artists and health workers the process had been beneficial both professionally and personally and the collaborative partnership had worked well.”
(Hinton, independant evaluation, 2005)
“Ensuring a safe environment so that the power of story telling strengthened participants rather than distressing them required very skilled facilitation and leadership.”
(Hinton, independant evaluation, 2005)
“Views of the quality of the art, its presentation and the promotional literature were very highly rated by the exhibition audience and there was the clear message from the public that the work was of a good quality.”
(Hinton, independant evaluation, 2005)
“The production was a powerful stage performance which was very successful in raising awareness of the experiences of a number of people in Africa, and some
of the refugees who have moved to Tasmania.”
(PDF management services , independant evaluation, 2008)
“The production and staging of “Madam Tojo’s Café” could have been seen as the major outcome of the project. What the evaluation has shown however, is that the
production has been extraordinarily effective at a much higher and more sustainable level in educating young people and others in the background and
stories of young African refugees, and creating an insight which will assist in bridging the cultural gap and integrating newly arrived African refugees with the
Tasmanian community.”
(PDF management services , independant evaluation, 2008)
“the power of the performance and its capacity to influence people and raise the awareness of cultural and discrimination issues and to challengeracist behavior was extraordinarily high”
(PDF management services , independant evaluation, 2008)
“The music, stencil painting and singing and the originality of the songs and
the scripts were recognised as major achievements for the project”
(PDF management services , independant evaluation, 2008)
“I think all of the students learnt a lot about theatre, and about themselves-
They were all given the opportunity to stretch themselves and in the end
they all stepped up to the mark, and felt good about themselves. I take
my hat off to the Director for her great patience , skill and commitment to
maintaining a professional rehearsal process under very difficult
circumstances” (project participant)
“watching the African students come out of their shells and blossom . All of
these students were turned onto theatre , increased their language skills,
their confidence and made many new friends outside of their normal
circles. Similarly the “Tasmanian” students, many of whom had no
previous drama experience or skills made remarkable journeys to some
great and very heartfelt performances. I am sure that all of these students
will want to do drama again next year.”( Drama Teacher, Elizabeth College)
“the combined classes meeting and working together to establish a group
dynamic, build the team energy, teach performance skills and begin to
dialogue about the various issues that interested the group. This initial
period went a long way to establishing a good relationship between the
English as a second language students and the drama students who had
not worked together before. The exercises and games that we covered in
this time also established new ways of working and some understanding
of performance energy. Some of the key issues that we addressed in the
play: family, relationships, youth, love, violence, origins and personal
journeys were first uncovered at this stage.” (ESL teacher, Elizabeth College)
