2020
Heaps Decent (Sydney, Australia)
Heaps Decent launched a new pilot program to teach young creatives how they can develop an interactive
Virtual Reality (VR) experience to engage the community on important social issues. This program virtually
engaged and provided 56 young creatives with the resources to create a VR platform that showcases young
voices' concerns of the impact that climate change has on Australia. To develop this VR platform and learn new
digital media skills, the young creatives connected on a
weekly basis for activities led by teaching artists that
specialize in filmmaking, sound design and multimedia.
In this VR platform, the young creatives utilized
photography, filmmaking, digital art, special effects, and
music production to share their voice and calls to action
regarding what communities can do in response to the
climate change crisis.
MENTORING
Las Fotos Project (Los Angeles, California, USA)
The Las Fotos team evaluated and revamped their Community Arts
Programming to continue to engage 100 young creatives in a virtual setting
in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. This program consists of three
pathways of learning: Está Soy Yo (ESY), Digital Promotoras, and CEO
(Creative Entrepreneurship Opportunities). The three pathways supported
young creatives with their self-empowerment journey as artists, enhancing
youth agency in the community, and teaching workforce skills. They developed
their digital media skills in photography and learned how to utilize storytelling
as a tool to identify and address community issues that are important to
them. Additionally the young creatives created multimedia presentations
and social media campaigns to showcase and advocate for their community
stories. Lastly, the young creatives in the CEO program worked with mentors to improve gender equity in
professional photography and explored future employment opportunities within the photography industry.
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