About Western Edge Youth Arts
Western Edge Youth Arts (WEYA) is a registered charity that works with culturally and linguistically diverse and economically disadvantaged communities to create unique arts and arts education experiences for young people under twenty-six. WEYA’s work is founded on long-term relationships with participants, a strong commitment to the professional development of young artists and a dedication to the production of excellent, culturally diverse art with an authentic youth voice. WEYA works in both school and community contexts, and is dedicated to fostering social justice, self-empowerment and cross-cultural understanding among all young people.
History
Prior to incorporation in 2005, WEYA delivered more than ten years of workshops and performances to young people in communities and schools under the auspices of Footscray Community Arts Centre (FCAC) in two separate programs: Y3P and SCRAYP.
'Y3P' (Young Peoples’ Performance Projects) connected with young people through social and community networks and operated at FCAC between 1993 and 2005. The Y3P program ran drama and performance-making workshops that culminated in an annual large-scale performance. Y3P delivered an innovative program of intercultural and interdisciplinary art-making by and for young people in collaboration with a range of professional artists.
The 'SCRAYP' (Schools, Community, Research, Arts, Youth & Performance) program was also established in 1996 to create work with young people through partnership with schools in Western Melbourne. By 1998 the SCRAYP artists and young people were devising and presenting six performances annually. The program quickly developed a reputation for addressing challenging local issues via complex art and was highly regarded by young people, artists and educators alike.
Both programs sought to engage young people from disadvantaged and CALD backgrounds, and provided opportunities for training and mentoring in the arts. Many of these early participants went on to careers as professional artists. At the end of 2005 SCRAYP and Y3P were incorporated as Western Edge Youth Arts and are now known as the Education and Community programs respectively.
Today
The WEYA Community program is now widely known for innovative participatory projects with high production values. Our commitment to high artistic standards is complemented by sophisticated mechanisms for addressing diversity, access and the empowerment of young people. WEYA’s Education program is highly respected within National and International education communities for its leadership in arts in education pedagogy. The Education program’s team of artist-teachers have developed strong, long-term partnerships with more than ten schools and have delivered significant social and learning outcomes for the young people who participate. Today, WEYA works with more than 600 young people each year to produce a diverse program of performance, film, creative writing and research that attract large community as well as mainstream arts audiences.
