Kickstart Arts

Kickstart Arts kicked arse with the Power Hip Hop project in 2009 - ten young rappers fronted the TSO (Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra) in a fantastic performance that was both thought provoking, and made you want to dance. The Power Hip Hop concert was so well received that it will be returning to a bigger venue in 2010. Kickstart Arts also have three more youth arts projects on the hop, two of which are described here.

There is a partnership with Headway rebuilding lives – an organisation which supports people with acquired brain injury (ABI). A group of young people and people with ABI are working together with professional artists to create Headstart, a multi-artform performance installation which will open in August in the Long Gallery at the Salamanca Arts Centre. They are working with the Oatlands District High school and southern Mid FM radio introducing local young people to the joys of running your own radio show.

Also occurring this year is The Happiness Project, a three-year project working with four rural Tasmanian communities to make films about happiness, which will tour Tasmania in Happiness Pods! In case you're wondering what a Happiness Pod is, it’s a small eco-built traveling cinema where you can watch original locally made films and feel happy knowing the pod/cinema is made from recycled materials and generates its own electricity.