Tomorrow Starts With Creativity
South Australian Youth Arts Today
Eight of South Australia’s leading youth arts organisations launched a new report highlighting the essential role of creativity in the lives and wellbeing of children and young people.
The Youth Arts Collective, comprised of Carclew, Slingsby, South Australian Circus Centre (Home of Cirkidz), Patch Theatre, Adelaide Youth Orchestras, Windmill Theatre Company, Riverland Youth Theatre, D’Faces of Youth Arts, unveiled Tomorrow Starts with Creativity: South Australian Youth Arts Today.
South Australia is known for its commitment to youth arts, and the report is a snapshot of the Collective’s impressive impact and potential. The research, conducted by Culture Counts, shows that together these organisations:
- generated almost 480,000 engagements in a single year,
- supported 886 jobs, and
- delivered a $3.41 return on every $1 of government investment
With the nation-leading ban on social media for under 16s soon to take effect, the Collective posits that to take something away you must give something better in return. This state-wide group of companies connects families, schools, and communities with inspiring, affordable and accessible opportunities across music, theatre, circus, dance, writing and visual arts. The Collective positions youth arts as a vibrant alternative to social media culture through providing vital points of connection, self-expression and fulfilment.
Actor and Director Tilda Cobham-Hervey says, “My career began at Cirkidz. I call it a career because, at age nine, I was invited into the performing troupe, where we were treated as professional artists. We were encouraged to share our ideas and devise circus-theatre shows in collaboration with our directors, teachers, and mentors. That sense of empowerment led me, at fourteen, to co-found Gravity and Other Myths with eight other young people. What could easily have been a failed experiment has grown into one of Australia’s most celebrated circus-theatre companies—made possible only through the artists and mentors in Adelaide who supported and encouraged our wild dream.”
Whilst 78% of children are likely to engage with arts or cultural activities this is 5% lower than their parent’s generation. This is a decline which we must all work together to reverse.
Children enjoy participating in the arts. It also helps to develop their creative thinking, problem solving and in the case of Circus develop gross and fine motor skills and healthy bodies. Partaking in activities like Cirkidz also helps children find a place where they feel like they belong and where they can form lifelong friendships.
Whilst all children enjoy and benefit for participation in the arts, for some it is the start of a professional career.