Behind the Scenes - Capturing the Moments of Driven Kids
Youth week was a perfect opportunity to for our young people to show the community how awesome they really are. This year’s theme was “Coming Together to Connect, Share, Speak out and Celebrate”. It was one wonderful all-inclusive activity over the three nights of movies at the Iconic WestView Drive-in on 12-14 April.
Duke Albada is a humanitarian photographer and community artist. She has a heart of gold and wants only the best for people of all races, and ages and backgrounds. She researches relationships within communities, surveying the social and cultural identity in relation to place. Her work is extensively exhibited in Australia and Europe.
Her mission is to take images with a meaning, that add to our understanding of the world around us. Enhancing the viewer's awareness and engage them in a visual journey that is also a questioning of our existence.
Duke thought it absolutely necessary to capture the unique story behind the “Driven Kids” project as the organisers were kids from LeaderLife at Apollo House; 15 young men aged between 14 and 17. Theirs is a story directly related to the BackTrack Boys movie that was screened at the Drive-In. “A group of troubled boys were on a perilous course towards jail until they meet up with the rough talking, free-wheeling jackaroo, Bernie Shakeshaft, and hit the road with his legendary dog jumping team.” Watching this movie may just inspire you to think differently about some of the most complex social issues we have in society today.
After attending a BackTrack camp in 2017 these Dubbo youngsters’ co-designed a program with LeaderLife. Their actions evidencing that they wanted to engage with their community. The kids wished to showcase what they were capable of and so volunteered their time to run the WestView Drive-In.
One young fella said “If we had the funding we would love to build our own house like BackTrack, maybe have some animals, do workshops, run more programs and even start a business so young kids like us can get some work”.
Because the bulk of the project was taking place behind the scenes, storyteller Duke Albada was invited to showcase the various aspects of the project. Her aim was to juxtapose the often voiced one-dimensional opinion of these kids ‘being good for nothing’. The exhibition showed a multi-faceted image of these young people, featuring them engaging, interacting and contributing to our society whilst developing social and life skills.
The goal of the project and exhibition was to install pride and empower the participants, supporting them to dream big and inspire other young people. It campaigned the social need of breaking down barriers and alienation between different age groups, socio-economic backgrounds and cultures, and encouraged a dialogue about these issues.
Showcasing young people’s positive sides, their strengths and always looking for the gold highlights what effects that compassion and sincere support can bring about for kids and young people who at times can be incredibly vulnerable.
The mix of people, iconic location, diversity of jobs, various times of day and cinematic event made for a compelling photogenic project and these images were exhibited at the prestigious Western Plains Cultural Centre from Thursday 18 April until the 26th May.
It was a pleasure watching the young people and their families walk into that exhibition room for the first time; no words were needed to describe the pride.
Image credit: Duke Albada
