Use Your Outside Voice! Young Changemakers, on display at Port Maquarie Public Library, Australia.
Work from the first-ever Picture Justice Australia program, renamed The Creative Citizen Project, is on display at the Port Macquarie Public Library from Thursday 16 to Friday 31 January 2020.
The free exhibition, titled ‘Use Your Outside Voice!’, features a collection of stories crafted by students who participated in the first-ever Picture Justice Australia program, which was run over five-days in Charles Sturt’s Design Lab in Port Macquarie last year.
The first program focused on the themes of ‘community, citizenry and processes of democracy’, and included workshops in civic education, photograpy, ethical interviewing, narrative development and story editing.
“We’re so excited to be sharing the stories from these young changemakers with the community,” said Dr Willhemina Wahlin, one of the curators for the exhibition and Lecturer in Design at Charles Sturt.
“Our young people are so passionate about what they believe in, so it’s important they are given more opportunities to have a voice in our community.”
From L-R: Mel Streater (PJA Participant, exhibition co-curator and designer), Jess Green (exhibitiion co-curator, researcher and editor), Dr Willhemina Wahlin (Principal Research Investigator, exhibition curator, designer, Creative Director of PROOF), Bea Firth (PJA participant), Deputy Mayor Lisa Intermann (Port Macquarie-Hastings Council), Nathan Hollingworth (PJA participant) and Emily Hollingworth (PJA participant).
The Picture Justice Australia program, created in collaboration with PROOF: Media for Social Justice, focused on the theme of ‘community, citizenry and processes of democracy’ and featured a series of workshops led by a team of experts from the fields of civic education, photography, design, and education.
“We embedded Design Thinking in a really unique way, weaving it into workshops in civics, ethical interviewing, photography for storytelling, narrative development and story editing,” said Dr Wahlin.
“The aim was to not only provide the participants with a range of skills and knowledge, but to also give them the confidence, through these skills, to become more active citizens.”
The exhibition will highlight a number of issues that are important to the participants, including environmental sustainability, improving social connections, fast fashion and equity in leadership.
“We hope the program and the exhibition communicates to younger people that by exploring and talking about these issues, even if you start small, you have the power to make a significant impact in your own community,” Dr Wahlin said.
The Picture Justice Australia program is a joint research project by Charles Sturt University, Swinburne University of Technology and The Whitlam Institute, and is supported by Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, PROOF: Media for Social Justice and the Posify Group.
The exhibition will be open to the public during the library’s operating hours until Friday 31 January 2020.
You can view the PJA booklet here: https://issuu.com/csugraphicdesign_portmacquarie/docs/uyov-publication-digital