Stylin’ UP is an Indigenous owned Hip Hop and R’n’B music and dance skills development workshop and event program. Stylin’ UP is developed with and for young people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds in Brisbane’s South West communities.
Over the past 10 years Stylin’UP has grown to become Australia’s largest Indigenous Hip-Hop and R&B music and dance event and a nationally significant contemporary Indigenous creative arts development program. Stylin’UP originated as an initiative of Brisbane City Council and the Indigenous Community of Inala, and has been nurtured and developed by the Stylin’UP Community Crew, made up of elders, community leaders and government representatives.
In 2009 the event drew over 15,000 attendees and participants from Inala, Brisbane and surrounding regions and from all across the country as well as official visitors and community members from Logan, Hopevale, Cherbourg, and Woorabinda through the Stylin’UP Regional Program.
Stylin’UP is a multifaceted process, which engages the entire community from Elders through to children. Alongside the high profile public event exists a lengthy workshop program, aimed at engaging indigenous youth. In 2008 the workshop programs engaged 1500 young people from Brisbane’s South West corridor and a further 300 from regional communities.
Community ownership of Stylin’UP is an essential element as it has built local community cultural capacity and empowerment across all levels. Since its inception, Stylin’UP has been guided by three themes that the community valued as important to their young people:
Pride in Self
Pride in Community
Pride in Culture
Workshops:
To whom it may concern:
This will be a deadly festival – however I am not bringing my children to watch performers from other races. This is an Indigenous event (Indigenous being Indigenous to Australia not any other country). There are other festivals and venues to showcase multicultural activities. Not this festival.
It was created to showcase young Murri talent and should stay that way.
Last year the festival seemed to be overloaded with people from the pacifica (who tend to takeover everything they come in contact with) and with all the tension between them and the Murri’s, there seemed to be too many fights breaking out at the event. This being originally a Murri event for Murri’s it believe it should remain so. There have and still remain too many incidents where Murri people and their events are pushed to the back or taken over by others. The only way that this event will be successful is for Brisbane City Council to outsource to the local organisations and to properly consult with the Murri’s of Inala and to ensure that the committee is at least a 60/40 community/outside split. This consultation means that meetings are held at appropriate times to allow community members to attend and community are engaged by a local Murri person. It could also mean providing transport for the Elders and community members to get to meetings. It could also mean that the organisers ensure that health food/snacks are provided at these meetings and that sometimes the meetings will need to be held in the evenings. It may also mean that you provide a child care worker to allow more young parents to be involved. I would like some feedback on my contribution.
kind regards
Trevarne
Trevarne makes some interesting points. Do I read it right that Trevarne will be bringing his kids but not to see other races than the Australian indigenous dancing, yes? That’s fair enough.
Would be interesting to see if the event organisers may contribute to this debate.