YOU ARE INVITED TO BE PART OF ADVOCACY THROUGH ART STARTER PACK ENTRIES CLOSE 4 JULY 2017 VINNIES.ORG.AU/JUSTART [email protected] VinniesYouthVic The St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this nation as the traditional custodians of the lands on which we work. We pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present. We are committed to honouring Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society. TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter to all participants 1 PART A: Participant Information About us 3 What is Just Art? 4 Advocacy – What is it? 5 Key Advocacy Messages 6 Artistic Categories 7 Judging Criteria, Terms and Process 8 Category Winners and Major Awards 11 Awards Event and Exhibition 13 PART B: Participant Resources Inspiration 16 Discussion Questions 20 Resource List 23 Relevant Organisations 23 Books 24 Picture Storybooks 27 Documents 30 Relevant Movements and Causes 31 PART C: Schools Information Related Learning Areas and Strands 33 Related Capabilities and Strands 34 Relevant Capabilities Curriculum Achievement Standards 35 Relevant Learning Areas Curriculum Achievement Standards 38 Religious Education (For Catholic Schools) 42 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures 44 PART D: Registration and Submission Registration and Submission Process 47 Submission of Artwork Methods 48 Dropbox Upload Process 49 Image Release Form – Adult 50 Image Release Form - Child 51 Dear Friends and Supporters, After the success of our inaugural Just Art Competition in 2016, we are delighted to invite your participation in 2017. Just Art aims to make advocacy accessible to all people, of all ages, through artistic representation of contemporary social justice issues. The 2017 topic is “First Australians – Stories of Humanity”. This topic is selected as it is a contemporary and relevant social justice issue that is challenging the Australian conscience. It comes in context of ongoing challenges to the accurate telling of Australian History, the first Indigenous Australian in the Upper House and significant social concerns for Aboriginal young people such as the removal of children from the care of their parent/s, the treatment of young people in youth detention centres and high youth suicide rates. We are aiming for a values based advocacy discussion that is centred on the values of compassion, respect, integrity and courage. We would like to see artistic representation of the stories of First Australians, including both challenging and inspiring motifs. These “Stories of Humanity” would call us to acknowledge and respond to each person’s dignity. We are calling for a creative exploration, contemplation and celebration of the culture of the first people of Australia – a central part of the Australian identity. Just Art 2017 invites you as an individual, group or school to engage in advocacy through art. This Starter Pack includes: information about the competition, resources for a discussion of the topic, and information specifically for school groups. For Schools: Just Art is designed especially to enable young people to have their voices heard in a whole community response to social justice issues. As such, it fits meaningfully into the Victorian Curriculum in the Learning Areas of The Arts (Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts), English, and Humanities (Civics & Citizenship), as well as crossing the Capabilities Curriculum of Creative & Critical Thinking, Ethical Capability, Intercultural Capability, and Personal and Social Capability. School groups who wish to be part of the Just Art Competition are also invited to contact us about our Schools Social Justice Workshops. Among other topics, we offer workshops on the topics of Advocacy and First Australians. Please forward information and flyers to your English, Media, Arts and Religious Education leaders. This year, we would also like to thank and acknowledge Aboriginal Catholic Ministry for being part of the consultation of the project. We encourage all participants to learn more about, and to engage with your local and Victorian Aboriginal organisations and community groups. Let’s start a conversation and advocate with and for the first peoples of Australia. For more information about the Just Art Competition visit www.vinnies.org.au/justart or contact us at [email protected] or call 9895 5800. Yours in advocacy, Youth & Education Development Team The St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria 1 Part A Participant Information 2 About us The St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies) first began in Australia in 1854 and we’ve been active in the community ever since. In Victoria, the Society’s 12,000 members and volunteers assist over half a million people in the local communities each year, providing support, friendship and resources to people in need. Vinnies is one of the most recognised and highly regarded charitable organisations in Australia. OUR We pride ourselves on providing a hand up, VALUES not a hand out, in times of need. Commitment Compassion Respect Integrity Empathy Advocacy Working towards Encouraging a more just and people in need to compassionate take control of Courage society their own destiny 3 What is Just Art? Just Art aims to engage the community in awareness raising Advocacy and advocacy of contemporary social justice issues via different artistic mediums. through Art The competition is open to entrants across three age groups and through four artistic categories: 4 Artistic Categories Media Visual Arts Performing Arts Creative writing Film Painting Music Poetry Animation Sculpture Drama Short Story Photography Graphic design 3 Age Categories Primary School Secondary School Open Is it for me? Have you ever seen something happening in the community that was unjust or unfair? Have you ever wanted to impact social change but don’t know what you can do about it? Just Art is a chance to creatively voice your opinion on an important social justice issue in Australia right now. If you are passionate about making a difference and enjoy being creative, then Just Art is definitely for you. How do individuals get involved? 1. Explore the topic 2. Plan and create your artwork (to submission specifications) 3. Submit your artwork as per the competition requirements by Tuesday 4th July 2017 School groups are welcome to participate. If a school group is submitting over 30 artworks, we ask that you please notify us at [email protected] by Wednesday 7th June 2017. 4 Advocacy – What is it? Advocacy is about speaking out against injustices that are faced by yourself and/or others. Unfortunately, not all people are born with the same opportunities or access to choices. This is why advocacy is so important. There are a number of factors that can make it difficult for people to have their voices heard. Reasons include language barriers, lack of access to those in power/decision makers, inadequate access to resources, difficulty in understanding and communication and experiences of trauma. This is where advocates come in. Advocates provide support and/or a voice for those who struggle to advocate by themselves because of barriers they face. It is the responsibility of advocates to elevate the voices of those in need and make sure that in their assistance they are only repeating the wishes of those they represent. There is no such thing as the voiceless, only the deliberately silenced and preferably unheard. Arundhati Roy We cannot underestimate the importance of social advocacy and the impact of our everyday interactions. In a world that is dominated by social media and a variety of ways to connect, the conversations we have every day and the messages we put out online have a significant impact. We can sometimes think that it is the people in positions of power who decide when change is needed but it is actually the power of the collective community that the greatest impact on creating change. It is through our social conversations and our social advocacy that we can impact people’s thinking. This is how we as a community learn from each other and broaden our ideas which can then impact positive change. Just Art is an opportunity to advocate through art. As the old saying goes, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’ Creative mediums provide the freedom to convey meaning that cannot easily be expressed through other means. 5 Key Advocacy Messages We are calling for a creative exploration, contemplation and celebration of the culture of the first people of Australia – a central part of the Australian identity. Our history: First Australians represent one of the oldest Our reconciliation: We need to cultures in the world. We have a make a commitment to moving responsibility to take great pride in forward in a genuine spirit of this culture and spirituality, and to respect and reconciliation. keep it alive. Our stories: We need to build a Our collective voice: We need to more complete narrative of engage in respectful dialogue with Australian history and the ongoing, First Australians and together invaluable contributions of First promote their voice in decisions Australians. that impact our collective future. Our opportunities: We need to be Our conversations: We need to aware of ingrained prejudices that influence social conversation exist within our community, which about First Australians in a way may limit the opportunities of First that is strengths based. Australians. 6 Artistic Categories All entrants are to fill out the online Registration Form and print and sign the Registration Receipt prior to submission of artwork. Please ensure your permission form is sent with the artwork (not separately). Works that are unregistered or delivered without permission will not be judged. Please see pages 46-48 for submission information. Please note that work will not be returned.