Inner Self - Outer Images

When Eddie stood up at the launch of Inner Self-Outer Images, a mixed media community art project developed by stART community arts and the City of Warrnambool for young people with a disability, his live blues and harmonica performance was presented simultaneously with his own video installation. The two voices of Eddie was a powerful opening to the exhibition and clearly illustrated the concept behind the program - give young people an opportunity to express themselves and extraordinary things will happen.

A community art group that includes photographers, writers and multimedia and video artists, stART worked with the City of Warrnambool Rural Access Program to develop the Inner Self-Outer Images project. Including a series of four workshops held in both Colac and Warrnambool, the project involved 33 young people with a disability and attracted over 1300 visitors to the resulting exhibition.

Warrnambool Rural Access Program Officer, Richard Stone, says the program and exhibition was a real eye-opener. 'The general public, people who work in the disability sector and the participants' families have seen participants in a new light. They were seen as artists who can produce quality work and members of the community who have something to say.'

stART Chairperson Sue Smith says the experience of creating something and having their stories heard was really important for all the young people involved. 'Getting up in public and being seen and having their stories and experiences acknowledged and recognised was extraordinarily empowering.'