Local artists participating in the KBVID shoot. (Credit: Travis Anderson)
The Goldfields region, famous for its world renowned Inside Australia sculptures at Lake Ballard created by Antony Gormley and the Goatcher Curtain at the Boulder Town Hall, will showcase its cultural gold this October at the Regional Arts Australia Summit: Arts & Edges.
As a run up to the Summit, the residents of the Kalgoorlie Boulder shot a 30 second video clip to assert pride in their multicultural and creative identity. They danced and lip-synced to the song “Rock It” by Little Red, down the main street of Kalgoorlie.
Seizing this as an opportunity to disprove stereotypes associated with a ‘mining’ town, Creative Producer of the KBVID project, Adele Leahy says the purpose of the video is to showcase the vibrant life of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
‘Often stereotyped by a work-hard-party-hard lifestyle, Kalgoorlie-Boulder is so much more than that. The overall significance of KBVID is to paint a more accurate picture of what the community is made up and why our town has been selected to host the RAA Summit this year.
‘Although mining and nightlife is part of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, there are many other things besides. No matter what your interest is, there will most likely be a group in the community you can get involved in, from Triathlon to Photography, Brass Band to Bellydancing,’ she adds.
Mayor Ron Yuryevich agrees and feels that the arts in all their forms are intrinsically tied to the long term sustainability of the City.
‘For us to be ‘more than just a mining town’ it is important that people perceive Kalgoorlie-Boulder as a great place to live, work and play and the arts play a vital role in this.’
The City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder has provided a total of $115,000 in cash and in kind support to Country Arts WA for the Summit. Mayor Yuryevich believes it is vital that people should support local arts.
‘Lots of regional communities, including Kalgoorlie-Boulder have some fantastic arts and cultural groups who work hard to bring the arts in all their forms to regional communities, but without the support of community members going to shows and exhibitions, buying local art or attending workshops with local artists, it becomes very hard to maintain.’
Leahy believes that having the Summit come to Kalgoorlie-Boulder allows the individual expressions of artists and arts workers to blossom.
‘Although there will always be stereotypes, having an arts summit of this nature in town provides opportunity for people to visit and see things they may not have expected from a dusty, hot, historical gold town. It also allows the residents to be even more confident about their identity within the community as artists or supporters of it,’ she adds.
The second part of the KBVID video will be shot with participants and visitors on 18 October during the Summit and added to the earlier clip.
To be a part of this video and the summit, register here, for an early bird discount until the 18th of August.
