4Elements 2015 - Review
Vyva Entertainment with the support of Bankstown Youth Development Service and Bankstown City Council hosted the 4Elements All Age HipHop Festival at the Bankstown Arts Centre to celebrate Harmony Day on Saturday 21st March 2015.
The festival attracted over 1,000 people to the Arts Centre including our local community and many from outside the area, whom normally wouldn’t venture out to Bankstown.
The 4Elements line up consisted of over 100 artists from a very diverse mix of cultures, personalities and our local young people side by side with industry pioneers; showcasing spoken word, music, dj’ing, dance, various art forms and photography, industry panel discussions, food and loads of other activities for people of all ages!!
BYDS director Tim Carroll said he was overjoyed with the outcome of the festival bringing together much of Sydney’s HipHop family in one space and looks forward immensely to a bigger and better 4Elements next year.
Posts/ comments made by festival attendees can be viewed by searching the hash tags #4ESYD and #4ELEMENTS on Facebook and Instagram.
4Elements Youth Music Workshop (x3) Feb-Apr 2015
Five young people attend all three sessions and two attend one session.
Participants (five) performed at the Bankstown Poetry Slam in front of 300 people in the lead up to the festival.
We decided to run an extra session in the two weeks before the festival, which focused around performance – nine young people attended both workshops (seven participants and two mentoring).
Third round of workshops were run post festival in the lead up to Youth Week at Youth in Colour Festival, inviting another 10 young people to participate.
Benefits post 4Elements 2015:
4Elements had a section at the Bankstown's Youth Week Festival & featured 15 young people from the workshop program and their mentors to close off the event (17/04/15).
Second round of workshops (over three weeks) started 31/03/15 where 10 young people attended & three more asking to join for session two.
Approached by three schools to discuss running programs
A photo shoot was held utilising the art gallery & live art wall pieces from the event for both local & international touring artist.
Art gallery was utilised for the Bankstown Poetry Slam, which attracts an average of 300 people.
The event saw the creation of a 65m live arts wall. eight panels from the live arts wall remain at the Arts Centre, four have been used at the entrance of a new HipHop dance space in Sydney’s CBD, few given to local services like Youth Off The Streets and the rest re painted and used for the Bankstown Youth Week Festival.
The festival has been featured across two issues this year in a USA magazine. The first an eight page feature and the second a review. Whatsgood magazine is distributed to Canada, UK, throughout the USA and hand delivered to major labels.
A number of cases where local young people are now being mentored long-term by industry artists who they met at 4Elements 2015.
Young people have already recorded music & collaborated with industry artists/ professionals who they also met at 4Elements 2015.
Stallholders have shared that on the day they locked in four other business opportunities at other upcoming events.
From the young people who attended the workshop program:
Many were featured in the theatre productions ‘The Way’ and ‘Khalil Gibran’ The Prophet Remix
One was labelled ‘Artist of the Month’ on FBI radio
One young person won the Talent Contest held by Canterbury Council
Two have been invited as featured artists at the Bankstown Poetry Slam
Majority have registered to take part in other workshop programs offered at the Bankstown Arts Centre and participating in other services offered by local organisations.
GetSmART Workshop Sep 2015
Intense two-day introductory program for emerging artists to learn leadership, communication and job skills, as well as, industry discussions.
15 participants in total
Emerging Artist Program Oct 2015 – Mar 2016
A series of practical workshops to gain industry and business skills that assist local talent in growing their artistic careers by developing leadership and creativity, and how to best apply their talent towards event and project release strategies. Over the 6 month period participants will get hands on experience by assisting with numerous projects at the Bankstown Arts Centre, the major contribution being 4Elements All Age HipHop Festival in 2016.
Young people and mentors from the first round of workshops. Standing (left to right) Craig Taunton, Daiyaan, Vyvienne Abla, Nadyia, Alusine and Fadileh. Second row (left to right) Matuse and Zainab.
Young people and mentors from the second round of workshops which commenced 31/03/15. This group performed at the Bankstown Youth Week Festival 17/04/15.
Survey results:
After the festival an online survey was put out and here is some of the feedback!
Audience: What did you enjoy most about the day?
"The community feel and the overall supportive feel of the event. The artistic quality of the event".
“Great to catch up with so much fam today at 4Elements at Bankstown Arts Centre. I've definitely missed these community HipHop events. They're the foundation. It's where I started my journey in music; at events like this. Great to see local artists rock the stage, with all elements of HipHop represented. And it was dope just to relax and hang out as a spectator, being inspired by everyone there” – L-FRESH THE LION
“What an impressive bunch of honest and hardworking people with a lot of heart for the HipHop youth and community in general! Such a fabulous day getting to know Bankstown and the talented musicians and business folk making a difference in peoples lives through creativity”
“It was a really lovely day. I can't wait for the next one! Learnt so much and experienced a ridiculous amount of talent".
“The Beautiful Community feeling, everyone was happy, there was live music/performances/and graffiti, kids running around. it was an all round wonderful event”
"The performances and the fact that I could bring my 10 month old baby :) he really enjoyed the day".
"The chilled back atmosphere and the freedom to mix with artists".
"The Beautiful Community feeling, everyone was happy, there was live music/performances/and graffiti, kids running around. It was an all round wonderful event, the performance given by Mirrah, and the Graffiti wall was probably my favourites".
"Seeing industry people supporting the event".
"Atmosphere"
"The atmosphere"
"The atmosphere and the people"
"The vibe was amazing and it was like people had been waiting to get together to do all that great stuff".
"The supportive atmosphere. Was a beautiful community run event for the community to enjoy".
"Everything. Is everything an acceptable answer?"
“It was great to see local artists given an opportunity to showcase their work within their local community and to provide an event for the local community to see the amazing talent that is right in their own backyard”
