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Gabriella Smart, one of Australia's most
acclaimed concert pianists and festival organisers, has initiated the Titjikala
Project, and she writes " The Titjikala Community project will address crucial
concerns and key future aspirations of this remote Aboriginal community by
implementing the principles of arts for health, with a special focus on music:
Participatory learning, cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary music making and
subsequent touring. The Project’s vision is to develop a culture of
self-determination and dignity through artistic engagement and enrichment with
the Titjikala community. It is a leading Central Australian community seeking to
overcome social and cultural difficulties such as chronic ill health, poor
education outcomes, and high unemployment. The Community endorses this Project,
seeing in it opportunities for its young people to gain experience and
confidence, and for the wider community to participate in cultural
exchange.
Titjikala Community has recently been awarded 4 star tourism status
by the NT government, a vital first building block in creating community
sustainability through the benefits of tourism: Vocational training, employment,
and support of local business (bush tours, the Art Centre and local store)
I envisage empowerment of the Titjikala
Community, spanning a generation or more, through engagement with the arts that
reflects the spiritual beliefs and aspirations of the community. This
transformation is not limited to the education, creation, performance and
touring of music. It will develop the infrastructure of the community to create
employment opportunities through tourism and audience development. It will allow
members of the community to engage with the outside world on their own terms,
with the confidence that comes of education and practical advocacy; to have
cultural engagement with others that places their own culture at the centre; and
to put Titjikala on the map. The outside world will know the community through
their rich culture, creativity, success and
strength.
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