Insects, Ethiopian jazz and gender dysphoria are among the inspirations for eight young artists whose work is showing on the big screen at Signal in Northbank.
Over three months, the Screen X Sound Commissions participants developed a screen or sound work, and an audio-visual piece in collaboration with an experienced artist.
We supported them with workshops and one-on-one mentoring.
You can see the young artists’ work on Flinders Walk nightly from 6pm to 10pm, from Saturday 10 September to Saturday 8 October.
Meet this year’s artists
Lǐ Xīng Yǔ (Echo Li) – an artist whose work focuses on performance, writing, photography and video, documenting romantic obsession that is both personal and political, linking love and cultural loss.
Amy Manson – an animator with a particular interest in the intersection between art, biology, and scientific theory, inspired by the insects that influence advances in technology.
Sofie McClure – an experimental non-fiction filmmaker whose work intersects with video art documentary, which seeks to challenge the perception of film as a strictly audio-visual medium.
Carmen Yih – a dancer and filmmaker whose commissioned work shows the complex layering of cultural codes and embodied heritage on immigrant bodies.
Rebecca Bracewell – an orchestral musician with hearing loss, who’s turned to sound design and composition to explore more creatively fulfilling and flexible approaches to music making.
Monique Gawne – a multidisciplinary artist with a background in printmaking, documenting everyday life and learning experiences, shared through audio collage.
April Guest – a beatboxer, composer, vocalist and pianist who uses vocal exploration as an antidote to the binary gendered expectations of the voice and the dysphoria this can produce.
Fetle Wondimu Nega – a sound artist, singer and music producer whose commission explores bilingualism and cultural code switching using live coding and vocals inspired by Ethiopian jazz and Orthodox hymns.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said Melbourne is Australia’s arts and culture capital, and we’re committed to developing and showcasing inspiring creative talent.
‘The Screen and Sound Commissions are a perfect opportunity for the community to experience the next generation of screen and sound superstars as they share their creative ideas on the big stage,’ the Lord Mayor said.
Creative Melbourne portfolio lead Jamal Hakim said Signal is leading the way in unearthing new creative talent, who will go on to contribute to our vibrant and diverse cultural sector.
‘This is a celebration of so much hard work by our fabulous screen and sound artists who have turned ideas into reality,’ Cr Hakim said.
About Signal
Signal is the City of Melbourne’s creative studio for young people 14 to 25 years located on Northbank in the heart of Melbourne.
The program offers young people the opportunity to work alongside professional artists in a collaborative way, through multi-artform workshops and mentoring.
Signal provides emerging and established artists with opportunities and spaces for exploration, creation and presentation, online and IRL.
For more information, visit Signal, or meet staff member Aïsha Trambas.
