Snapshots of WA with Propel
Our friends over at Propel Youth Arts WA have put together an amazing community project!
They are calling people of all ages, backgrounds and locations across Western Australia to take a snapshot of life from their perspective, as part of an ongoing crowd-sourced photography project called Mosaic.
With Mosaic Capture Day creeping up on the horizon (28 September) we wanted to find out more about how it came to be, so we had a quick chat with Propel Communications Officer, Yoshika Kon.
How did Mosaic Capture Day come about?
Yoshika: Jarred Seng - a music and travel photographer, film maker and creative director from WA - used to work for Propel as the Project Development Officer. Back in 2012, he had this idea for a community photography project because he was super passionate about photography, and I guess the Mosaic Project snowballed from there. Mosaic has been running every year since then, with the exception of 2016, and every year it has been different, with different participants and photos and Mosaic Workshops.
Can you describe its purpose in a couple of sentences?
Y: Mosaic is a crowd-sourced photography project that encourages broad participation from everyone in WA that aims to capture 24 hours of life in WA. We’re inviting everyone of any age, background or photography experience to step behind their cameras to capture and submit an image from their day, which culminates into a free public exhibition. It’s a very special project that explores the collective memory of West Australians on Capture Day Saturday 28 September.
What are the ideal shots you would like people to contribute?
Y: We’ve had varied photos in the past, some choose to orchestrate their photo and showcase the beauty of WA and others submit pictures of their everyday life. If a photo of a day in WA looks like playing with your kids at the beach, having brunch at a new café or stargazing in Gingin, we want to see it. We want to see what a day looks like in WA from the perspective of West Australians or anyone who’s passing by on Capture Day.
Why should people be involved?
Y: I might be biased in saying this because I work at Propel, but it’s an awesome project that enables creatives or anyone for that matter, to participate and be part of the WA community. It’s also a really great opportunity to have a photo you’ve taken displayed in a public exhibition for everyone to see. Something that Propel does is create opportunities for youths in arts and culture and Mosaic is just one example of that. We also have several Mosaic Photography Workshops and a Creatives Picnic throughout this month that allows youths to learn more about photography as well as connect with the local creative community in Perth.
What is the long term plan for these images?
Y: All submissions from Capture Day will be displayed chronologically in a free public exhibition at Wesley Quarter from 22 October to 24 November. Collectively, these photos will give a breathtaking snapshot of what WA looks like from all sorts of perspectives. Visitors to the exhibition are also invited to vote for their favourite photo for the People’s Choice Awards.
What else can we keep an eye out for from Propel?
Y: Our biggest and most anticipated annual event would probably be the 2020 Youth Week KickstART Festival happening next year in April. We recently announced our new Creative Coordinator, Kobi Arthur Morrison and we’re really excited to see what kind of Festival Kobi creates! A good way to keep an eye out for the things we do is to subscribe to our eNews, you’ll get to hear about all sorts of opportunities happening at Propel and in Perth. Plus, look out for our Mosaic Gallery Volunteers call-out soon!
Mosaic Capture Day is this Saturday – so get snapping!
To register for the big day, click here!
To find out more about the project, click here.