Fostering creativity for children through culture and the arts
Children's Week 2024: A week of fun, learning, and advocacy for children across Western Australia.
Experiencing culture and the arts is a vital part of any child’s learning and development. The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) supports organisations and industry to ensure every WA child and young person can explore their creative side.
Our Culture and the Arts programs are designed to engage children and young people in varying creative practices, so they can benefit from the knowledge and lessons passed onto them.
Since 2022, DLGSC’s Creative Learning Partnerships Program has enabled 223 schools across 8 regions to engage in the arts, benefiting 32,000 students and 270 artists with more than $4.6 million in funding.
The 2024 AWESOME Festival, which brought together hundreds of children who took part in various activities and enjoyed the excitement of the arts, was supported by DLGSC through the Creative Learning Partnerships Program and the Arts Organisations Investment Program.
In June 2024, the department partnered with Healthway to fund the Creativity and Wellbeing for Young People Pilot Program, providing $600,000 to 8 organisations to deliver creative experiences for children and young people around WA.
The Partnership Acceptance Learning Sharing (PALS) program promotes the journey of reconciliation in WA schools and provides an opportunity for Aboriginal students to see their cultures being respected, shared and celebrated. In 2023-24 the program supported 288 schools with $796,000 in funding.
Through DLGSC’s PALS program, Ashdale Primary School was able to host Aboriginal writer Alton Walley and local Aboriginal artist Mel Spillman, where students took part in a smoking ceremony and painted their Kolbang Koorliny (Journey Forward) artwork.
“PALS has been a fantastic program for our school over the years, allowing us to create meaningful and informative cultural experiences for our students,” said Ashdale Primary School teacher Jo.
Through the Creativity for Schools program, Armadale Primary School Year 4 students were able to participate in a creative residency with artist Sophia Lark where they developed their very own 132-page picture book on wildlife conservation.
The creative learning project developed the student’s key literacy skills, while offering an opportunity for them to develop a creative response to wildlife conservation.
The Term 4 Creativity for Schools and PALS funding round is open now until 28 November 2024.
The department is proud of the outcomes of our culture and the arts programs, and we will continue to ensure creative practices are celebrated and accessible for all children and young people in WA.
Image credit: Smoking Ceremony with Aboriginal writer Alton Walley, photo by Ashdale Primary School.