Youth think outside of the box with Artstart 2009

As part of the NSW Government's Artstart 2009 initiative, Mission Australia has provided school students across the Kiama region with the opportunity to provide Mission Australia's Donation Bins an artistic 'makeover'.

Artstart 2009 is managed through local councils and aims to encourage youth aged 12 to 24 to design and direct creative projects with the assistance of community service organisations like Mission Australia.

The students involved used Mission Australia's donation bins as the 'canvas' for their designs. Kiama Municipal Council's senior youth worker, Andrew Chatfield, said as part of the creative process, teachers at each school integrated the project into visual arts studies, enabling them to completely manage the project's design.

The students have redecorated the bins following the theme of Mission Australia's Big Heart Stores - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - and have come up with some fantastic murals and designs to emphasise the theme.

"The project gave the young people taking part an opportunity to express their creativity, build self esteem, and develop leadership and teamwork skills, while being involved in a worthwhile cause to promote and educate people of all ages on the importance on recycling, reducing, reusing," Mr Chatfield said.

We hope that the Kiama community will support the project by helping us fill the six bins before they are collected by Mission Australia and distributed throughout the region.

The students' artworks/donations bins are on display in their usual locations for anyone donating unwanted clothing, shoes and blankets to Mission Australia.  Check out our bin locations at his link