Program brings young artists together

Torquay-based painter Dean De Landre

PLATFORM Youth Arts has begun its LAB Residency Program, as it aims to help some of the best young artists in the state maximise their potential.

The six-month program will provide five artists/collectives on-going mentorship, industry engagement, and technical and marketing support from Platform staff to help them build sustainable careers in the arts. Each of the selected artists was also given $5,000.

More than 70 artists from a variety of mediums applied for the program.

Torquay painter Dean De Landre was one of the selected artists.

Mr De Landre was a finalist in both the Albany Art Prize and Hornsby Art Prize in 2019 and received the Deakin University Scholarship for Excellence earlier this year. He said he the program was a unique opportunity to collaborate with a diverse group of artists.

“I hadn’t seen anything like that advertised before. I was interested in connecting with other young artists in the region, and it also provides a chance of being able to connect with peers and mentors outside of that university context,”

The other successful applicants were Gunditjmara Keerray Woorroong artists Tarryn and Kelsey Love, Geelong-based theatre-maker Gretel Sharp, filmmaker Becki Bouchier, and multidisciplinary artist George Goodnow.

The program has not yet been able to hold any in-person sessions but has begun virtually.

It started with a week where the artists presented their work to one another, followed by a week of workshops led by Courthouse ARTS staff.

Mr De Landre said the early stages of the program had been encouraging.

“Like with anything, you can often end up surround yourself with people similar to yourself, so it’s been really nice to get different perspectives on things,” he said.

“I think it’s been nice for everyone to be able to show things from their discipline to people from other disciplines, as you can get inspirations and see connections that you might not have anticipated.”

For more information on the program head to platformarts.org.au/lab.