Arena Community Residency Program

The program will provide twelve, three-month residencies for young people to develop their chosen communicative medium, be it podcast, poetry, essay, events, lectures, discussions or visual art or film. The residencies will provide physical space, resources, and an open community platform for the young people to develop their portfolios, professional experience, and resume. An Arena Publications coordinated panel of experts will provide feedback, assistance and mentoring on both creative and operational elements of their project. The chosen recipients will live, study and work in the local region and represent diverse backgrounds.

A variety of creative and communicative skills are now necessary prerequisites for many entry-level jobs. It is increasingly difficult for young people to secure full-time work after finishing school/university/TAFE—according to latest research an average of 4.7 years. Arena Publications is situated in the heart of Fitzroy and is surrounded by large-scale public housing. This residency program provides a platform for young people from diverse backgrounds to develop these skills. The young people and the work produced during the residency program will be connected to the local/Victorian community through free exhibition/publication/broadcast and promotion facilitated by Arena Publications and Project Space.