RMIT students recently worked behind the scenes of the iconic RISING festival to transform Melbourne with a spectrum of bold art, music, and performance.
Keely Forbes is an RMIT Bachelor of Journalism student, who co-created and co-hosted the High Rise program on Syn FM during the festival, to profile RISING artists and talent - including interviewing theatre production show Heartbreak Hotel creator Karin McCracken.
"This internship was great in giving me practical experience in radio," said Keely.
"I had done some radio work previously in my studies, but never had the chance to create my own show. It was great to be in a real live studio and get familiar with the technical side, I feel as though I learned so much from that experience.
"Learning the content is one thing but getting out in the field you are interested in is a whole new world. I would 100% recommend an internship to other students."
Meanwhile, RMIT alumni and RISING Creative Producer Adriana Navarro facilitated a behind-the-scenes tour of RISING artist Shohei Fujimoto's unique laser installation intangible #form, for School of Art and Design students at The Capitol.
Audiences enjoy Shohei Fujimoto's intangible form installation at The Capitol.
Students gained insights on Fujimoto's unique creative practice, with the opportunity to meet him and hear about his process.
"I enjoyed facilitating an engagement between our RISING Festival artist Shohei Fujimoto and a cohort of staff and students at RMIT's Capitol Theatre," said Adriana.
"As a graduate of RMIT's Fine Arts - Media Arts program it was a pleasure to reconnect with RMIT's School of Art, particularly Associate Dean, Martine Corompt, who was one of my lecturers when I studied at RMIT!"
Further supporting the festival were Korean Arts Management and Fashion students Jaeeun Jang and Emily Jung, who undertook internships on artist Woopsyang's Space Out Competition.
Fashion Student Emily Jung during her internship on Woopsyang's Space Out Competition.
Woopsyang also engaged with RMIT's Urban Play Network, and the Australasian Network for Asian Art while she was in Melbourne and took part in a behind the scenes talk at RMIT's Garden Building as part of Urban Playground, Beyond Consumption.
RMIT has partnered with RISING since 2022, showcasing vibrant art across the city, while giving students the unique chance to gain valuable hands-on experience with a leading arts festival.
"RMIT University is proud to further consolidate its partnership with Melbourne's premier arts festival RISING in 2025, for RMIT students to learn skills in event research and delivery, live production and presentation, and visual and audio creation," said RMIT Associate Director, Partnerships and Engagement, Ali Barker.
"Working on an iconic festival like RISING, with established artists and a worldwide audience is an amazing opportunity that sets the RMIT education experience apart."
