Young people and children living in Greater Bendigo are invited to contribute to a new public art project to be displayed at Pennyweight Walk in the city centre.
Participants aged up to 25 years old can contribute a poem, a statement, a message or a very short story (with a maximum of 50 words) for No Longer on Mute Youth Art Project.
Run by the City of Greater Bendigo, this curated public art project aims to use as many of the submissions as possible and feature them in a display on both sides of the Pennyweight Walk Open Air Gallery.
The City's Bendigo Venues and Events Acting Manager Jacoba Kelly said the project was designed to give children and young people a voice and creative outlet during this challenging time.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted young people significantly and deeply affected their ability to socialise, attend school, celebrate birthdays and pursue leisure and sporting activities," Ms Kelly said.
"No Longer on Mute is an opportunity to capture their thoughts and feelings in a creative way.
"I encourage young children, with help from their parents, and young people aged up to 25 years old to get involved and send in their submissions as I'm sure they will offer valuable insights on how the pandemic continues to affect them.
"There's no set theme for the text pieces, it could be reflections from the past 18 months, thoughts on how they are feeling right now, their hopes for the future, desires and dreams, messages to passers-by in Pennyweight Walk or something altogether unique - it's up to those contributing.
"There are a lot of display boards to fill and they are quite large, so there should be enough space for everyone's submissions, but if not, a selection of the work will be chosen that represents as wide a range of perspectives as possible.
"Once COVID-19 restrictions ease for public gatherings, we hope to hold a celebration where contributors will be invited to an official launch and see the display."
