Dare to Dream

dare to dream

💫🌈✨🌎🎨

dare to dream 💫🌈✨🌎🎨

When you envision a more just and joyful world - what do you dare to dream of?

This is the guiding question that connects and grounds the work of a passionate group of Youth Inc students, who dare to dream of a fairer future and who take action to shape the worlds they dream of and need. Known as the Imagination Factory (IF) Crew, the collective of young change shapers exhibiting at and curating this exhibition, meet weekly at Youth Inc to explore, express and bring to life their creative visions for the future.

The group's inception was inspired by the Imagination Declaration, a powerful call to action co-created by a group of young First Nations people at the Youth Forum at Garma, facilitated by AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentorship Experience) in 2019. The IF Crew's collective work is an emergent response to the young Indigenous leaders' call to see young people as the solution, not the problem and is guided by AIMEs ongoing work, leading a global movement to harness imagination and unlikely connections to create a fairer world. 

Photos by Aston Hawkins-Nicholls

‘Echoes from the Void’ by Koa & Xira

“This collaborative collage piece explores the relationship between First Nations Peoples and non-Indigenous people when considering how to move forward to create a happy and healthy world. Historically and currently, First Nations Peoples experience oppression in all forms. This piece aims to shed light on the possibilities of a First Nations lead future. We seek to convey the impact of colonisation, how non-Indigenous people benefit from it, and how we should look to First Nations Peoples to provide us all with a better future.” - Koa - a proud Wirangu and Kokatha Person & Xira

‘Collage Coasters’ by Taila-Jane

“My coasters represent (a few) ideals I have and think are a valuable way to try and think about the world, how we approach situations in our lives and interact with the people around us. I value acceptance, the lives of animals and better treatment towards our future generation/s, and I value a way for people to research and explore in an unbiased format. These are what my project represents.” - Taila-Jane

‘Be Mad’ by Angel

“Be Mad is about the suppression Indigenous people have and still are experiencing. This suppression comes from Australians and Australian culture. It disgusts me how Indigenous people are being treated and how much they had to fight for when it was a given to white people. I want to help change this to give Indigenous people their rights.  There are many news headlines and articles within this piece, some coming from the official government website themselves. Some headlines may be wrong or misleading. Some promote and make claims that aren’t being met. Others are clear examples of racism towards Indigenous people. No matter which way you hang this canvas, one of the two flags will be upside down. The ‘correct’ way to hang the canvas is with the Indigenous flag on top. If this makes you mad, good. Be mad. Now you know how Indigenous people feel. I created this piece through collage and watercolour paint.” - Angel