PA & Video Equipment

In August 2001, Network submitted for funding through the Community Development Support Expenditure grants scheme to purchase musical equipment. The equipment was to provide live performance opportunities for young local musicians and young audiences in St George. By purchasing our own equipment, Network could avoid the significant costs associated with hiring PA systems for every event we organise, while gaining the capacity to train young people and youth workers to operate this equipment - thus providing employment and event management opportunities. We received funding from:

• Hurstville RSL Memorial Club - $8,000
• St George League's Club - $2,000
• Riverwood Legion & Community Club - $1,000
• St George Masonic Club - $500

These donations purchased a 16 channel mixing desk, amplifiers, EQ, front of house & sub-woofer speakers, microphones, stands, leads, roadcases & a multicore.

The PA was first used to stage live entertainment during Youth Week 2002. Over 200 young people attended this concert at St George PCYC, which featured young local bands as performers. Since then, the PA has enabled other events and venues throughout the region, including performances at Shopfront Theatre, Youth Zone Youth Centre and many more.

Hurstville City Council and the Music Industry College utilised the PA equipment to run a course for unemployed young people in May 2002. Along with an Event Management Course, this culminated in the Live From Mars event in June at Shopfront.

Through funds from Reconnect and the Young Women's Project, Network purchased a digital video camera and iMac laptop computer with video editing software in late 2001. This equipment has been used for several successful film-making projects, including:

• Kirinari Krew - with residents at Kirinari Aboriginal Youth Hostel
• Behind the Lines - with Arabic boys at Hurstville Boy's High
• Social Action Kit Video - from the Young Women's Project kit

Both Kirinari Krew and Behind the Lines made the showreel for Silent Cells, the Youth Film Festival screened around NSW in National Youth Week.

As well as screening in Hurstville, these films were shown in Leichhardt, Grafton, Wagga Wagga. We are lucky to have Silent Cells operating from St George - in less than a year their video workshops have given access to young people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, including indigenous, Arabic and refugee young people living and studying in St George.

Advances in affordable technology have made video and related arts a growing industry, and even our basic equipment can provide disadvantaged young people with opportunities to develop skills and careers. Our video equipment was used in a free film-making workshop for young people funded by Hurstville City Council in the lead-up to the Enter the Dragon Film Festival in 2002. The result was a short film, Afternoon with Gladys, which was entered in the film festival. Young film-makers featured prominently in the festival awards, and the opportunities for skills development and cultural expression are hopefully the start of something much bigger. More arts-based workshops are planned. We hope that our new resources can help to establish training pathways in the arts industry, through youth services and schools, to courses run by TAFE and other accredited training providers.

We are trying to identify appropriate venues for under 18s events throughout St George to increase usage of the PA equipment. Establishing regular live performances and venues in the region will, we hope, provide opportunities for practical experience for young people involved in training and organising these events. Network's PA and video equipment is available for Network members and other community organisations to hire at very reasonable rates - please make use of it! Hire fees will pay for maintaining and upgrading the equipment in future years, as well as providing Network with a small but hopefully steady income stream. Who knows… we may even spawn the next silverchair or Baz Luhrman!

Click here to download Network's Equipment Hire policy and booking form.