Palestinian Community of WA | is a group of people who have a Palestinian background, are Palestinian migrants and generational Palestinian Australians focused on promoting strong relationships, wellbeing, and assisting the needs within their community while also facilitating integration and promoting roles for youth in the community. Their project, Palestinian Threads and Stitches: A Tapestry of Home and Diaspora, which received financial and mentor support through the Dream Plan Do program focused on Palestinian tatreez – a traditional type of embroidery which stands as a material embodiment of cultural heritage and stories. Bringing together twelve Palestinian women living in Western Australia, the participants stitched their stories together in to a tapestry reflecting their personal history as well as the overall diaspora of Palestinians. The group then held an exhibition to display these material outcomes and share their narratives with a wider audience. 📸 Palestinian Threads and Stitches. Image: Michelle Troop courtesy of CAN
CREA | created by Colombian migrants to Perth. The organisation sees clowning as a method for sparking joy, social connection, and mental health support. Their workshops are aimed towards those who may be experiencing emotional or financial hardship and are unable to access social safety nets like Medicare, mental health support and income support.
Their Dream Plan Do project, called Migration of Me were a series of workshops designed to guide participants through aspects of artistic expression in an effort to encourage them to utilise this tool to help them cope with life’s challenges. Participants were encouraged to develop their own clown persona as well, giving an outlet to their personal creative thoughts and ideas.
📸 CREA Clowning Performance. Image: Evelyn Vargas
Western Empire | started by members of the South Sudanese community to share their cultural traditions of music, dance, and wrestling with the Western Australian community. By holding regular meetings, the group can learn South Sudanese culture and language – giving young people an outlet to link up and preserve their culture while gaining mental health benefits through community connectedness. Their produced and mentored project via Dream Plan Do involved five weeks of music and dance workshops for participants from ten different South Sudanese tribes which culminated in a community showcase celebrating the dance and song they had learned in that time. 📸 Western Empire community celebration // Image: Marnie Richardson