Youth Week in the City
Youth Week is a yearly recognition of young people aged 12 to 25 years. At 'Youth Week in the City' everyone is welcome to immerse themselves in the art, music and poetry of young people who can jump into events designed just for them to connect, celebrate and be active.
Youth Week in the City is proudly supported by the City of Adelaide.
Young person spotlight
Meet Mikayla
Age: 15
Instrument you play: Percussion
What inspired you to join the Youth Orchestra, and how has being a part of it enriched your musical journey?
After joining the South Australian Music Camp, I discovered the world of classical percussion, and it was unlike the usual drumkit playing I had been doing for the 3 years prior. Within a week, I fell in love with instruments like the timpani and tambourine and began working towards joining the Youth Orchestra. Being a part of the Youth Orchestra has enriched my music journey by improving my proficiency as a musician and providing me many opportunities to play beautiful and challenging music.
Can you share a memorable experience or performance you've had while being a member of the Youth Orchestra?
One of my most memorable performances was the End of Year concert of 2023. The percussion ensemble performed the piece Escape Velocity by Dave Hall. It was one of the most challenging pieces I had played that year, and I was so proud seeing how far the ensemble had come after the concert.
How do you balance your commitment to the Orchestra with other aspects of your life, such as school or other activities?
To ensure a balance between my school and music life, I try to only work on schoolwork during weekdays and focus on the youth orchestra on weekends. However, I also like to blend my involvement in the orchestra with my schoolwork, giving me an enjoyable time both in school and in my personal life.
In what ways do you think participating in the Youth Orchestra has contributed to your personal growth and development, both musically and in other areas of your life?
The Youth Orchestra has contributed to the development of my confidence and collaboration skills. Given the smaller numbers in the percussion section, I was pushed out of my comfort zone and had to take up leadership roles and put in more initiative. This taught me the ins and outs of running a percussion section in an orchestra and improved my self-confidence. Since joining the Youth Orchestra, I find myself being more outgoing and more comfortable to step into leadership roles.
What is your favourite place to visit in the City of Adelaide?
I enjoy visiting Rundle Mall as it has a variety of stores to go to after a long rehearsal.
You can see Mikayla perform with The Adelaide Youth Orchestra on Saturday 23 March at Elder Hall, see the event listed above.
Meet H.Fleming
Age: 22
Get to know Hamish Fleming
Hamish Fleming is a 22-year-old contemporary realist painter in Adelaide (Kaurna Country). They use still life and portraiture to address the shared experience of contemporary life.
I sat down with them in their studio at The Mill Adelaide arts hub to talk about life as a young artist.
What inspired you to be an artist and how did you discover your passion for it?
Fleming says they always enjoyed drawing. In high school they switched from maths to arts on a whim, “and that was it, I was done,” they loved it straightaway. Winning a National Summer Arts Scholarship led to a trip to the National Art Gallery in Canberra, which “really kicked it through. "I started exhibiting when I was 17. I was pretty determined to get it moving as quickly as possible.”
How have you developed your practice as a young artist?
"I’m doing a job," Fleming explains. A day focused on painting may be from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, while other days may be renewing an ABN, taking promo images for social media, and replying to emails.
After trying and not liking art school Fleming has chosen a self-taught approach. “I train myself quite methodically” they say, drawing on resources, mentors, books from the 1920s, developing practical knowledge and “getting into an ongoing practice of self-critique which is an interesting thing to learn” as you need to learn to improve as well as what your strengths are.
Fleming recognises that gaining a space in The Mill has been a 'game changer' where there is a community of support and opportunity, and a stable work studio space. (The Mill Creative Studios are funded through a Cultural Strategic Partnership with City of Adelaide)
How do you balance your commitment to art with other aspects of your life?
“That is definitely something I am learning at the moment; it turns out having a personal life outside of my work (art) or my other work can be quite nice,” Fleming reports. “When I started out, I did not have any concept of my time being valuable because I had plenty of it.” But as I get busier and learn from experience “I am learning to be more defensive of my time.”
What advice do you have for other young people starting out on their creative journey?
Take on a balance of criticism and compliments. “If you tune out all the critiques then your work is not going to improve. If you take your critiques from anywhere and you don’t take any of the compliments, then you are just going to feel awful. And that doesn’t help you improve either. It’s really a happy middle ground.”
"Keep doing it," – is advice I got when I was younger over Instagram from Ben Quilty. "I thought was absolutely useless and I got really mad about,” but now sitting here six years later, Fleming concedes, this was spot on.
What is your favourite place to visit in the city?
“I love the Central Markets and love Café Zuma, which is open late Friday night. One of Fleming's favourite memories is sitting outside at about 8:30 on a Friday night in winter drinking a little espresso thinking “this is nice, this is great.”
You are also likely to see them getting coffee at Intersection Traders, and Café Troppo.
Exhibitions and talks with H. Fleming
Kinetic Structures, Adelaide Town Hall, 19 January to 5 April 2024. A curated group exhibition delivered through Creative Sparks, part of the Early Career Curator Program, an initiative of the City of Adelaide.
Kinetic Structures: Curator and Artist Talk, 21 March – see event information in our Youth Week in the City events above.
Within/Without, Intersection Traders / Some Where House, 1 to 31 March, 258 Pulteney Street, Adelaide. A solo exhibition.
Ngaru mularta / Chalk Sticks
Ngaru mularta | Chalk Sticks installation was created as part of the Welcoming Spaces for Young People which celebrates the importance of young people to the city’s culture.
The space also includes the Sedi; an environmentally friendly solar powered smart bench incorporating lighting and phone charging responding to the consultation and the desire to create an environmentally friendly space. Chalk sticks is in Victoria Square / Tarntanyangga.
The AdLib Hour - Studying Adelaide
Hear stories from International Students within our community who have shared their journey, struggles, and hopes and dreams for the future.
More information, resources and events
- Youth | DHS - Department of Human Services
- Physical activity - how to get active when you are busy - Better Health Channel
- Get in to life to keep your headspace healthy - Headspace
- Headspace Adelaide | Facebook - Headspace
- Headspace Adelaide (@headspaceadelaide) | Instagram - Headspace
- YACSA – Youth Affairs Council of South Australia