Studio Off the Street makes a splash in Alice Springs
BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE
A new Salvation Army program in Alice Springs is offering Indigenous Australians a chance to earn income from their paintings.
Alice Springs Salvation Army Doorways launched Studio Off the Street on Wednesday 24 July, with five attendees from the local area producing beautiful traditional artworks in an outdoor setting. The program is targeted at reaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who paint in a cultural style.
Doorways Coordinator Emmanuel Migi said the initiative allowed local community members to socialise and showcase their cultural communication skills and talents through artistic expression and painting. Staff at the weekly program offer free paint, brushes and paper to attendees. The completed artworks can then be sold, with each artist keeping the profits.
“Because of the social and economic challenges here, there are a lot of people who have the skills but don’t have the resources [needed] to be able to make use of their skills,” he said.
Emmanuel first got the idea through assisting with Studio Off the Street in Darwin, where the program first began in 2018 as a way to engage local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members. When he transferred to Alice Springs, he realised the model could work in that environment, too.
Emmanuel said he hoped for three key benefits for community members attending the program and that profits from paintings could make a significant financial difference for participants.
“The first thing is they will come together and socialise,” he said. “[Then], to be able to display their ability, talents and skills.
“And at the end of that, they will take the paintings and sell [them] for some financial gain.”
Studio Off the Street is being held on Thursdays after The Waterhole breakfast program at Alice Springs Salvation Army Corps.
The view a Salvos Studios video of the Darwin Studio Off the Street program, click here.
