Mandurah theatre maker Ruby Liddelow has received a professional development grant through the 2017 West Australian Regional Arts Summit.
Ms Liddelow said she was excited to be a receipt of the Next Level YCulture Regional grant and to have attended the four-day summit. The event brought together art workers, artists and performers from across the state and Australia.
"The Next Level grant has given me the opportunity to develop my arts practice with prominent Australian theatre practitioners, and share those skills with Mandurah's youth theatre company Riptide,” Ms Liddelow said.
“The… summit offered me a great opportunity to make in-roads with the artists and arts workers from all over regional WA, build connections, develop my practice and learn more about the amazing work happening in our regional communities.
“I really love to lighten peoples lives by getting them to step out of a world that might be more static and to have… a fun, unique sensory experience that they might not usually have. I just really love to bring that sense of play that gets lost after childhood, back to peoples lives.”
Ms Liddelow along with Denmark visual artist Samala Ghosh, and Albany dancer Rita Bush received the grants through the Next Level YCulture Regional program, presented by Country Arts WA and Drug Aware with support from Creative Regions.
The three recipients will continue on with their professional development next year with regular support from Country Arts WA, each other and their regional artist mentors.
Ms Liddelow said the grant would give her the opportunity to “level up”.
“It will really help me,” she said.
“I think i'm travelling in a directorial direction. Having experience as a director I'll be about to go out, in to the world.
Ms Liddleow said while she had gone a long way in regional WA, however opportunities were unfortunately limited.
“I’ve got this experience because I’m working on bits and pieces as… a senior member of Riptide, but there’s one or two others who have just left school. In a couple of years time will I be standing in their way because the opportunity in Mandurah is limited?”
The Next Level YCulture Regional program provides emerging Western Australian artists and arts workers aged 18 to 26 years with a fantastic opportunity to take their creative careers to the next level through professional development initiatives, partnerships, networks and mentors. For more information, visit www.countryartswa.asn.au or call regional freecall 1800 811 883 or 08 9200 6200.
