Come to the heart of outback NSW and hear the greatest stories never told. Outback Outloud season 3 - VILLAGES takes you to the most remote towns to hear stories and life experiences from the people that live there. Head out to Gulargambone, Nevertire, Goodoga, Grawin, Carinda and Lightning Ridge and meet the locals. This season also includes 3 bonus episodes on the Plaza Theatre re-opening in Coonamble as well as a live podcasting event! Check it all out here: https://audioboom.com/channels/5053567-outback-outloud
In 2024, the Outback Fashion Series visited Cobar, Bourke, Warren and Coonamble. With a strong focus on creative up-skilling in the region, we delivered textile printing and photoshoot days in all the towns through schools and local mum's and bub's groups.
This year we engaged local guest artists Maddy Hope-Hodgetts (Yapa Mali) and Kate Banks (By Banks).
In addition to this, we also held screen printing workshops for adults interested in learning more about printing fashion and sellable items.
Photos by Rainy King Photography.
See our 2024 video here
The Outback Fashion Series is delivered in partnership with Outback Arts and made possible with funding from The Regional Arts Fund and Creative Australia.
In February and April 2024, Signal travelled to Nyngan, Cobar, Warren, Wellington, Gilgandra, Mendoran, Dunedoo and Gulgong to deliver Wellness focused content creation workshops to over 150 young women.
Through brainstorming themes around social media and living in small communities, the groups used professional planning tools and pitched their ideas to each other.
The result was over 14 short videos with interviews, affirmations and vox pops about self-care.
Late 2023 saw the second Bungle Rumble Festival in Coonabarabran. Signal supported Yarn, Support, Connect - Coonabarabran Suicide Prevention and the local committee to secure funding, book production and bands and with social media promotion of the event. Bungle Rumble was a huge success in 2023. Pic of Issac Compton by Rainy King
In September, Signal headed out to Coonamble with guest artist Daniele Atkinson (Milk and Thistle Label) to kick start a new program with Outback Arts. Working every day in the Maker Space at the Creative Arts Centre, we supported the group to make sellable items using textile printing techniques (Screen Printing, stencilling and hand painting) all items made by the the Dhinawan Sisters are available now at the Outback Arts shop and online! https://www.shopoutbackarts.com.au/
The last week of May in 2023 saw us delver the 2nd Coonabarabran Music week. We facilitated free music and movement activities for participants aged 2-92. Including visiting the local retirement village and putting together a choir of residents, an activity that will now be ongoing at the centre.
Over the week, singers of all ages had access to group singing and private lessons at SPACE gallery as well as a free concert on Friday night attended by over 120 people.
We have loved seeing this program grow, massive thanks to Yarn, Support, Connect Suicide Prevention and Create NSW for supporting us.
On June 9th the small town of Warren celebrated it’s first Youth Festival. The whole week leading up, a group of 10 local youth attended workshops facilitated by Signal Creative and learned how to DJ on professional club decks. The result was an incredible set at the festival with seamless transitions and non stop dancing.
From March 20-April 15th, Signal Creative facilitated Outback Fashion Month. Over the month, nearly 200 women from Bourke, Brewarrina and Walgett printed textiles, made jewellery and participated in photo shoots. All the work culminated in a parade at the Baiame's Ngunnhu Festival Family and Culture day in Brewarrina.
Photos by Rainy King
Outback Fashion Month is delivered in partnership with Outback Arts.
Contributing artists in alphabetical order: Belinda Boney, Caroline Wallace, Cheryl Penrith, Dandaloo Su, Debbie Wood, Debra Beale, Elsie Manson, Emma Hoy, Jamie-Lea Trindall, Lily Shearer, Maddy Hodgetts, Rainy King, Sally Beale, Urayne Warraweena
Thank you to our regional partners Redi.E, Moogahlin Performing Arts, Brewarrina LALC, Brewarrina ACFC.
Made possible with funding support from Australian Government RISE fund
On Saturday March 25th, Signal Creative were lucky enough to host the very first Coonabarabran Pride Festival. The afternoon was a huge success, seeing community members of all ages stay all afternoon to enjoy music, food and drag shows from Tamworth’s own Missy Sparkles. Massive thank you to Yar, Support Connect for getting us invovled.
Signal Creative supported the Bungle Rumble festival committee to host the first ever Bungle Rumble in Coonabarabran. The festival was free to attend and featured local bands, brand new singers from the town and headliners The Black Sorrows. Attended by over 3000 people, the Bungle Rumble was a huge success!
Signal supported by organising the stage and production for the event and booking the headline act as well as scheduling and stage managing on the day. We can’t wait for Bungle Rumble next year!
Signal travelled to St George and Dirranbandi in South-West QLD to deliver 3 podcasting workshops to locals, we delivered a professional development focused workshop at the Hub in St George as well as a fun interviewing activity at the Dirranbandi State School for year 9 and 10 students.
These workshops were funded by an Arts Queensland RADF grant and supported by Balonne Shire Council.
Signal Creative’s ‘The Gravity’ is a contemporary dance and aerial arts program that ran in the school holidays across 7 LGA’s in NSW. The Gravity was free to attend and encouraged over 120 participants to dance in the air! Thanks to funding from Create NSW and support from Outback Arts.
In 2022 Signal Creative travelled to Warren, Nyngan and Coonamble, interviewing over 300 people for Outback Outloud Season 2. We travelled to the Beemunnel, Nyngan Show, Local Aboriginal Land Councils and so much more!
Outback Outloud is made in partnership with Outback Arts with funding support from the Australia Council of the Arts and Create NSW.
Catch all of Outback Outloud on podcasting platforms everywhere or stream on the web here.
April 2022 saw the launch of Walgett Fashion week. The culmination of 3 years work, the week involved making workshops, with guest artists Krystal Hurst (Gillawarra Arts) and Photographer Prudence Upton (Sydney Opera House). And styling and photo shoots with guest photographer Rainy King. The event reached the towns of Bourke and Brewarrina through free workshops and a parade at the Baiames Ngunnhu festival. In 2023 we look to grow the offering into ‘Outback Fashion Month’ with our partners Outback Arts, Redi.E and Moogahlin Performing Arts.
Phase 1 of Outback Outloud saw Signal Creative partnering with Outback Arts to travel to Walgett, Brewarrina, Bourke and Cobar. We facilitated interviewing workshops using smartphone apps as well as opening a Story Booth where everyone was welcome to come and record their story. The tour was a massive success with over 100 interviews recorded.
The result is season 1 of the Outback Outloud podcast.
The very first Girls Rock! Sydney was in 2018 at the Factory Theatre in Enmore - Signal Creative curated and facilitated the workshop program for the entire week - including workshops on Beatmaking, Music History, Artist Identity, Gender Diversity and Screen Printing. Bringing together a powerhouse team of facilitators for the week-long program.
In 2017 Signal also delivered one of their signature workshops 'Creative Gains' at Girls Rock! Canberra. We looks forward to being involved with Girls Rock! Nationally ongoing.
Signal Creative have been Travelling to the Pilbara since 2018 to collaborate on ‘Life Stories’ with historian Mary Anne Jebb.
The project is ongoing and involves oral histories, music and environmental sound recording in the W.A communities of Port Hedland and Karratha.
In addition to the audio and visual production for this project, Signal Creative are working alongside linguists at IBN to create a local archive which is owned and controlled by the community.
This project is in partnership with the IBN Corporation and works with community elders as well as youth, empowering everyone to tell their story.
As a response to the COVID-19 lockdown, we created an 8-part tutorial series featuring artists from all over Australia.
Filmed on smartphones in their homes, Signal Creative edited and finished the films remotely. Artists were engaged to create free activities for people in lockdown including Making Wearable Art, Singing, Beads, Styling Up, Comic Drawing, Painting and Beatmaking.
All these videos can be seen on our YouTube channel.
These videos were made possible with funding assistance from the Australia Council for the Arts.
WARREN ‘Drylands/Wetlands’
In 2018, Signal commenced a 3 year engagement with the young women at Warren Central School (all students in years 5-10). Creating original music, performance and dance inspired by the surrounding areas around each town. We presented the first performance in March 2019 at the Window on the Wetlands centre with Dance, Poetry and a community Q and A panel all created and presented by the participants.
This project is a partnership with Outback Arts.
Signal travelled to Central Western NSW and worked with The Galaxy Girls to create NEON CAVES for Springfest which was held in Wellington. This initial production was made possible with support from the Country Arts Support Program and Orana Arts. With support from Signal's successful crowdfunding campaign, The Galaxy Girls toured NEON CAVES to the Enlighten Festival In Canberra.
The show combines soundscapes, movement and vocalisations inspired by the Cathedral Cave in Wellington. The over-arching concepts for the show were created by The Galaxy Girls with support and mentoring from Signal Creative. The Galaxy Girls are aged between 10 and 16 years old and all a part of the Beyond Barbed Wire Daughters and Reconnect programs which hare run through Barnardos in the Central West.
Wellington NSW
Signal Creative partnered with WINS Community Centre in 2021 to create a series of Youth-directed videos.
With Support from Jeffery Amatto, the youth lead interviews with Jeff about his experiences with Drugs and Alcohol. On the second day of workshops Jeff interviewed the youth about their own experiences. The result is a suite of 5 YouTube videos.
Check them all our on our YouTube Channel
Season 1 and 2 of the Signal Creative Podcast feature interviews, stories and song from female artists all over Australia.
Check out in-depth interviews with Krystal Hurst, Natalie Bateman and Petrina Milas as well as our ‘People of Dickson’ episode profiling women that have worked at a local shopping centre for decades.
Available on all podcasting platforms now - have a listen here.
Coonamble
The Women Outfront Exhibition featured work from programs in collaboration with Signal Creative and Outback Arts. Work from the 'River Stories' exhibition in Walgett as well as 'Drylands Wetlands' from Warren and 'Creative Women's Week' were all on display at the Outback Arts gallery in Coonamble.
The Exhibition was part of building the Signal Creative Network and was assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
Free Music workshops and Karaoke Party
Signal Creative travelled to Coonabarabran to run free music workshops, vocal group, private singing lessons and one awesome Karaoke party! The program was a massive success seeing over 100 participants using the new SPACE gallery to sing and make music together. This trip was made possible with funding assistance from the Australia Council for the Arts as well as support from Kodi Brady at the Warrambungle Shire, Creatives Collective and our friends at Breakthru, Mackillop, Barnardos and the Aboriginal Heath Service.
We had an amazing time at the town camps in Alice Springs with Music NT. The Sista Sounds and Desert Divas program has been running in towns and remote communities for a few years now and it's so inspiring to see the change that it's made to the musical landscape by supporting, teaching and providing opportunities for young Aboriginal women in the NT.
Over the week of Sista Sounds, we were making beats with young girls after school, playing songs and singing with ladies in the community centres and helping women write songs about their lives and their country.
A massive thank you to the other mentors and Music NT for sharing this experience with us.
Wagga Wagga
For NAIDOC week we travelled to Wagga Wagga and ran workshops on Digital Storytelling including sessions focusing on recording, editing and interviewing.
We can’t wait to get back to Wagga Wagga this year and continue our work empowering women to tell and capture their stories.
Tell your story is a part of the Signal Creative network and has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.
