In the past, graffiti and the Internet have been cited by some as negative aspects of youth culture, but combine the two and you get a very different story. With support from Film Victoria and the Australian Council for the Arts, the Frankston Arts Centre has created Graffiti Online. This website allows youth to share ideas via an online forum and view digital artwork by participants of Graffiti Online workshops. Workshops, run at the Arts Centre, teach skills in areas such as video art, short films, flash animations, sound design and more.
Frankston Councillor, Suzette Trewhitt, is a member of the Frankston Arts Centre Committee. She said the new site is a place for young people to have fun, learn about digital arts and promote their talents to a wider audience.
“The Graffiti Online website is a great place to see work produced by the youth of Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula,” she said. “The program is aimed at 14 to 22 year olds. It gives them exposure as new media artists both locally and worldwide and provides them with an insight into new media.”
A competition is currently running for site visitors to create a virtual marketing campaign, with the winner taking home a new i-pod. There will also be an exhibition at Cub3e 37, Council’s multi media gallery. It will profile all work from the Graffiti Online website until mid May.
Arts Development Coordinator, Merryn Tinkler, is expecting some impressive entries to the competition. She said that Graffiti Online is a unique way for young people in Frankston to embrace this type of art.
“Many young people in our region are extremely talented in the area of digital arts,” she said. “The Graffiti Online Web site and workshops make this kind of activity far more accessible than it has been previously.”
In the web site’s first week in January, it received 11,000 visits.
To view the site visit www.graffitionline.tv
