Midsumma Matters with House of Muchness
Conversations and creative experiences exploring issues of concern to LGBTQIA+ youth.
Over one day, as part of Midsumma Festival, families to LGBTQIA+ young people aged 6 to 18 can come and participate in workshop panels with a difference, hosted by centre for youth creativity, House of Muchness.
The morning session, A Minor Adjustment, is for families with children aged 6-12 years, and the afternoon session, A Not So Small Talk, is for all people, artists and queer practitioners.
Register online to attend, for your free tickets.
10.30am–11.30am or 12.15pm–1.15pm | The Edge
A creative participatory experience for families. For the first time, Midsumma Matters is co-created by young people. Road-test your risk appetite, or experience a deconstructed panel event, hosted by the next generation of artists and culture-makers.
Young artists at House of Muchness invite adults and children (aged 6-12 years) to check out your current levels of fun and play, messiness and grossness, adventure and risk-taking. Regularly considered qualities of childhood, we reckon they’re necessary qualities for the best kind of humans no matter your age. Come along and see how you measure up. Don’t worry – you’ll probably just need A Minor Adjustment.
Accessibility notes: The second discussion will be Auslan interpreted.
2.30pm–4pm | The Edge
Hosted by the teenagers of House of Muchness. All people are invited to join the artists, creatives and community leaders involved in Midsumma’s Queer Imaginings program – but instead of speeches or panels, join us at chat circles hosted by teenagers armed with abundant bread baskets. Young people will ask the questions, and create playful systems of understanding and interpretation. Because discussion is better with food, and probably doubly better if you fully get it.
Accessibility notes: The discussion will be Auslan interpreted.
About House of Muchness:
House of Muchness (HOM) was founded in 2016 by youth arts practitioner Alex Walker. Muchness is your you-ness, your oomph, your grit and substance, your core character, your spark, your bestness, the fullest version of you. House of Muchness is a centre for creativity with young people. Workshops and projects for 5 to 17-year-olds happen within an inclusive culture of creative risk-taking and artistic experimentation. Arts processes are used to arrive at new material which reveals the contemporary condition of young people and their complex relationship with the world. This is an environment where young people can belong to a collective and build social relatedness, artistic expression and find their creative kin.
About Alex Walker:
Alex Walker is a youth arts practitioner making live art with a cross-section of young people at the point where the spheres of children, arts, culture, and politics intersect. Alex works across contexts, heavily invested in carving out a place for the voice and position of the young person to have an impact on their environment and community. Alex has held key artistic roles at St Martins Youth Arts Centre, Outback Theatre for Young People and Australian Theatre for Young People. In her roles to date, she has prepared young people to perform and participate as part of Melbourne Festival, Melbourne Fringe Festival, The Wheeler Centre, Arts Centre Melbourne, NGV, MPavilion, State Library Victoria, Testing Grounds, ArtsHouse, Theatreworks, Dark Mofo, Ten Days on the Island, Castlemaine Festival and Melbourne Town Hall. She has presented at State, National and International conferences dedicated to young people and the arts.
Presented by Midsumma Festival, Fed Square and House of Muchness.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.