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Lighting a FUSE in the youth arts sector

Lesley Graham summarises the themes and conversations at FUSE, the National Youth Performing Arts Summit, recently held in Sydney.

27 Jul 2022 8:21

Lesley Graham

A woman with dark bobbed hair and wearing a green knitted vest leans forward, her hands animated, photographed mid-discussion. Other people sit behind and around her though they are not in focus.

Performing Arts

Delegates at FUSE 2022, a three-day youth arts summit organised around the themes of connecting, sharing and advocating. Photo: Clare Hawley.

FUSE 2022 recently gathered 90 youth performing arts leaders and stakeholders at the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) headquarters on Pier 2/3 in the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct.

These concepts supported feedback about the value of the arts for young people drawn from the recent Young Creatives Australia survey, which cited: the importance of the transformative connections young people make; the provision of an outlet for being more able to cope; career possibilities; developing confidence to express things that are personally important; and a place to understand humanity and open possibilities to explore identity. An overarching theme was that youth performing arts focused on creating good humans.

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Lesley Graham

Lesley Graham has been active in dance and dance education for over 30 years. She is a regular reviewer for ArtsHub and Dance Australia, a curriculum consultant, and represents Ausdance National on the National Advocates for Arts Education (NAAE).