Chi Nguyen at the portable studio which will offer Brimbank residents a chance to discuss multiculturalism with the community. 70137 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
BY NATALIE GALLENTI
BRIMBANK youngsters are being encouraged to create new works through various mediums with the launch of the Talking Difference Portable Studio at Sunshine Library earlier this month.
Talking Difference is an online media project, developed by Museum Victoria, aimed at promoting diversity and challenging discrimination.
The portable studio will feature new technology, including a touch screen, HD camera, microphone and lights, to allow people to view multimedia content produced by others and then respond with their own video, audio, text and drawing. Sessions will be led by a group of young people to help others develop their skills.
The studio will be touring Brimbank from September to November.
Brimbank Council welcomed the project, particularly as it is hoped to facilitate conversations centred on cultural differences.
“We’re home to people speaking over 150 different languages and this gives them another voice. The beauty of this project is that the voice doesn’t need to be in English. Now that’s really talking difference,” Brimbank chair of administrators Peter Lewinsky said.
“Talking Difference will help strengthen our community further by widening understanding and acceptance of our cultural differences.”
Following its tour of Brimbank Council libraries, the studio will visit other organisations and will then have a home at the Immigration Museum’s “Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours” exhibition.
David Henry, senior programs officer from Immigration Museum, said the strength of the project was that communities involved were taking charge of new technologies to create their own conversations about diversity and difference.
“Through the project, people not only become new media makers but also become champions for sharing ideas and dialogue about cultural identity and tolerance,” Mr Henry said.
