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Mountainous Barriers
Words by Markos, 28 VIC Artist statement: – This is a simple but honest piece that illustrates the challenges of getting a job when you have mental health issues. While it’s difficult to climb those hills and mountains, it’s not impossible. Doubt and stress can be overcome by talking to someone or getting professional help. Just doing…
The Stigma of Staying After High School
Words by Sol, 19 WA With a population of just under 2 million people, Perth lags behind other Australian cities such as Sydney (5.23 million) and Melbourne (4.94 million). Still, Perth has all the landmarks of a capital city, from a bustling CBD to diverse communities and even an international airport. Yet I never thought…
What a Time to be Alive
Digital artwork by Julianna, 26 VIC This piece was a finalist of the Youth Summit Creative Competition 2020. I like to use Instagram. I discovered the abilities of sharing quick Instagram stories which act for me like ‘time capsule memories.’ The phone screen becomes like a digital art canvas for my musings, quotes and photography….
The Top Ten Lies your Careers Counsellor Told You
Words by Brianna, 21 QLD This piece was a finalist of the Youth Summit Creative Competition 2020. 1. You have three pathways after leaving high school. The first is to go to university. A degree in anything will earn you millions of dollars. (Please note: this option is only available to students with an ATAR…
Side Effects May Include
Submission by Julia. 24 VIC This piece was a finalist of the Youth Summit Creative Competition 2020. Artist Statement: – ‘I created this piece to highlight the impact that mental health can have on maintaining meaningful employment. As a young person who suffers from depression and anxiety, as well as chronic pain, I have a…
A Young Australian’s Voice
Recording & Words by Imogen, 21 VIC This piece was a finalist of the Youth Summit Creative Competition 2020. In this audio piece, Imogen responds to the numerous employment barriers young people face today, including what it feels like to be part of the first graduating class to be entering the Australian workforce during a…
The Interview
Words by Hardeep, 28 NSW This piece was the Winner of the Youth Summit Creative Competition 2020. The tapping of the receptionist’s acrylic nails is making my nerves jump. I made it twenty minutes early and am now sitting on a navy sofa in my tight pencil skirt, watching people race back and forth like…
Meandering Mind
Words by Joanita, 24 NSW I always thought I knew what I wanted – but the longer I spend searching the job market, the more I understand how options can be both liberating and confining. I used to have no patience for ambivalent people. I tapped my foot when a person at the front of…
The Pressure of Productivity
Words by Imogen, 26 QLD If you had asked me at the beginning of March what my plans were in the upcoming month, I would have told you that I was gearing up to work at two Comic-Cons (London and Birmingham), possibly accepting a promotion at work and counting down the days until my Dad…
Baby, it’s Coaled Outside – An open letter to the Prime Minister
Words by Tamara, 29 NSW Dear Mr. Morrison, 2020 will go down in history as the year of “essentials”. Essential workers, essential services, just the essentials at the supermarket. There’s nothing like a global pandemic to reveal what we really need to pull through. I would like to meet just one person who didn’t need the arts…
