It’s art, but not as you know it: Teens lead strangers in night-walking tour of Werribee

Teenagers wandering around in the dark of night might sound like risky business, but in this instance it’s an inspired project designed to bring together two groups who, traditionally at least, have issues.

Nightwalks with Teenagers is exactly what the name suggests – a series of walks designed by teens – and it’s coming to Werribee this week, as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

“It’s all about flipping the hierarchy, having the teenagers lead and the adults follow,” says Virginia Antonipillai of Toronto-based art collective Mammalian Diving Reflex, which has been helping young adults around the world create this style of event for just over a decade.

Local coordinators source youths interested in taking part – in this instance, it’s the Wyndham Cultural Centre led by arts officer Betiel Beyin, who also works on the Werribee project as a local producer.

About 15 teenagers were involved in a series of workshops as they developed the event. The first session was about the group getting to know each other so they could get used to talking to strangers, becoming more confident and “putting themselves out there”.

The Age is strengthening its focus on Melbourne’s booming west with a special series examining the positives and challenges the region faces. Later this month, our reporters will moderate a West of Melbourne Economic Development Alliance (WoMEDA) summit to discuss a vision for the western suburbs’ success. The alliance of university, industry, community and local government experts works to unlock the west’s economic potential.

One early exercise for Nightwalks is the teen scavenger hunt, in which the youths are split into groups and given lists of traits they have to find in each other. Questions include get-to-know-you-quickly ideas.

Then, the group scouts the neighbourhood for special places, talking about why they matter.

There’s a lot of brainstorming, says Antonipillai. “We really lean on the interests of the young people. Every iteration is very different – we provide the framework and the process, but we hand it off to them.

“It’s on the Mammalian team to learn the personalities and interests of the young people and bring that into the walks,” she says. “It’s high intensity, it’s a lot of fun but the essence of it is the conversations the adults and teenagers have – to share a safe space to have those bonding moments and to participate in these fun moments.”

Nightwalks have been staged in the US, Japan, Germany, South Korea and Italy. Last October, the event came to Townsville at the North Australian Festival of Arts. Many members of the Mammalian team on the ground for the Werribee series, including Antonipillai, came through the program as teens themselves.

It’s an art project and social experiment simultaneously, which allows the teens to be heard in a way they might not have been previously.

Antonipillai describes it as “a social equaliser, breaking down the barriers between adults and teens”.

As well as seeing how teenagers “take up space in the city”, she says the walks underline the idea that “we’re all in this together, we’re walking on this path, on this route together; it’s bringing two different groups together and seeing what happens.”

Participant Elisha, 17, says the project is different to usual art forms. “It’s not putting on a play or acting, you’re just being yourself. That’s such an interesting vulnerability to explore,” she says.

“We are taking adults and community members through the streets of Werribee and telling them the locations that are special to us or hold memories for us. It’s such an interesting way to build connection and a way to show that even despite generational differences, we are still the same.

“It’s a bit daunting, especially to share with strangers. I’ve lived in the area my whole life, and I am doing the program with my best friend. We have this tree we carved our names into about four years ago, and on the walk we’re showing that tree,” Elisha says. “It’s such a good way for us to reminisce, and I’m excited to share that.”

Ellis, 16, say the project has been a joy: he’s excited to meet attendees, to start “talking to them and inviting them into our worlds, getting to be on a more one-to-one, intimate level.”

“What Mammalian aims to do is create art that can be really felt on a different page, that the audience will connect with. [You’re] not watching and absorbing the art in front of you, you are interacting with it and changing the outcome of it.”

The Mammalian team has devised another event for this year’s Fringe Festival, called Speed Dating with Cacti. During the exercise in mindfulness held at the Royal Botanic Gardens later this month, participants meet a botanist, a neuroscientist, a dharma teacher, a comedian, an 88-year old with Alzheimer’s, someone with a brain injury, a group of teens and a few walking meditators.

Night Walks with Teenagers is part of Melbourne Fringe Festival and runs October 9-11.

The West of Melbourne Summit, presented by WoMEDA with The Age, will be held on October 22-23. For details go to womeda.com.au

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