a reflection on my time with curiousworks — morgansully.com

8/21/2019 A Reflection on My Time With CuriousWorks morgansully.com

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morgansully.com

A Reflection on My Time WithCuriousWorks

Jan. 6, 2010 3min read original
http://morgansully.com/a-reflection-on-my-time-with-curiousworks/http://morgansully.com/a-reflection-on-my-time-with-curiousworks/


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Ive alwaysbeen afraidof two things bodiesof water(in which Icannot see the

bottom) andheights. At 7, Iwasstung by a jellyfish while swimming. That same

year, Ifell off a rock face andinto a crevice of fresh lava rock, gouging andslicing

my flesh asItumbledto the bottom it felt like Ifell formiles. Icame to dread

swimming an

dclimbing thing

s.
http://morgansully.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/IMG_2248.jpg


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Over20yearslater, Ifoundmyself milesin the airflying acrossthe worldslargest

body of water. All to work fora small organization calledCuriousWorks. Idnot

heardof them until just a fewweeksearlierandin a fewdays, Iwasgoing to be

helping them make mediawith kidsin the middle of the Pilbara a place few

Australians(let alone Americanslike me) everget the chance to see.

With just a single Tweetasthe trigger, Iwasgoing to be over10,000milesaway

from home, in the middle of a vast desert, in a country Idneverbeen to

Idove in.
http://www.memeshift.com/wp-content/gallery/archive/My%20Time%20in%20the%20Pilbara%20-%2016.jpghttp://twitter.com/edwardharran/status/3121839938http://www.curiousworks.com.au/


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http://www.memeshift.com/wp-content/gallery/archive/My%20Time%20in%20the%20Pilbara%20-%2006.jpg


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Some mornings, Ihadmagnificent dreamsandawoke to watch the sun rise overthe

desert landscape.
http://curiousworks.allaroundyou.com.au/2009/09/30/dreamtime-morning-for-the-win/http://curiousworks.allaroundyou.com.au/2009/10/05/sunrise-on-the-last-morning-in-marble-bar-october-3rd/


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Othermorningsgave me a taste of the complex realitiesof kidsin rural andremote

communities.

Andthiswasonly the first 5daysof my trip
http://curiousworks.allaroundyou.com.au/2009/10/02/reality/http://curiousworks.allaroundyou.com.au/2009/10/02/reality/


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My secondweek in Australia foundme in the small mining town of Newman,

Western Australia. Newman consistsof about 5,000people with an extra 2,000as

fly in fly out). It sitsabout 1200km north of Perth in the heart of the PilbaraDesert. Because of itsremote location, foodandwaterneedto be shippedin to

Newmansonly grocery store weekly. Pilbara literally, meansdry.

Theresa cultural thirst here too particularly forthe young people of Newman.

Pop cultural artifactslike StarWars, Twilight andSubway sandwichesare lapped

up. The kidsconstantly talk aboutwanting to see bandsin Perth. In deed, many

young people Newmanspotential future leaders endup leaving.

Because of this, BHP Billitonrecognizedthe needfora more sustainable and

permanent infrastructure something forthe long term. Thatswhere

CuriousWorkscame in.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHP_Billitonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilbara#Etymologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly-in_fly-outhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newman,_Western_Australiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newman,_Western_Australia


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Aspart of the BHP Iron Ore Legacy Projectandin partnershipwith Country Arts

WA, CuriousWorkshelpedNewmanskidsdevelop awide range of skillsthey could

put back in to theircommunity. Some of these skillswere gainedinterviewinglocalsoutside of school. Otherskillswere nurturedby developing a classwebsite.

Ourfinal part of the projectwasputting onNewmansfirst film festival.

In starting the project, SeniorAdvisorof Sustainability andCommunity Relations

forBHP Billiton, Scott Birdsaid:

We really want to contribute something significant to the town that demonstrates

BHP BillitonIron Orescommitment to creating liveable communitiesthat people

want to participate in forthe long term. We expect thisproject will create a lasting

impact on both the community membersandthe landscape of theNewman

Township.

Overthe next 12weeks, we workedwith teachers, studentsandparentsto buildthe

media capacity of Newmansyoung residents. We movedbetween 5different

locationsto conduct ourafterschool media-makingworkshopswhile teaching new

media classesin the primary andseniorhigh schools. It washectic, but a lot of fun

andthe kidsweworkedwith were very productive.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousworksphotos/sets/72157622764445046/http://www.countryartswa.asn.au/cms/cawa/pages/home.htmlhttp://newman.allaroundyou.com.au/2009/07/09/bhp-legacy-program/http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2572/3943289633_1cd959a258.jpg


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The project accomplishedsome great thingswith andforthe young people of

Newman:

Andyes, we felt happy to call them ourkids. They are awesome.

Whilewe accomplisheda lot while there,we were notwithout ourchallenges. For

one, we were outsiders, not just geographically, but culturally too; a Sri Lankan, a

Lebanesian, a snowwhite Australianwith a slight British accent andan Asian-

American made forsome curiousworkersin a predominantly white town. Therewere even a fewincidentswhere Iwonderedif Idbeen discriminatedagainst

because of my outsider ness. In a conversation Ihadwith a local school teacher,

she offhandedly referredto the film production, internet literacy development, and

photography we were doing with the kidsasnot real teaching.

Coming intoNewman, we also expectedto have a stable teaching space to meet

with the youth. We hadanything but. Not only didthe local youth centerclose down

aw

eek befor

ew

e arr

ived

, bu

t the places

w

ed

hoped

to condu

ct our

med

iaworkshopswere unreliable, in spite of the dedicatedeffortsof ourstaff andour

Newman partners. The recently closedyouth centerhadnt even been open a year.

Wherewere afterschool programsforyouth going to be held? Where were the

creative spaceskidscouldgo to continue theirlearning, playing andmaking when

the schoolsclosed? Whowouldleadthis?

Clearly, therewasandisa lot of work to do. Iwouldnt say the kidswe workedwith

were disadvantagedin the sense that Americans(like my self ) normally think

poverty, homelessness, language barriers. Idsay theirgreatest disadvantage isthe

lack of a stable, supportive centerthat fostersthe creative skillsthey already have.

Asof thiswriting, there isstill no youth space forthe kidsof Newman to meet and

make media. Thisisthe task aheadforthe teachers, residentsandbusinessesof

Newman to growandbuildon the thingswe developedwith Newmansyouth. To

stay true to ourintentionsasCuriousWorkers, we needto ensure the communities

wework with can serve themselves.

Newman certainly deservesto.

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