A new video by local students is set to show how powerful music and the arts can be.
More than 20 senior students from Hamlyn Views School have collaborated with local community arts organisation Bluebird Foundation to write, perform and film the original music video I Just Wanna Be Me.
Over the past two terms the students have worked with music therapists, musicians, filmmakers and sound engineers to bring to life their hopes and dreams about the future.
Their efforts will culminate in a community launch event on 21 October, where the students will share the video with families, friends and supporters.
Hamlyn Views music therapist Bingyao Liu, who conceived the project and secured funding for it from the Department of Education and Creative Victoria, said her idea came from the students themselves.
“Working across the school… I get to see how musical our kids are,” Ms Liu said.
“When we’re out in the yard I sometimes hear about all the things they want to do when they graduate.
“So I thought it would be really cool for them to express those ideas in a music video, then we could show the community the dreams and hopes of our students.”
As some of the students are non-verbal, Ms Liu and other facilitators used a variety of communication tools and strategies to gather lyrical, musical and dance ideas from the project’s participants.
“Our students were at the heart of every decision, from the first lyric to the final edit,” she said
“The pride they will feel seeing themselves on screen and hearing their own song will be something really special.”
