YCULTURE CHATS: Rebecca Riggs-Bennett
Currently in its eleventh year, The Drug Aware YCulture Metro funding program has helped over 100 projects grow and countless young WA artists develop their creative skills. We sat down with some of these artists to chat about their projects and to see where they’ve taken their art.
Rebecca Riggs-Bennett is an emerging sound and spoken word artist, electronic music producer, composer, director, and two-time recipient of a Drug Aware YCulture Metro grant for her work in sound design and performance making. We chatted to Rebecca about her two YCulture projects, The Sound of Trees and With Me, We Walk.
Rebecca Riggs-Bennet. Photo credit: Georgi Ivers & Sarah Sim
Can you give me a quick summary on your project, the Sound of Trees?
The Sound of Trees was the first time I was a part of the Drug Aware YCulture Metro grant program. The whole concept behind it was to delve into how plants and trees communicate with each other, using technology as a response to this. I collaborated with Annika Moses, Olivia Tartaglia, and Claire Gillam, and our mentors were Claire Pannell and Jule Japhet Chiari. It was a really wonderful opportunity to work collaboratively, and we ended up delivering a showing and a workshop of the works we created through the four weeks we spent together experimenting with materials at a residency at St George’s Cathedral, and a trip down south where we recorded our observations and inspirations in different forest environments.
How did the facilitation of this project from the Drug Aware YCulture Metro funding program help you in your journey as an artist, and what things did you learn from it?
The grant itself was the biggest stepping stone in this project. It ultimately made me feel more confident going into bigger grants, and learning how to articulate my ideas and getting feedback on the application really helped me as a young creative. I also learned a lot about collaborative creative processes.
With Me, We Walk. Photo credit: Georgi Ivers & Sarah Sim
Since the Sound of Trees, you have also worked on another YCulture Metro funded project, With Me, We Walk. Can you describe this project and your experience creating it?
Late last year I decided I wanted to create an album. It was one of the most vulnerable projects I’ve embarked on, sharing 10 tracks I’ve created over the past few years and with each of the music videos featuring myself dancing to choreography by my key collaborator, Ellen Hope-Thompson. When COVID hit, hearing that we were still able to proceed with the grant, especially as all of my other freelance work was postponed, was a blessing. The two-person restriction on gathering really made myself and Ellen rethink what our community engagement plan would be. We decided on an interactive album launch: over a three day weekend, we launched part of the album each day. People responded to what they were hearing in the launch and how they were moving to the music, and at the end of the three days we invited participants to record and submit themselves dancing to the final track of the album. Now, part of Ellen’s choreography of that song’s music video has been inspired by those dance movements.
How would you describe your approach to creating art, and the kinds of themes and stories you are driven towards?
The way I write and design musically and sonically is intuitive, and at the heart of my work is the idea that sound design and music can drive narratives. I’m currently reading an article by Kae Tempest, and they say “Immersion in other people’s stories creates empathy”. That’s something I agree on one hundred percent with my practice. Being able to immerse yourself into other people’s stories creates a really unique gateway into understanding the experiences of others. I’m just really driven to people. Now in my practice, I’m currently embarking on a research project on sound design as immersive theatre, so I’m really looking at the intersections between immersive, participatory, interactive work, and how that directly connects to people’s experiences of music and sound. Fundamentally the core of what I do is not just a look and receive process. Some of the most life-changing experiences with art is when it is constantly evolving, and you add your own experience into the mix.
With Me, We Walk. Photo credit: Georgi Ivers and Sarah Sim
Do you have any advice for young artists in WA wanting to pursue their passion?
Keep pushing. “Go for this grant!” is what I’ve been telling any young artist who wants to be making work, because it is super accessible and really opens up your opportunities. Respect each other, be open to each other, and don’t be afraid of transparency or vulnerability. I feel like that last point is so fundamental because we are a small community and the only way we are gaining opportunities is through holding each other up.
YCulture Metro is really committed to promoting the Drug Aware and Healthway message. What kind of things do you do to keep up your own health, both physically and mentally?
I’m a boxing coach for the Young Boxing Women’s Project. I’m very strongly for physical exercise and how much it helps your mental health. So that’s what I do – I work out because I’m just sitting at the desk when I work, so I need some kind of balance! And yoga – it’s the best reset for anyone, in my opinion.
Check out Rebecca’s website, Elswhere/Rebecca, and the With Me, We Walk album on the website or on Bandcamp.
Are you aged 12 - 26 and looking to develop skills and experience in your creative field? You can make new contacts, work with people in the industry and learn more about arts management by challenging yourself to build your own project from the ground up. We’ve recently increased the grant amount! Apply here for a Drug Aware YCulture Metro Grant, secure up to $4000 and make your project idea a reality.
Interview by McCusker Centre for Citizenship Intern Julia Schwab.