New Colombo Plan boosts creativity

CDU student Korin Lesh recently returned to Darwin after taking part in a prestigious six-week cross-cultural creative arts and design program in Indonesia.

Korin, who hopes to finish her Bachelor of Creative Arts and Industries this semester, received $3000 in New Colombo Plan funding to attend the Creative Arts and Design Professional Practicum (CADDP) sponsored by the Australian Consortium for “In-Country” Indonesian Studies in January and February.

Design student Yulita Villanueva also received $3000 in New Colombo funding to take part in the CADDP program.

“We spent two weeks in Jakarta for seminars on contemporary Indonesian perspectives on art and design, and to bring us up to speed with Bahasa Indonesia,” Korin said.

“I spent the rest of the time in Indonesia working at the small SumArta Gallery for Kids in Bandung.

“Running programs for children is a way to plant the seeds of artistic creativity into the wider communities that the children live in.”

Korin’s background is in art education and she is the current president of the Art Educators of the Northern Territory.

“I worked with my Indonesian counterparts to develop classes and lessons; we presented workshops and worked with the kids,” she said.

“I formed quality relationships with some really fabulous people, both personally and professionally, who taught me to look at things in a different way.”

Korin said she looked forward to remaining in contact with the friends she made in Bandung in order to continue to build on the networks developed while she was there.

New Colombo Plan Mobility grants are an Australian Government initiative to deepen Australia’s relationships in the Indo Pacific by supporting thousands of undergraduates to study in the region.