How grassroots work in community arts can help young people build a better future.

Limelight readers probably need no convincing just how powerful an impact the arts can have on society. Music, theatre, film, opera and the visual arts all play an important role in Australian society and make great ambassadors for the country on the international scene.

Perhaps a little less known, but equally powerful, is grassroots work in the community developing young minds and creating a sense of purpose. Community arts and drama are as equally effective as things like sport but undoubtedly deserve a higher profile.

In February this year I was invited to travel out to Carlton in South Sydney to meet Hannah Grant, Outreach Director of a brilliantly creative organisation called Shopfront Arts Co-Op. A 17-minute train journey from Town Hall, and a short walk from there to Shopfront, Carlton is a typical Sydney outer suburb. The Shopfront building has a rich history. When the company took it over it had been a mechanical workshop, office and shop, but during the tour of the building the original purpose of its theatre becomes more obvious. “This part of the building was once a community dance hall,...