Roots TV educates, empowers and employs young people from communities which are underrepresented in the digital media arts. Young people from CALD backgrounds learn about cinematography, editing, screenwriting, producing, directing, acting, scoring, sound and lighting from experienced media instructors, filmmakers and artists.

As part of DPD, Roots TV invited young emerging CALD artists from low socio-economic areas to participate in the Diamonds in the Rough program, a series of performing arts workshops where industry professionals mentored them through developing their own artistic pieces to perform on stage. The purpose of the project was to identify and nurture aspiring performing artists from CALD backgrounds, building their confidence and creating opportunities for them to access mainstream arts.

In October 2020, Roots TV kicked off an ambitious program of 22 workshops, which was coordinated by Aisha Novakovich and curated by creative director Astrid Tshidibu. With guidance from mentor Guy Boyce, the Roots TV team supported the participants as

they developed their artistic skills during workshops on storytelling, vision-boarding, poetry and creative expression, performance in relation to space, building confidence, acting and public speaking, media communications and body language.

In a historic first, the participants performed a theatrical showcase to family, friends and members of the public at WAAPA’s Roundhouse Theatre in April 2021. Following the success of the Diamonds in the Rough showcase, Roots TV hope to continue their partnership with WAAPA and provide new opportunities for emerging CaLD performance artists.

Roots TV