Smash the Silence started out as a community service project as a part of the Max Potential program, which was organised by Isaac Percy. It involved 4 musical acts and art works from a local artist inspired by mental health. The event was a safe space for people to talk, feel connected and was attended by 50+ people.
The event was then supported by Camden Council in 2018 and was held during Youth Week.
The musical roster was increased by one and included a balanced line-up of male and female artists. It had double the attendance and was very highly commended locally.
The following Youth Week in 2019, two Smash the Silence events were co-ordinated with the name, BYOB (Bring Your Own Beat), to encourage artists to sign up before hand and all applications would be accepted. There were 21 artists that performed over the two weeks and the event was extremely successful. The events were co-ordinated by Isaac Percy and supported by Headspace, Camden Council and Traxside.
The event was followed up with World Music Day Camden, which was in connection to Make Music Australia and encouraged young local artists, similarly to BYOB.
These events are made to create a space that is safe, comfortable and free, so that young people can enjoy young local talent, and the talent can find an audience and gain confidence in their craft. They are advertised with drugs and alcohol free, and support both musical and visual artists.
This project will be continued in 2020 on a bigger level, with plans of four events over the year which will expand to support more artists, and the addition of a podcast, which will be independent from Camden Council, to give exposure to local young artists in the Western Sydney area, which will hopefully give them musical opportunities in the industry.
