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Speaker 1: School holidays coming up, and as always, there is some

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Speaker 1: great stuff happening at Barking Gecko. Ryan Taff is the

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Speaker 1: CEO of Barking Gecko Arts and he's joining us this morning.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, good morning, old.

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Speaker 1: That's right.

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Speaker 3: I need all the help I can get to learn Spanish,

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Speaker 3: but I won't be any help to you. But it's

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Speaker 3: not about barking Spanish this morning. It's about Barking Gecko,

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Speaker 3: which is perfect.

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Speaker 1: It's been more than thirty five spectacular years now. But

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Speaker 1: for those who have been living under a rock, tell

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Speaker 1: us about Barking Gecko Arts.

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Speaker 4: Certainly so as you, as you have said thirty five

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Speaker 4: years of being Barking Gecko. In nineteen ninety six, Awesome

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Speaker 4: Arts Festival was born from Barking Gecko and then this

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Speaker 4: year we decided we'd bring them back together, so hence

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Speaker 4: we're now Barking Gecko Theater Company anymore and also Arts

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Speaker 4: Australia where Barking Gecko Arts. Two great companies come together.

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Speaker 4: But we we make work across art forms for children

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Speaker 4: from zero to twenty one, all the way in there,

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Speaker 4: exposing kids to creativity because we know that's the most

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Speaker 4: important skill that we'll need in the future is creativity.

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Speaker 1: I feel like kids have never needed it more that

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Speaker 1: confidence that comes from a class.

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Speaker 2: Like this completely.

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Speaker 4: We know that it helps kids connect. We know that

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Speaker 4: one in five kids in Australia are reporting feeling lonely.

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Speaker 3: So social skills, yes, social.

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Speaker 4: Skills, problem solving, collaboration. They've done studies in the UK

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Speaker 4: where kids are exposed to creativity are more likely to graduate,

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Speaker 4: get jobs, be employed well. Economic Forum and UNESCO are

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Speaker 4: saying it'll be the third most needed skill for employment

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Speaker 4: in the future yep. And that it helps kids imagination

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Speaker 4: and creativity and play helps kids make sense of the

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Speaker 4: world around.

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Speaker 2: So we're at a critical point, we really really are.

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Speaker 3: And instead of instead of kids watching other people's creativity,

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Speaker 3: it's about learning how to make their own. And it's

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Speaker 3: okay to enjoy other people's creativity screen or whatever, but

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Speaker 3: not all the time. Now about learning to make your own.

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Speaker 2: That's right.

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Speaker 4: And you know, even if you don't use it to

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Speaker 4: become an actor and actress, musician, designer, you use it

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Speaker 4: in your every.

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Speaker 2: Day absolutely, absolutely, no, there's you know.

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Speaker 4: The big story that they told that I remember at

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Speaker 4: a conference was when they went on to map certain viruses.

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Speaker 4: They gave it to gamers because the virus has moved

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Speaker 4: too fast. Fr gamers came in yeah and mapped it.

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Speaker 4: So anything that kind of allows them to problem solve

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Speaker 4: or imagine a world that they want to live in.

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Speaker 4: You know, as we move into this future of unknowns,

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Speaker 4: there's a lot of questions that kids have and using

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Speaker 4: their imagination and creativity and building that world for themselves

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Speaker 4: is probably the best way forward that we know that

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Speaker 4: we can have.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well access and inspire.

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Speaker 4: The program program is new program Yeah programs because what

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Speaker 4: we what we realize is that people are doing it

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Speaker 4: tough at the moment. You know, cost of living has

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Speaker 4: gone up, not a lot of spare money. Lots of

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Speaker 4: schools are making the choice between whether they have equipment

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Speaker 4: or breakfast programs or whatever. So we want to take

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Speaker 4: that choice away. We'll provide the creativity and the excursion.

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Speaker 4: We're looking for people who want to come and join

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Speaker 4: us on that journey of providing creativity wherever they wherever

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Speaker 4: people are. We want to remove geographic barriers, financial barriers,

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Speaker 4: social barriers, transport barriers. So we're in the process of

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Speaker 4: raising the funds so that particularly schools in low xyer

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Speaker 4: areas or vulnerable areas can have a free excursion to

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Speaker 4: a community, to a venue in their area. At the moment,

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Speaker 4: we've got hubs in Kwanana, Kalamunda and Thornley and we

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Speaker 4: use the CBRT Center as well, so we engage those

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Speaker 4: schools in their own community and their own venues so

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Speaker 4: they have some own ownership in their community and feel

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Speaker 4: sense of belonging in their community. But for those kids

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Speaker 4: that can't afford it and parents that can't afford it,

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Speaker 4: schools that can't afford it, we don't think you should

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Speaker 4: miss out. So we're going to come to you in

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Speaker 4: whatever form you want us to come to and provide

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Speaker 4: those creative experience.

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Speaker 3: That's great because I mean school holidays start at the

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Speaker 3: end of this week. Well aware, it's like a locomotive

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Speaker 3: steaming towards us. So you guys have got the awesome

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Speaker 3: festival on. So the first week of the holidays, which

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Speaker 3: is seventy percent is free and the rest is economical,

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Speaker 3: you know, thirty dollars. So what's what's happening with the

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Speaker 3: Austin for a week.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, it's right, seventy percent is free and the other

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Speaker 4: thirty percent is under thirty I think it's even under

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Speaker 4: twenty five dollars so and sety percent. Is also interactive

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Speaker 4: and immersive.

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Speaker 2: So you haven't been that for a week long activity

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Speaker 2: that's right.

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Speaker 4: Takes over the Perth Cultural Center or the bits we

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Speaker 4: can now because it's getting built on. But the Urban

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Speaker 4: Orchard and the State Hitter Center and the library and

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Speaker 4: Forest Chase. There's amazing stuff. The Urban Orchard that we

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Speaker 4: normally know for fringes getting turned into a Teddy Bears

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Speaker 4: picnic area with a whole lot of stuff to do

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Speaker 4: with creativity and craft and design and textile and music.

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Speaker 4: There's the feet bust to get you there. I won't

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Speaker 4: explain too much about that, but.

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Speaker 2: Get you.

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Speaker 4: Might be onto something. But then we've got shows in

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Speaker 4: the in the State Theater Center. We've got reasons to

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Speaker 4: stay inside, which is Barking Gecko's News show, Cinceorium Theater

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Speaker 4: doing their show Odyssey that works for children with your

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Speaker 4: adversity and disabilities, Drip Drop, which is another thing.

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Speaker 1: It's a lot comes on, you know, talk about doing

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Speaker 1: these things free or heavily subsidized.

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Speaker 2: Do you rely on the support of the community. How

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Speaker 2: can we help? How can people support checking.

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Speaker 4: Out the awesome festival program on the Barking Gecko website

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Speaker 4: Arts dot com dot au. Please also try if you

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Speaker 4: can and you're in the posision too. You're a business,

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Speaker 4: a philanthropist, corporate and you can not everyone can we

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Speaker 4: understand that. Please find support us link help.

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Speaker 3: The next generation.

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Speaker 1: Well, if you're a business or corporate, it's only going

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Speaker 1: they come back to help you.

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Speaker 3: Yes, exactly.

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Speaker 4: So as little as thirty five dollars will help me

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Speaker 4: keeping the bus.

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Speaker 2: I think. I think it's just fantastic what you do

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Speaker 2: right danger.

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Speaker 3: And you've been doing it for so long.

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Speaker 1: And no, no, this, I think this would keep you young. Actually,

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Speaker 1: thanks so much for coming in and telling us about this.

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Speaker 1: And what was that website again.

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Speaker 4: Bucking Gecko arts dot com today.

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Speaker 1: All right, that's where you want to go to see

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Speaker 1: where your kids up.

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Speaker 4: For the we that's right, and there's an accessibility guide

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Speaker 4: for those who have children who need more planning.

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Speaker 3: If everybody is catered for exactly, Thank you. Ryan would

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Speaker 3: like with the holidays,