This University of Melbourne conference, (jointly facilitated by the School of Creative Arts, Department of Criminology and Department of Language, Literacy and Arts Education), is a cross-disciplinary investigation of creative arts as an intervention and diversionary activity for young socially marginalised people in urban and rural communities. The symposium will focus on youth and the arts and the notion of ‘risk taking’ in arts practice in the institutional and broad community contexts. Themes include:

Youth culture and notions of risk in contemporary society;

Intervention or prevention? Arts and socially marginalised youth;

Challenges for research with high risk youth: methodological approaches;

Social inclusion/exclusion: marginalised youth, arts and community resources;

Different art forms and practices, diverse outcomes;

The role of the community artist and mentor;

Models of effective arts practices;

Arts, risk and well-being;

Social difference: Gender, sexuality and cultural identity;

Inside and Outside: Arts, high risk youth and juvenile justice. Conference organisers are seeking contributions from a wide range of disciplines: creative arts, cultural studies, sociology, education, criminology, mental health, community arts, and other relevant areas. A Refereed publication will be produced from the Symposium. Contributors are asked to send an abstract of their proposal (200 words max) with details of the paper or presentation and completed forms (available on conference website) to: Email: risky business@unimelb.edu.au Fax: +61 03 8344 8362 Post: Risky Business School of Creative Arts University of Melbourne Parkville, Australia 3010 Deadline for Abstracts: May 1, 2005 For more information, CLICK HERE.