Happy Meals and Scooter Skids: Art from the outer suburbs

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: Happy Meals and Scooter Skids: art from the outer suburbs is a project developed by artist and educator Andy Quilty in collaboration with students from three of Perth’s outer suburban high schools: Youth Futures Community School Midland, Armadale Senior High School and Warnbro Community High School.

RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: The project includes a major exhibition of solo and collaborative works by Quilty and the participating young people taking place across 2025 for the Perth Festival. The exhibition will show at FORM Gallery Claremont, Midland Junction Arts Centre, Kim Fletcher Gallery in Armadale and Rockingham Arts Centre in Quilty’s hometown. Touring the exhibition to the three participating outer suburban communities will allow participants' voices to be shared with the wider public and serves to counter the tyranny of distance and socioeconomic barriers that can impact the making, exhibiting and viewing of contemporary art for those residing in outer suburbia.

RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: The project aims to empower young people with the skills, conceptual knowledge and confidence to share their outer suburban experience through creative forms. This initiative responds to the disparity in public education between the inner city and the outer suburbs, resulting in limited participation in tertiary education and careers in the arts for outer suburbanites.