Outer Urban Projects

Outer Urban Projects is a bold not for profit performing arts company that collaborates with young people and their communities in Melbourne’s culturally diverse, artistically hungry, ‘hardcore’ outer northern suburbs.

We create new forms of contemporary performance imagined from the life experiences of young artists from the outer northern suburbs - a part of Melbourne that although not at the epicenter of mainstream cultural life, possesses great artistic wealth and community energy. We give voice to the unexpressed aspirations and creative potential of ghettoised, culturally diverse young people whose origins span five continents.

Outer Urban Projects was established in 2011 and evolved out of community demand for a performing arts organisation in Melbourne’s outer north that could provide quality long-term artistic activity, employment, social engagement, mentoring and educative opportunities for young people and their communities. Informed by a further decade of program work with young people in the outer north by some of its core team, Outer Urban Projects is the marriage between a community starved of a creative voice and an organisation committed to providing one.

Outer Urban Projects aims to provide access to participation and employment in the performing arts and artistic merit in equal measure, providing pathways for participants and emerging young artists to build their confidence, conceptual, artistic skill and vocabulary and engage with the performing arts in a meaningful way. This is achieved by through our Ensemble, Major Works, Touring Program, Community Access Programs, Social Enterprise.