Please note applications have now closed.
Overview
Young people ages 18-25 are invited to apply for the Brimbank Youth Arts (BYA) Creative Producer Lab 2026, where a small cohort of 8-10 participants will undergo a 12-week mentorship, production and evaluation program with creative industry professionals. The Creative Producer Lab will work together to design and deliver a bold new creative production at The Bowery Theatre in late October 2026.
The Program
Participants will be selected to take part in a twelve-week Creative Producer Lab presented by Brimbank Youth Arts and facilitated by mentor Candy Bowers, with additional industry guest speakers. The program includes 12 workshop and mentoring sessions, a production week and producing a bold new production!
Through discussions, activities and hands-on experience participants will explore creative producing in a community context to design and deliver a bold new creative arts event to present at The Bowery Theatre on 31 October 2026.
Workshop topics to be covered include event design and delivery, community engagement, cultural safety, financial and legal planning for events, working with artists, risk assessment, grant writing and marketing.
Participants will be offered Myki cards to cover public transport to attend workshops. In the final weeks of the program, participants will also be paid a $500 fee each for contributing to event planning leading up to the event.
The workshops will be held on Thursday afternoons at St Albans Community Centre and will run for 3 hours including a short break, with catering provided.
There will be an increased commitment during the production week, in the last week of October.
Eligibility
The program is designed for artists, people interested in working in the arts, and emerging producers aged 18-25, supporting entry-level skills development.
No prior creative producing experience is necessary, but applicants must demonstrate interest or engagement in the arts (eg. volunteering, attending arts events, or independent arts practice) and demonstrate how the program would benefit their creative career aspirations or current creative work.
Participants do not have to live in Brimbank, but should have a
strong connection to Brimbank, or an interest in working with creative
communities in the West.
Timeline
Monday, 29 June 2026: Applications Open
Sunday, 19 July 2026: Applications Close
Monday, 27 July 2026: Participants Notified (within the week)
Thursday, 13 August 2026 – Thursday, 22 October 2026: Workshops run weekly on Thursdays from 4pm-7pm
Monday, 26 October 2026 – Sunday, 1 November 2026: Production Week
Friday, 30 October 2026: Bump-in at The Bowery Theatre
Saturday, 31 October 2026: Creative Production at The Bowery Theatre!
Sunday, 1 November 2026: Bump-out
Thursday, 5 November 2026: Evaluation & Future Pathways session
To apply, complete this online application form below.
Applications close Sunday, 19 July 2026, 11.59pm AEST.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact our Brimbank Youth Arts Officer: AshleighM@brimbank.vic.gov.au
Lead Mentor - Candy Bowers
Candy Bowers is an award-winning writer, actor, director, theatre-maker and producer. She was the first performance curator of African heritage to present at the Extra Festival for the 2024 Triennial at NGV International; featuring over 40 singers, dancers, spoken word artists and musicians. Born of South African political refugees at Dandenong Hospital in Victoria's South East, Candy was accepted into the Bachelor of Dramatic Arts – Acting course at the NIDA and went on to create the production house Black Honey Company (2008-18).
Candy has written and performed original works that have toured across the country including: Sweet Mama, One The Bear, Sista She, and Hot Brown Honey Burlesque. She is a published author featured in a dozen compilations including, Growing Up African in Australia! (Black Inc Books), She's Having A Laugh (Affirm Press) and Goddess: Fierce Women on Film (ACMI/ Thames and Hudson). Catch Candy on the small screen in Safe Home (SBS), Crazy Fun Park (ABC), Swift Street (SBS) and Fisk 2 (ABC/ Netflix).
Candy's awards and accolades include: Best Cabaret/ Variety Show TakeBack2021! (Green Room Awards), Best Ensemble Award & Best Actress nomination Lilith the Jungle Girl (Green Room Awards), Geoffrey Milne Contribution to Independent Theatre Award (Green Room Awards), Australian Writers Guild, Theatre for Young Audiences nomination One The Bear (AWGIES), Philip Parsons Young Playwright Award nomination, Best Performance Award Who's That Chik? and Director’s Choice Award Inna Thigh: The Sista She Story Melbourne Fringe Festival.
Brimbank Youth Arts: Creative Producer Lab 2025
Images from the CPL Production, Resonate 2025
