Growing up, many young people find it challenging and confusing to discover their own identity and find a sense of belonging.
Fortunately, we’re beginning to see more places like Girls Rock! camps pop up, providing a safe haven for youngsters where they can learn, grow and become confident in their own skin.
Girls Rock! is an international network of independent arts and feminist social justice groups, with a focus on running band camps that provide girls, trans and non-binary youth a supportive safe space to grow and express themselves through music.
Essentially, the network is all about promoting inclusivity, empowerment, diversity and community.
The Girls Rock! movement started as a summer camp in the American city of Portland in 2001, and has since spread to more than 40 camps across four continents.
The first camp to be established in Australia was Girls Rock! Canberra, whose first program ran in January 2016.
The movement was brought to our shores by writer and musician, Chiara Grassia, who travelled to the US with the support of a YWCA grant to volunteer at Girls Rock! camps in California, Texas and Oregon, before launching the Canberra camp.
“I’d heard about the camps in the US when I was a teenager,” Grassia said.
“When I finished uni... I knew that I wanted to volunteer at one of the programs, so I picked the one in Portland and I volunteered there for a few weeks.
“It was such a wonderful experience that I went back the following year and the third year that I volunteered, I got a grant to go to a bunch of different camps and learn as much as I could to start one in Canberra.”
Participants in the first Girls Rock! Melbourne camp
A second-generation Italo-Australian, with a Sicilian-born father, Grassia grew up in Canberra at a time when no such place existed.
“I really wanted to play music but I found it hard to access the music scene and to find other people to play music with, which is why I was drawn to the camps in the US,” she said.
“This is something that was lacking in the music scene I belonged to so I decide to adapt that idea to the community in Canberra.”
Grassia added that though she experienced the camps as an adult, she got just as much out of it as the teenagers participating.
“It was a really safe, empowering, inclusive and creative environment, even as a mentor,” she said.
“I personally gained a lot of confidence being able to see myself as a facilitator, and I also learnt so much through the young people.”
While Grassia recently moved to Melbourne, she still runs the annual camp she founded in Canberra with the same enthusiasm she had when it was first launched.
Meanwhile, camps have gradually been set up in several other Australian cities: Brisbane in 2016; Melbourne in 2017; Sydney in 2018; and Perth at the start of this year.
The latest Aussie camp, Girls Rock! Adelaide, just finished running their first program last week.
While the camps are run independently, they all share the same values and follow the same structure.
Each camp runs for a week, during which participants aged between 10 and 17 form their own band, learn an instrument, watch live music performances, participate in creative workshops and write an original song that they perform at the final showcase.
Participants are also treated to lunchtime performances by talented local artists and are mentored by experienced musicians throughout the week.
Artists who have shared their expertise at the camps include rock sensation Courtney Barnett, Melbourne trio Camp Cope and punk band Cable Ties.
Courtney Barnett performing at the first Girls Rock! Melbourne camp
Many musicians are eager to get on board with the initiative, as – just like with Grassia – it’s something they would’ve loved to have been a part of when they were younger.
“It’s really great that big name artists are interested in being involved in the program because it humanises everybody and makes it really accessible and inspiring to play music and see what you could be,” Grassia said.
The camps and all they have to offer are about to be shared with Melburnians, with the screening of No Time For Quiet at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF).
Showing August 15, 16 and 18, the film follows the participants and mentors of Melbourne’s first Girls Rock! camp, exploring themes such as mental health, friendship and trying new things.
Meanwhile, many of the camps across Australia are preparing for upcoming spring programs, in which new groups of youngsters will thrive.
For some of them, it will be the first time they’ve ever picked up an instrument.
For others, it will be the first step on the path to realising their full potential.
