Music is extremely powerful in the way it can enhance emotions, carry messages, motivate people, and become an expressive outlet for those who learn how to use it.
There are so many young musicians who have the power to create beautiful music and share all of these benefits, but sometimes it can be difficult to find a platform on which to start performing. This is especially hard for younger performers who have limited experience or tools within reach to find a space that allows them to share their art.
Matthew Goldsworthy is an 18 year-old artistic innovator from the Shore, who aims to share his own love for music through encouraging younger members of the community to get up and play something in front of an audience. Matthew, who lives in Beach Haven, organises, promotes, manages and executes events for youth to express themselves through their art, and connect with an audience.
It all started in high school, when Matthew became a prefect and decided to make a change for some of the musically inclined students. He had the brilliant idea of starting an Arts Council and bringing on board like-minded students who shared his passion. Through this, he discovered that there were many other young people who felt as excited about the arts as he did. He'd sparked something that allowed him to continue his journey in giving these students a voice, a stage, and a canvas for their creativity.
The 2018 Arts Showcase at Northcote College was one of the first events that the newly-founded Arts Council put on, giving anyone who wanted to, an opportunity to shine and share their talents. From there, Matthew continued putting his time into creating more of these opportunities, and worked hard to produce 'The Thing About Music', where a bunch of young local musicians came together to play their music to a local audience.
Eventually managing to get around 240 people through the door at The Thing About Music, he saw the community reflect the passion and commitment to the arts that the crew and musicians had. This was extremely encouraging to him. The highlight of this event was when Dave Baxter (Avalanche City) called him a few weeks out from the gig and said he was interested in performing. All of the performers were able to experience performing the single ‘Love, Love, Love’ alongside the musician, which Matthew says, “made me realise just how supportive and tight-knit the New Zealand music industry is”.
From these local events, Matthew has been able to develop many other chances for young people to continue expressing themselves through a fluid channel such as the arts. His most recent event was Rock Dirty at Seven Thirty - a showcase of three young alternative rock bands from all across Auckland. This event was extremely successful as expectations of the audience turnout were exceeded, with 75 people coming to enjoy the show. The moments where the support is shown so strongly by the rest of the community is what makes these events so worthwhile, and continues to enhance the spirit of both the performers and organisers involved.
Matthew has encountered some difficulties throughout his event work, but said he tries to take everything in as lessons, rather than viewing his efforts as failures. He says: “Probably the single most important thing about events is to make the event a great experience for all parties, no matter what personal feelings may be involved. I realised that even though financially an event may not have delivered, if the music really meant something to and connected with the people that were there, that means success for me.”
Driven by his vision to spread his passion, Matthew has founded an artistic organisation called Youth Arts New Zealand. His aim is to base his work on the belief that: “Every young person deserves exposure to the arts, regardless of gender, socio-economic background, religion, and other factors that may limit an individual’s potential to create and immerse themselves in the arts”.
YANZ is all about promoting leadership and creative stimulation within youth communities all across New Zealand, and allowing opportunities that encourage creative thinking and practices. Currently, the artistic organisation is putting on a fortnightly arts open-mic night at Movespace on Dominion Road, which is an open space for anyone who wants to take the stage. Matthew will also be continuing the regular youth events around Auckland, and along with the support of legendary rock and roll photographers and influencers Robert M Knight and Maryanne Bilham, has the recently-opened Anthology Lounge on K Road lined up to house some of these.
The core value of YANZ is the experience that the performers, organisers, and audience are able to gain from the portrayal of such influential young artists representing themselves, and flourishing from doing so. The collaborative nature of YANZ brings people together through the power that the arts can hold.
There are countless opportunities that YANZ brings to anyone that is interested in becoming more in touch with their creative side, and although the organization is mainly youth focused, there is room for anyone to get involved.
Matthew is available to answer any enquiries on: matthew@youtharts.co.nz
