EHSC student Levity Camilleri recently won the inaugural Ambedo Award at the RAW Arts Awards for 2022
These awards have been running for twenty-five years with entries from Bendigo’s youth in a range of artistic categories. The recently established Ambedo Award is selected from every entry in the four categories (visual arts, short films, performance and literature) and is awarded to the artist who best represents the life of a young person in Bendigo.
The winner of this award was Levity Camilleri, a student in Year 9 at Eaglehawk Secondary College. Their entry was a poem titled Pose/Poise which delved into themes of identity and social awareness.
“I am so grateful for the opportunities given to creative youth in the
Bendigo area. It is intensely motivating to know that artistry is
rewarded and encouraged from a young age in our community.”
To learn more about the RAW Arts Awards and have a look at past entries, visit: https://www.bendigoregion.com.au/arts-culture-theatres/raw-arts-awards
Levity’s poem can be read below:
Pose/Poise
I pose myself as a mirror;
I poise myself as if a lady.
But I am neither.
I cannot mirror your emotions well enough
And your phrases sound unnatural from my mouth.
I am a being, independent from you,
Why won’t I treat myself as such?
Secondly, I am not a lady.
I am not restricted enough
by the customs I’ve studied
for my own sake.
I will play in the dirt; I will express myself.
I will be whoever I can be –
Not a lady
nor a mirror.
