A Celebration of Freedom: Free to Be Concert 2015
JOIN local and international artists at the Free to Be concert in St Kilda and support a great cause! Trinh Le brings you all the details of what you can expect on the night.
Filled with music, dance, visual arts and multimedia, the upcoming Free to Be Concert 2015 aims to increase the public awareness of modern human trafficking and raise funds in support of The A21 Campaign — a non-profit organisation whose aim is to abolish slavery and human trafficking through prevention, protection, prosecution and partnership.
The show will be hosted at Ormond Hall, St. Kilda and will kick off at 7.30pm on Saturday, October 24. It features local and international acts such as R&B sensation Andrew De Silva and international artist Red Hong Yi – both serve as the event’s headline artists.
Andrew De Silva is an Australian R&B and rock singer who won Australia’s Got Talent 2012 with his emotional song, “Now That I Believe”. He recently released his EP “I See the Future”.
Co-headliner Red Hong Yi is widely known for her inspiring artworks made from unconventional materials. A former architecture student at the University of Melbourne, she has been profiled on ABC, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. Her most famous work is a Jackie Chan portrait made from 64,000 chopsticks.
Other performers at the concert include Haiku, Abrahm Gunn, Move Dance Productions, Tash Anderson, Soli Tesema, Emily Barrington, Sharon Fernandez, Thomas Dylan,Sharon Fernandez, Vee & Josh, and Maya Van Dijk Crew.
The Free to Be Concert is inspired by true stories of women tricked into the sex-trafficking industry — itself a form of modern “slavery”.
A short clip titled Ally, which was made by Red, was released on the concert’s official website and captures the essence of those stories.
In its campaign video,Kerri Ho, founder of the Free to Be Concert, shared her vision behind this project.
“Free to Be Concert is basically a celebration of freedom […] At the same time, it is an awareness campaign and we want to get the message out there […] that human trafficking is happening everywhere and happening right here, even in Melbourne.”
With the concert, Ho seeks to raise $20,000 through donations and ticket sales, in order to support A21 in their fight against human trafficking.
According to the organisation, “every 30 seconds, someone becomes a victim of modern-day slavery”. By raising public awareness, providing protection for victims and prosecuting human traffickers, A21 hopes to put an end to this social issue.
“Together, we’re going to be able to celebrate our freedom but also bring freedom to the people who really need it most,” Ho said.
Free to Be Concert opens doors at 7.30pm and commences at 8.00 pm on Saturday, October 24 at Ormond Hall, St Kilda. For tickets and further information, visit the concert’s official website.