Hillview Intercultural Community Centre

Hillview intercultural Community Centre (HICC) will be opening its doors for the first time on 14 February 2022. 

Please keep visiting this page as updates will be released as they become available.

This is an important project and forms part of the City’s vision to create a welcoming and thriving City.

Introduction 

Hillview Intercultural Community Centre will be the first community facility of its type in the south of Perth. The intent is for the Centre and the surrounding parklands to be a hub for community activities and programs that showcase the City’s diverse community and provide opportunities for residents to access a range of programs and activities, including for example business mentoring, digital literacy initiatives, cultural events/workshops etc.

The City of Canning has an ancient and rich cultural heritage. The City acknowledges and embraces the strong and enduring connection of the Whadjuk Noongar people to the land and waterways within the City of Canning, in particular the Djarlgaroo Beelier (Canning River). In addition to the City's rich Aboriginal heritage and history, Canning is also now a thriving hub of cultural diversity with over 50% of our population born overseas and 40% speaking a language other than English at home. At the time of the last Census (2016) the City of Canning was the most culturally diverse Local Authority area in WA.

Despite the increasing cultural diversity in the South East Corridor and the numbers of newcomers choosing to make the City of Canning their home, there is currently no dedicated facility in this region that supports or represents such diverse needs.

Based in Bentley at 1-3 Hill View Place, and with an investment of $2.5 million in the building's redevelopment, the City is working with community to create a space that reflects and celebrates our diverse voices. Following the opening of the Centre on 14 February 2022, community groups will have access to a range of spaces that will be able to be booked for community activities, programs and events. The City will also be offering a range of learning, mentoring and other community programs and resources from the site.

To view the Hillview Hub Master Plan diagram click here.

Accessibility:

If you need an interpreter, please call TIS National on 131 450. Alternatively, call the City on 1300 422 664 for assistance. This page is available in other languages. Look to the top right hand side of the page and there is a button saying 'Translate this page'. Click on the arrow and choose the language that best suits your needs. 

The Aim

To support and unlock the voices that define who we are as an intercultural community in order for all communities to thrive. We will do this by creating an inclusive place where people from all backgrounds can come together to connect, share their culture, learn new skills and access new opportunities.

Over the coming months the City will be consulting with a range of stakeholders including community groups, cultural associations and local residents to obtain feedback that will help shape the way the Centre operates and the types of activities that are offered.

How Do I Get Involved?

Know they Neighbour is a partnership with SPACED, a leading WA arts organisation that creates and presents a program of dynamic socially engaged and context-responsive art that is generated through local engagement between artist and communities. Claire Bushby, the City of Canning’s artist-in-residence, will be based in Bentley to lead this project.

Claire Bushby is an artist, curator and researcher. Claire is interested in how art making, and in particular participative and collaborative projects, has impact on people's connection to community and can develop personal relationships with their environment. She strongly believes that making things is empowering and connects us to ourselves, each other and nature. Claire is currently working on her PhD at University of Western Australia. She also exhibits regularly and teaches workshops in various textile techniques to all ages and abilities. As part of Know Thy Neighbour, Claire will be meeting with members of the community, and running a mending workshop on Sunday 13 March.

The residency will focus on the Bentley community as part of the City of Canning's next iteration of the Hillview Intercultural Community Centre community engagement program. Know Thy Neighbour asks communities to step outside of familiar engagements and locations to investigate notions of place, sites of interest, networks and social relationship. The final outcome will be a public artwork/s that reflects the ideas and themes generated through the residency.

Story Threads is the City's community engagement program which aims to encourage community involvement in this exciting new community project. Story Threads aims to bring the voices of Canning’s diverse communities and other stakeholders together by recognising the individual contribution to the collective whole. In doing so lead a culture of engagement that respects and welcomes input from all.

Story Threads: Stakeholder Reference Group

A Stakeholder Reference Group is in place.  Expressions of Interest were sought from community associations and individuals to participate in this group. This group represents the many and diverse voices of the community and will also reach out to their respective communities as the project progresses to seek feedback. The group met monthly from March - November 2021.

Story Threads: Cultural Ambassadors

The City has been working in partnership with Multicultural Futures  and Curtin University to establish a network of Cultural Ambassadors who can work with us to engage our culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Cultural Ambassadors are:

Yik Leong (Victor) Kwok, Simrat Kaur, Saseedaran Anandan (Sashi), Luul Ibrahim, Mei Teoh, Astit Olszwoy, Ankur Verma, Shenjeet Kaur Gill-Sekhon (Shen), Syed Muzaffar Ahmed, Kirtida Shah (Tina), Elvie Yap, Amit Mehta, Termit Kaur (TK), S Zang Nau (Nau). For more information about the Cultural Ambassadors visit the following link.

Story Threads: Add Your Stitch

Join the community collaboration project to add your creativity and warmth to our places of welcome; stitching words of 'welcome' from all language groups of our community onto welcome cushions. For more information of how to get involved follow the link and follow social media for updates.

Story Threads: Connecting Cultures to Country.

In partnership with Sister Kate's Home Kids Aboriginal Corporation community members had the opportunity to share their stories and ideas for the new Centre by getting involved in a series of workshops which took place from August to October 2021. Participants contributed to a public artwork that will reflect and connect the diverse cultural backgrounds of Canning into one artwork. The final artwork will be incorporated into the glass doors of every space in the Hillview Intercultural Community Centre.

Many thanks to all the participants that were involved from Bentley Primary School, Burrendah Primary School, Turkish Islamic Association of WA and Bentley Library.

This project is supported through a Lotterwest grant. The WA Government, through Lotterywest, supports community projects like this on, helping to build a better WA together.

Story Threads: Where in the World?

Story Threads: Where in the World? (created by local artist Vesela Crossley) Is an interactive project consisting of two components – one physical component and one online component. The physical component is an artwork, an embroidered map which members of the community who were born overseas can contribute to. Participants simply use the provided needle and thread to stitch a knot of coloured thread through the spot on the map, marking where they were born. The tour dates for the artwork are:

• Bentley Library: Tuesday 28 September – Tuesday 12 October
• Cannington Leisureplex: Wednesday 13 October – Tuesday 26 October
• Cannington Library: Wednesday 27 October – Wednesday 10 November
• Willetton Library: Thursday 11 November -- Tuesday 23 November
• Riverton Library: Wednesday 24 November – Thursday 16 December

The online component of the project can be found by clicking on the Story Threads: Where in the World? tab below. We invite you to tell us where you were born, where you call home today and why. The aim is to amplify the breadth of individual’s journeys, highlight intercultural nature of communities and celebrate Canning’s diverse voices.