White Pages Covers Program

Creative Australian Kristi Street inspires the Newcastle community

June 11, 2009

Creativity comes in a surprising range of shapes and sizes in Australia and is often the inspiration behind people becoming involved in their local community. This year, Sensis is celebrating the contribution creative Australians, such as Kristi Street, have made to their communities through the arts by featuring them on the cover of the 2009/10 White Pages^® directories.

 Kristi was thrilled to learn she would appear on the cover of the Newcastle directory after being nominated by members of the local community to represent the entire region as the epitome of this year’s theme – Creative Australians: Inspiring our Communities.

 Kristi Street is the co-founder of The Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival in Newcastle, an initiative that encourages young people to get involved in the arts through film.

 The Shoot Out Festival is Australia’s longest running extreme filmmaking event, challenging filmmakers to shoot a short film within a 24 hour period. The festival runs in July and is expected to attract over 2000 participants who will be fighting the clock and the urge to sleep as they piece together their short films as best as they can in one day.

 “It is very exciting to see film crews from all over Australia flock to Newcastle for the weekend to take up the challenge. Nobody knows what to expect when they arrive as we keep the theme top secret until the clock begins. Teams then have 24 hours to develop a script, run back and forward across town shooting scenes, edit the footage and then submit their finished product. It is an exhausting process but also lots of fun,” Kristi said.

 The Shoot Out Festival, which was established 10 years ago, now operates in other venues across Australia, New Zealand, USA and Netherlands. The community based arts event relies on volunteers, with Kristi and her team working throughout the year to ensure the festival continues to flourish and provide new challenges and opportunities for participants.

 The festival is a major event on Newcastle’s cultural calendar and is always eagerly anticipated by locals. Kristi’s efforts in bringing the festival to life each year have been recognised by the people of Newcastle, who bestowed upon her a City of Newcastle Service Award in 2004.

 Group Manager, White Pages^®, Jane Blackley, said the theme Creative Australians: Inspiring our Communities provided Sensis with a great opportunity to recognise Australians who are helping to build stronger community relationships through their advocacy of the arts.

 “Right across the country, there are people like Kristi making amazing contributions to their communities through the arts so this year we thought we would put the spotlight on them by featuring them on the cover of the White Pages^® directories.”

 “Whether it’s performing, teaching, hosting exhibitions, raising money or administering arts programs, this year’s cover subjects are all dedicated to establishing ways for local people to become involved in the arts and to share and develop their creativity.”

 “Kristi is a fine example of a creative Australian who, through a love of the arts, is helping to inspire others and foster art and culture in the local community,” Ms Blackley said. 

 Kristi replaces Neil Slater on the cover of the Newcastle directory, who featured last year as part of the ‘Celebrating Australian Flavour’ theme.

 With the 2009/10 White Pages^® directory commencing distribution on Saturday 13 June 2009, Ms Blackley encouraged residents and businesses to recycle their old directories.

 “In most areas, Yellow Pages^® and White Pages^® directories can be recycled as part of normal kerbside recycling services, but if people are unsure they can log onto www.recyclingnearyou.com.au to find out about recycling services available in their local area,” she said.