LETTER FROM THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR (RIYEL VALLIDO)

(Image: @riyel.photo)

I am a Penrith born and raised Filipino. I went to school and got my first job in Parramatta. I’ve been surrounded by great friends from Rooty Hill and Mount Druitt, and the Great Western Highway is where I do my dreaming and thinking.

But up until recently, my idea of ‘making it’ as a photographer meant moving to the city - away from home. All because I was led to believe that the idea of culture and relevance wasn’t synonymous with Western Sydney.

I’ve put We The West together to disrupt that misconception. It’s because of people, like the ones featured in this zine, that I feel love for the place I live in. They’ve shown me just how capable the West is in making beautiful work that can have a cultural impact. The Western, a media platform with a big heart for the region, was an obvious partner for this zine. Their passionate and positive storytelling casts a spotlight for these people.

Created in collaboration with The Western, We The West is a passion project lovingly composed of photographs and stories about emerging Western Sydney based creative, social, and commercial pioneers. The zine strives to honour these forces of positive energy so that other locals may be empowered to represent who they are without compromise.

This one’s for those who feel the need to ‘fit in’ to be heard.
This one’s for the pioneers wanting to change minds.
This one’s for the area.

(Image: @riyel.photo)