Ahead of his appearance as the main act at the Yalukit Wilum Ngargee festival (in Saint Kilda), Power caught up with SBS Living Black Radio to talk about his current projects.
True to his humble nature Patrick started our conversation by first acknowledging and expressing respect for the traditional owners of the land where he was about to perform. He then paid tribute the powerful line up of Indigenous performers saying he is already a big fan of many of the performers.
About his appearance in Saint Kilda, Patrick believes he is privileged to be able to bring Torres Strait Island culture to Melbourne and elsewhere through contemporary art forms and connect also connect with other people at the same time.
“In all honesty I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for mentors and elders who supported me throughout my life at certain points," Power tells SBS Living Black.
Mau Power says he draws this eagerness to share his culture with others, especially the younger generations, from his own upbringing; the mentors and elders who guided him throughout his life.
Speaking about the elders, Power says "A lot of them are still in my life today, from culture through to business and music. Everywhere I have had mentors and people who were supportive, especially in the times when I was going down."
"When I was really in the dark lanes and going down and these people were willing to bring me back.”
Patrick explains, “Culture, the survival of our culture is why we acquire that knowledge so that we can pass it on to the next generations. And this is how we’ve survived for so many years."
Above: Island Home by Mau Power
Mau Power also says he strongly cultivates family ties and values as a father, an uncle and a custodial leader. He believes that every action that he takes in life will influence others and have an effect on the entire community especially the younger generations.
He says his is what has inspired his relentless work in various fields of art and education.
"I invest a lot of time into the younger generations," says Power. "Their education and also their cultural knowledge."
"We do it through music.
"And also as a custodial owner and as an uncle, going into schools, going into high schools going into their education systems, but also going into families, when we get together in gatherings and cultural events. I also do a lot of training”.
Power's desire to stand up and share his knowledge and experience has led him to get heavily involved in the Power Movement.
“We are in a new movement called the Power Movement," he explains.
"This movement is about empowerment. We run programs and workshops through digital media, through films, music and other creative arts."
"The underlying theme is to empower people to follow their own journey, getting in touch and identify their story and to be able to walk down a positive line confidently."
"Supporting the youth is just giving them what was given to me. Through creative arts I was able to get in touch with myself; find answers for myself, find my own journey.
"That’s what music allowed me to do. It forced me to think differently. It forced me to explore other experiences in the world."
Giving back to the community
He adds, “at a young age I could never foresee that I could be the main act at a big event, But seeing that this can happen… it is though creative arts that this has happened.”
Power says that everything he does is does is dictated by three values: empower, inspire and show respect.
He explains how these three values interact and how they are intertwined: “we equip the next generation by empowering them and paying our respect to those who have laid the foundations for us to be able to walk this journey.
"That’s what we live by. We find our purpose through that.”