This isn’t your average school open day
From multi-sensory installations to “weird mocktails”, Youth Inc.’s Festival of the Unexpected is inviting Adelaide into a radically different approach to learning.
What if a school open day felt more like stepping into an art installation, underground music event or surreal theatre experience than walking through rows of classrooms and plastic chairs?
That’s exactly the point of Festival of the Unexpected – a new immersive showcase from Youth Inc. designed to challenge everything people think education should look like.
Held at Youth Inc.’s new city campus on Pulteney Street, the festival will transform student projects into interactive “mini-worlds” that visitors can physically move through, hear, touch and experience. It’s part open day, part celebration, part sensory adventure – and entirely reflective of the organisation behind it.
“Youth Inc. is an education offering but it’s exceedingly unusual and different from your usual school,” business manager Mana Nankivell says.
“We really wanted to showcase the way our students learn: the project-based design, transformative experiences and an approach to education that is as different as we are.”
Founded by current Board Chair Spero Chapley, Youth Inc. works with young people aged 17 to 24 who are disengaged from mainstream education and looking for another pathway to complete their SACE and reconnect with learning.
But rather than replicate a traditional classroom structure, the organisation centres project-based learning, wellbeing and individual purpose.
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“We use the phrase ‘Find Your Y’, which is a ‘Y’ for Youth Inc. but, more importantly, your individual why,” Mana says. “What do you want out of life? Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? And how can we give you the tools and resources to achieve that?”
Festival of the Unexpected is designed as a real-world expression of that philosophy.
“The event itself came from a desire to do a number of things: an open day that turns a traditional open day on its head, a launch celebration for our new City campus, and a showcase of our Learning Model,” head of marketing Patrick Lang says.
“A very different education strategy requires a different approach to live events, so we imagined something … unexpected.”
That unexpectedness sits at the centre of the experience.
Visitors will enter what Patrick calls the “Youth Inc. Educational Universe”, where different student projects have been transformed into multi-sensory spaces inspired by immersive design, experiential learning and narrative placemaking.
“You’ll move through the building and experience multi-sensorily designed ‘mini-worlds’ that represent projects,” he says. “All of your senses will be involved: you’ll hear things, smell things, you’ll get to touch things, and that will all be an intentional, designed part of the experience.
“You should also expect the unexpected – surprising moments and interventions. Essentially, it’s everything you think an open day shouldn’t be – you’re certainly not going to get four bunsen burners in the Chem Lab and a chat with the PE teacher.”
The projects themselves span wildly different interests and industries – from tattoo culture and music to hospitality and entrepreneurship – with students helping shape not just the content but the festival itself.
“Students are given ownership over every step of this process,” Lang says. “We always aim to centre our young people in everything we do, and we’ve really tried to have genuine, meaningful student involvement baked into the design principles of the festival.”
That ownership is a major part of the educational model. Rather than simply completing assignments, students are encouraged to build projects around their interests, strengths and ambitions – then reflect on how those passions can connect to future study, work and life.
“We always say that there’s probably something you’re awesome at that you don’t even know yet; something that you might be able to build a life around,” Mana says. “We specialise in helping you unlock your skills and potential.”
For many young people who have struggled in mainstream systems, that approach can be transformative.
“For our young people, this is an opportunity not to just experience their learning but dictate what they want to demonstrate about it to their peers, friends, families and professionals,” Patrick says. “It gives them ownership over their learning journey and an outcome they can be proud of.”
The festival marks a significant milestone for Youth Inc., which this year celebrates 20 years since its founding as a charity.
It’s also the official launch of the organisation’s new campus at 200 Pulteney Street, a building whose history feels strangely perfect for a school that embraces contradiction and creativity.
“200 Pulteney Street started life in the 1800s as a church,” Patrick says. “It’s had a multitude of lives since. It was a nightclub for a while, a government building and, most recently was home to St. Paul’s Creative Centre.
“We’re fully aware that we are a pretty unusual school, having set up shop in a former church-turned-nightclub, but we think there’s a wonderful inherent tension in those contradictions.”
The fit-out has been intentionally designed to support different sensory needs and alternative ways of learning, reflecting the diversity of the young people who walk through its doors.
For Youth Inc., Festival of the Unexpected is ultimately about showing students – and the wider community – that education can look different.
“Mainstream school isn’t for everyone, and there should be accessible alternatives,” Mana says. “Sure, we’ve got SACE and qualification outcomes but we’re also interested in personal motivations.”
Youth Inc.’s mid-year enrolments are open until the end of July, giving young people another opportunity to start their educational journey without waiting for a new school year.
“If you’re a young person aged between 17-24, you don’t have your SACE and you want an opportunity to discover what’s next, we can help with that,” Mana says.
The organisation is encouraging prospective students, parents, caregivers, youth workers and curious community members alike to attend the festival.
“If you’re a prospective student who’s looking for something different, definitely come along,” Patrick says. “And if you’re just curious about what it is we do, well, come down, wander through our mini-worlds and have a weird mocktail. We’ve got you covered.”
Festival of the Unexpected runs from 3pm to 7pm on June 17 at 200 Pulteney Street, Adelaide. Tickets are free – find out more here.
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