This Western Life

This Western Life

Right outside the backways of Footscray market, a group of Vietnamese men are seated outside a café.  One group chain-smoking whilst playing cờ tướng, another enjoying their cups of cà phê Đen Đá. But the most ear-grabbing part? A mini karaoke concert, performed by a local on the street. It’s a typical Wednesday afternoon in Footscray – famously an immigrant rich-suburb reflecting waves of immigration through its foray of markets, restaurants, and cultural stores scattered around the neighbourhood.   When you think of Footscray, your mind might be immediately cast to a lower socio-economic area, riddled with waves of crime, small suburbia, and a frontier of the immigrant diaspora.  For us, Footscray prompts fond thoughts of the rich tapestry of majorly Asian and African communities amalgamating as the small businesses that occupy the humble market stalls. Or maybe chances are you jumped to Footscray being the home of the AFL’s Western Bulldogs. Either way, both quintessentially Australian insignias, in their own right. But, it feels as though a new wave is permeating through the western suburbs. Read the online story here. [https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4930cc70919d4a21a142be08a1234a3b] Producers/Presenters: Elisha Andres and Vi Truong Instagram: @whatthepoc