THE ART OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY

Drama teacher Hellen Rose travels to some of the most dangerous places on Earth to make art, liberate creativity and lift spirits.

- WORDS by ANGUS FONTAINE

They say when the untapped potential of a student meets the liberating art of a teacher, a miracle unfolds. Hellen Rose is one such miracle maker. The 61-year-old teacher from the south coast of NSW flies to some of the world's most dangerous places to liberate the imaginations of children living with poverty, violence and war.

"Every young person has a right to education," Hellen believes. "We give them a safe space to develop their creativity, learn to paint and write, operate a camera and act. We teach them public speaking and how to find their voice. We empower them to get through dark times, and show there's a way around every problem."

Hellen shares her adventures with husband George Gittoes, 75, a filmmaker, painter and Sydney Peace Prize winner whose quest is "to create in the face of destruction".

In 1970, George joined with fellow free spirits Martin Sharp and Brett Whiteley to establish The Yellow House, a creative Mecca for art and performance in Sydney's then-bohemian Kings Cross.

"People entered our doors and left the humdrum streets of Sydney behind," George recalls. "They found themselves in a dreamland of art installations, music, theatre, puppets, avant-garde film and exotically-costumed performers. It was totally immersive and guaranteed to open the doorways of people's minds to unimaginable experiences."

The Sydney Yellow House (a homage to Vincent van Gogh's home in the south of France) blossomed for only two years. However, for 17 years Hellen and George have continued its legacy, establishing Yellow Houses in Taliban-occupied Afghanistan, bombed-out cities of Ukraine, and bullet-strewn boroughs of southside Chicago.