by Saad Al Musawi
An exhibition showing artists from different ethnicities was held between the 3rd and the 31st of July. The Creative Cultures exhibition is run every year directly after Refugee Week by Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre (SMRC).
The 16 artists exhibited this year represented cultural backgrounds including Sudanese, Congolese, Thai, Irish, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Libyan, Iraqi, Turkish, Lebanese, Iranian, and Pakistani.
There are three objectives behind the ‘Creative Cultures’ Art exhibition. Firstly it aims to increase the profile of individual artists from new and emerging communities who would otherwise not have an opportunity to promote their work. Additionally it hopes to engage sectors of society who may maintain stereotypes and negative perceptions about new arrivals, and works to break down these discriminatory attitudes through art.
In this year’s exhibition the artists used different mediums such as painting, drawing, print making, multimedia and sculpture.
SMRC’S Community Engagement facilitator Carlene Lamanna said, ‘We are very proud to present this collection of work by local migrant and refugee artists to demonstrate the amazing creativity that Australia is benefiting from…’
‘Creative Cultures’ engages passers-by in the exhibition because of its central location. It has the ability to attract the interest of sectors in the community who would not usually engage with multiculturalism or art. SMRC see this as a valuable opportunity to break down stereotypes associated with newly arrived communities, especially in the current immigration context.
Creative Cultures is a great opportunity to experience artists’ works from a range of ethnic backgrounds.
Creative Cultures exhibition is held every year on Collins Street, Level 5, Australia On Collins, from the 3rd till the 31st of July.
