What it means to be a refugee in Australia

Yousefi_03 002
Younis Yousefi, My House, 2004, unfired clay handpainted

Pictures in my Heart: Seeking Refuge – Afghanistan to Australia
Fiona Hamilton
Wakefield Press

Noted French novelist Marcel Proust once claimed that “only through art can we emerge from ourselves and know what another person sees”. In Fiona Hamilton’s book Pictures in my Heart, Seeking Refuge – Afghanistan to Australia, the reader is treated to artworks created by refugees from Afghanistan living in Murray Bridge, a small town outside of Adelaide, South Australia. The pieces explore what it means to be refugees in Australia. Linocuts – prints cut into a sheet of linoleum – are used as the medium through which the artists’ depict their separation from their families and their harrowing experiences as asylum seekers.

Between 1999 and 2001, many Hazara male refugees came to Australia by boat and were placed on Temporary Protection Visas (TPV) while the Australian government assessed their asylum claims. Living on a TPV meant that this particular group of men was able to live in the Murray Bridge community, rather than in detention as is the case now for those seeking asylum on Australian shores. However, the TPV also meant that the Australian government would reconsider their petition for asylum after 30 months. If circumstances changed, there could be every chance that their review would be unfavourable and that they would be sent back to Afghanistan – a potential death sentence for those fleeing the Taliban.

Familial themes pervade the artwork, while the stories further reinforce how dangerous Afghanistan has been for those caught in the Taliban’s warfare.

Alongside longtime friend and artist Miranda Harris, Hamilton saw the opportunity to run a series of art workshops as a way of mitigating the intense periods of loneliness and separation that accompany the refugee experience. The book is a collection of stories, linocuts, photos and clay art made by the men who attended the workshops. Their contributions featured in a 2003 exhibition at the local town hall.

Whilst significant as artworks in their own right, the series of works highlights the collective plight of many refugees; caught between wanting to honour their own socio-cultural backgrounds while trying to become valued members of Australian society. Familial themes pervade the artwork, while the stories further reinforce how dangerous Afghanistan has been for those caught in the Taliban’s warfare.

Broken up into chapters such as “Home”, “War”, “Journey” and “Boat”, Pictures in my Heart, Seeking Refuge – Afghanistan to Australia is a collection of memories and hopes representative of the initial shared refugee experience – from the decision to embark on a dangerous journey to freedom to the challenges faced as a result of governmental intervention.

Unfortunately, the ability of refugees to access artistic programs such as the Murray Bridge program is not a shared experience, and we are poorer because of it.

Originally published at Rightnow:

Bunjilaka Review

This article was originally published at Right Now: Human Rights in Australia, an edited version is below.

Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre

By Maya Borom

The Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre is living cultural space within the Melbourne Museum that allows visitors a glimpse of the wondrous cultural heritage of Indigenous Australians. As the only living Aboriginal cultural centre in Australia, it provides an important educational and hands-on experience for those wanting to learn more about Indigenous culture.

One of the highlights of the cultural centre is the First Peoples exhibit. With the decline in usage of Aboriginal languages, coupled with the fact that everyday access to Indigenous languages is limited, the exhibition engages and teaches visitors about Indigenous languages in the hope of ensuring their survival.

A collaboration between the Melbourne Museum, Koori and Indigenous community groups, a key driving factor has been the participation of the Yylendj Group of Elders, a community reference group tasked with sharing their collective knowledge with visitors to the centre.

The welcome area, referred to as ‘Wominjeka’, offers tactile experiences through active listening and touching, allowing visitors to hear firsthand ancient languages and thus be exposed to a linguistic heritage outside of the common (predominately English language) experience in urban Australian landscapes. Visitors are immediately immersed in the rich cultural heritage of indigenous languages – a unique experience for most visitors to the centre.  This is not just an auditory experience: visitors are also encouraged to actively engage with parts of the exhibition and become familiar with commonly used tools and artifacts. These experiences are further supplemented by digital media explanations of what they do or were used for.

The centre also provides a space for temporary exhibitions. The Naghlingah Boorais: Beautiful Children exhibit features the Yorta Yorta cloak (1800s), which is one of only two possum cloaks that the Museum has in their collection. As possum skin coats were traditionally used by the Koorie people as signifiers to identity and status,  the centre initiated workshops with indigenous children in order to re-connect them with their cultural and spiritual heritage. The result is a display of photography, artwork and the creation of possum cloaks much like their ancestors have done for over 2,000 years. You’ll need to hurry, as this temporary exhibition is due to close on the 24th of February and is well worth seeing.

The Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre also houses the Birrarung Gallery which collaborates with community groups to host three exhibitions per year as well as the Milarri Garden which offers visitors the chance to explore Indigenous flora and their myriad uses. It’s a wonderful multi-faceted space which allows visitors to explore the relationship that Indigenous culture has with the land, and it’s flora and fauna and ties the centre’s experiences together nicely. The Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre is a must see for visitors to the Melbourne Museum as if offers a cultural experience unlike any other in Australia.

Find out more about Bunjilaka on the Melbourne Museum website.