Stunning black and white portraits, taking viewers on a journey through the lives of migrants who have made Hervey Bay home will be on display at the Hervey Bay Community Centre.
Making Hervey Bay Home is an exhibition of Sabrina Lauriston’s photography. It features the portraits and stories of 30 migrants from a variety of cultural backgrounds.
The exhibition will be launched on Thursday 18th March in time for Harmony Day on Saturday 20th March.
Susan Lewis of the Diversity Matters team said Making Hervey Bay Home was about celebrating the region’s cultural diversity.
Making Hervey Bay Home was conceived and curated by Diversity Matters, a small volunteer group working within the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre’s multicultural support program, CAMS. The volunteers were looking for a way to highlight in a positive and thoughtful way the diversity of the Hervey Bay community and to celebrate its vibrant multicultural nature. Thirty people were invited to participate, the only criteria being that they had been born overseas and now lived in Hervey Bay.
Community Action for a Multicultural Society (CAMS) is a state government initiative and funds community-based organisations to support greater inter-cultural connectedness through practical activities such as English lessons, assistance with accessing information and services and numerous classes and clubs to promote social inclusion.
A book of the exhibition is also currently in production, set to launch at the start of the exhibition. It will be available to purchase for $20 through The Wandering Teapot Café in the community centre.
“It is hoped that, by experiencing this exhibition, you will celebrate with us the richness of the cultural diversity which is so much part of the Hervey Bay community,” Mrs Lewis said.
“We gratefully acknowledge the assistance given us through funding grants from the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), the mayor Cr George Seymour and from Cr Zane O’Keefe, of the Fraser Coast Regional Council.”
The project is funded by the Regional Arts Development fund and is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Fraser Coast Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
The exhibition will be open to the public for two weeks, starting from Friday 19th March. Come to the community centre reception for Covid-19 registration before proceeding to the gallery area.
Bookings are also open for the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre’s Harmony Day celebration on Saturday 20th March. A full guided tour of the exhibition will be offered as part of the Harmony Day celebrations.
Bookings are essential for Harmony Day. Please visit hbnc.com.au/Event/harmony-day-celebration-2021 or phone 4194 3000 for more information.
Article and Images are supplied by Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre.
