True stories of trials and triumphs from those who now call Australia home are told in Settled/Unsettled, on at Canberra Museum and Gallery until 25 June. The exhibition brings awareness to the issues faced by Australia’s asylum seekers, refugees and migrants through the powerful medium of the visual arts.

The striking works originally came together through Sydney-based Czechoslovakian artist, Kathrin Longhurst. She enlisted other artists to create a body of work that would allow people to gain a deeper understanding of what people coming to Australia experience.

Before going on display in Canberra, the exhibition received a makeover from CMAG Assistant Director of Exhibitions and Collections, Rebecca Richards. With an aim of evoking feelings of outrage and celebration, the curator wanted to show different perspectives – not just one story but the stories of many new Canberrans.

“The city was built by migrants who contribute so much to the life of the city. There are young people grappling with the guilt of having parents who sacrificed everything for them, who are trying to find their place as they belong to multiple cultures and who are justifiably so proud of their heritage,” says Ms Richards.      

Using a widely accessible medium, she says one aim of the exhibition is to spark conversation amongst those who may not know much about the refugee, migrant, or asylum seeker experience. She wanted to delve deeper into preconceived or stereotypical ideas that people may have, while acknowledging Australia’s long-standing multicultural history.

“With First Nations People occupying the country for over 60,000 years in markedly distinct groups, there is so much prejudice embedded within Australia’s history; the White Australia Policy was around until the mid-1970s. We need to be better with the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers,” she says.

Entering the exhibition, you are met by the faces of migrant women, painted by Kathrin Longhurst. Believing in the force and power that comes from adversity and trauma, she wanted to put a face and voice to the women who are making their lives in Sydney and Melbourne. Film maker Angus McDonald created a documentary featuring interviews with asylum seekers on Manus Island. While confronting, it is an important part of their story. In contrast, Ms Richards says the Canberra experience is more about migrants, celebrating their contributions to our community.

“There are confronting stories because there’s stories about people being dispossessed from their home, losing and being disconnected from family members. But then there’s also the stories of moving to new places, making new connections, and living successful and fulfilled lives,” she says.

According to Ms Richards, the Canberra exhibits tell stories of people who established themselves and created new networks in a place that was completely foreign to them. A stack of suitcases filled with personal items is inspired by a Canberran whose family fled Nazi-occupied Germany when he was a young boy. Spending years in an internment camp in China, his family finally made it to Australia with their suitcases. The items on display are not the originals; rather, they represent what the family brought with them.

“He still has these relics that his grandmother had – some dessert forks and spoons, the Star of David that she had to wear as a Jewish person on her coat, letters that she’d written from China, and an embroidery. We want people asking the question what they would actually take with them if they had to flee their home, and how people’s memories are associated with objects,” says Ms Richards.

Images of young women show brides who came to Queanbeyan for arranged marriages. Renowned local artist, the last Mandy Martin, captured them when she moved to the town in her mid-twenties. Together in a new place, the women connected and formed long-lasting relationships.

Memorabilia from the Refugee Action Campaign in Canberra illustrates decades of demands for better treatment of refugees.

Connecting the old and new, Amardeep Shergill was inspired by her great grandmother’s shawl when creating her textile sculptural pieces.

Ms Richards wants the audience to feel a connection with the creators when seeing their stories through the forms they have created.

“The use of visual arts personalises the experiences of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers and hopes to create empathy among viewers,” she says.

Discover these stories and more in Settled/Unsettled at Canberra Museum and Gallery until 25 June; cmag.com.au

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