A unique and remarkable cultural celebration of Australia's cultural diversity will be launched at Robina Art Gallery in August.
‘The People & The Place - Gold Coast’ is an innovative photo-painting exhibition that celebrates multiculturalism on the Gold Coast.
40 photos were taken by local professional photographer Hengameh Shamloo, with a focus on forms and colours of a variety of cultural costumes. These were then printed on canvases and had paint added to them by GCMAGIC’s team of artists.
The works will be launched during Queensland Multicultural Month and run from 10 to 21 August.
The People & The Place – Gold Coast represents the richness of cultural diversity and unity as a part of Gold Coast’s local cultural identity and history. This project is the result of a collaborative effort between two leading artists, five visual artists from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds and 40 cultural groups, who enthusiastically participated to the photography sessions and together created a piece that beautifully embodies Australia's multiculturalism.
This avant-garde arts project was initiated by Nasrin Vaziri, Artistic Director of Gold Coast Multicultural Arts Group otherwise known as GCMAGIC. She answered some questions for us ahead of the opening.
Can you please tell us about a few of the cultures and costumes that will be featured in this exhibition?
The photography sessions took place in July 2022 when 35 cultural groups were covered through funding by Multicultural Affairs Queensland. The collection was completed with another five cultural groups. The funding for printings, promotion and exhibitions expenses was provided by Regional Arts Development Fund.
The costume presentations in the photos are impressive and showcase the cultural richness of 'multiculturalism' in forms and colours. We try to showcase those cultural groups that are less visible such as Kurdish, Burmese, Cambodian, Mongolian, Persian - North, Baloch, Ghaneans, and Nepalian, while also showcasing of more established cultures like Indian, Chinese, Japanese and more.
Who are the artists involved?
The photographer of the project is Hengameh Shamloo - a talented local visual artist. She started her work as an emerging artist with GCMAGIC and she is a professional photographer and owns her business. The other three professional skilled artists who do the scattered painting on the printed photos are: Bolor, Debbie and Nasrin.
Have you noticed a shift in Gold Coast’s multi-culturalism since you moved here?
Yes, I do. There are obvious programs' involvement, social participation and community presentation by people who are called 'Multicultural'. The event and programs like 'The People & The Place - Gold Coast' and other projects hold by our team is mainly about connecting community members together regardless of their cultural background for having more 'unity' and 'harmony'.
We love this idea of adding paint to the photographs. Where did this concept come from? Was it inspired by anything specific?
With humbleness, I initiated the idea of this project. I learnt about the 'photo-painting' idea during visiting an exhibition of an Iranian prominent photographer and famous painter in Tehran. Of course their works were not about cultural groups or costumes but the idea came from their exhibition. I discussed this idea with our artists' team when they were impressed and this 'photo-painting' project was born. I am sure there are more around the world. I personally like this modern / contemporary approach to the arts as an opportunity for emerging artists toward self-expression which is one of GCMAGIC's objectives.
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Join GCMAGIC in celebrating this remarkable photo-painting exhibition, as it encapsulates the spirit of unity and the richness of multiculturalism. Visit the Robina Community Centre from 10 August to check out the exhibition.
‘The People & The Place – Gold Coast’ is funded by Regional Arts Development Fund – RADF through Activate Program.
