This is us: pandemic storytelling, remembering and archiving by older Asian migrants in Victoria
Photography Exhibition
20th - 31st March 2023
@ Digital Studio, Arts West Building, the University of Melbourne (Parkville campus)
This exhibition will showcase the talents, emotions, stories and statements of older members of the Asian communities in Victoria, Australia. Funded by the School of Culture and Communication of the University of Melbourne, this exhibition shows appreciation and admiration of communities members who have endured so much throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
As an extension of the project, Co-creating digital COVIDSafe content with older Asian migrants*, we launched a photography competition in October 2022. Under the theme of, Living through COVID-19: memories, beliefs and hopes, we invited older members (60y.o./+) of the Sri Lankan, Indonesian and Chinese communities to document those moments, memories and stories of living through COVID-19.
A total 64 submissions received in mere four weeks. Selected photos have been collected and presented in a virtual gallery and a photo booklet.
Combining traditional exhibition techniques with digital technologies, the exhibition celebrates the strength and resilience of older migrant and their communities. These photos allow us to witness Victoria’s journey of emerging out from COVID-19 lockdowns from the eyes of the photographers.
Exhibition opens Monday - Friday 9am-5pm
Weekend visit possible for small groups, please contact me (wilfred.wang@unimelb.edu.au) to arrange in advance
Curators: Wilfred Yang Wang & Titania Yuhan Huang
Flyers design & curatorial support: Tianyi Yang
Photo colletion & coordination: Lucia Chen
Exhibition launch event
Launch event panel: engaging older CALD migrants creatively and ethically
3-6pm Wednesday 22 March 2023 @ the exhibition location
Art, technology and a health crisis: how to engage older CALD migrants creatively and ethically beyond the pandemic?
The Australian society is ageing and the ageing population has become more diverse: one in five older Australians (65/+) were born in non-English speaking countries, and 18% spoke a language other than English at home, 6% do not speak English well or at all (AIHW, 2021). Communicating to older Australian from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background is vital to the health of Australia’s multiculturalism and democracy.
As part of the launch event of the photography exhibition, a panel consists policymaker, service provider, academics and creative practitioner, will reflect on the current state of public communication and social engagement with older Asian/CALD Australians during important public incidents and everyday life. The panel will project possible paths forward to ensure greatest fairness, equity and inclusion of a diverse ageing population by considering some of the creative formats and approaches to reimagine public communication and messaging.
We are thrilled to announce our panel speakers:
Mr Matthew Guy - Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
Ms Angela Ng - MiCare Aged Care & Community Services
Dr Surjeet Dogra Dhanji - The Australia India Institute, University of Melbourne
Lela Zhou, JP - Aus Channel Media
The session to be moderated by
Dr Shashini Gamage - School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne
Please register your attendance as seatings are limited
For registration and inquiry, please contact Dr Wilfred Wang (wilfred.wang@unimelb.edu.au)
Our Speakers
Mr Matthew Guy
Manager, Programs and Grants (Infrastructure and Strategic Projects) | Multicultural Affairs | Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
Matthew Guy is the Manager, Programs and Grants for Multicultural Affairs in the Victorian Department for Families, Fairness and Housing. He was the Acting Head of CALD Communications throughout 2021 and 2022, managing the delivery of communications supports for multicultural communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic including the Multicultural Communications Outreach Program.
Ms Angela Ng
Program Development Manager | MiCare Aged Care & Community Services
Angela is passionate about caring for seniors from multicultural background. Having been in Australia for over 30 years, Angela has set up successful programs in helping CALD seniors to connect with community, enabling them to overcome language and cultural barriers and have a meaningful life. Angela has a Master Degree in Social Work from Monash University and won the Excellence Awards at the Centre of Cultural Diversity Conference in 2014
Dr Surjeet Dogra Dhanji
Manager, Victorian Government Projects | Director for the Cultural Diplomacy Project | The Australia India Institute, University of Melbourne
Surjeet’s research focuses on the Indian and ethnic diaspora and immigration in Australia, their settlement opportunities and challenges. Her current work includes collaborative research on how Asian international students have been coping during the COVID-19 pandemic, Victorian Perceptions of India and the Indian Diaspora and the multi-cultural African diaspora’s socio-economic mobility.
Lela Zhou, JP
Director of Aus Channel Media | Vic-President of Melbourne Great Ocean Lions Club | Mental Health First Aider Instructor
Lela has been a media professional for over seven years, passionate about creating engaging content and telling powerful stories. She also volunteers her time with several non-profit organizations, where she uses her media expertise to support causes that she is passionate about, such as Mental Health.
Moderator
Dr Shashini Gamage
Researcher | School of Culture and Communication | University of Melbourne
Shashini’s research focuses on the intersection of ageing, gender, media, and migration, examining South Asian diasporas.
Her recent projects include inquiries on healthy ageing through older adults’ digital media practices in Australia, focusing on Sri Lankan migrants. Her work also continues to examine older migrants’ digital lives and ageing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Her research on Sri Lankan migrant women’s popular cultural practices was published in the book Soap operas, gender and the Sri Lankan diaspora: a transnational ethnography in Australia and Sri Lanka (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).