9
1. Ahlam Alsharifi
Ahlam is an Iraqi artist who creatively uses recycled materials and fashions them into decorative and ornamental sculptures. The pieces on display were especially made for the month of Ramadan, showing a representa-tion of the Islamic religion and culture. The pieces also emphasise the detail-ing of Islamic art and pattern work. Ahlam’s works are for sale, please contact directly 0423596867.
2. Awni Alghareeb
Awni is sculptor from Bagdad and has been making wood sculptures for over 40 years. He uses only two tools found in any common household for his work. Awni creates works for churches of religious symbols and icons. His sculptures are for sale, ranging from $75-$300, please contact directly 0455301252.
3. Ayat Al Qassim
Ayat is a young Iraqi artist and she has created an abstract film exploring the way our eyes collect moving images and process them into thoughts and emotions. In the film, the paper strips of writing are a representation of thoughts gathered in by our eyes. The various cut outs that create shadows explain how thoughts and ideas can affect each other, and how old thoughts can influence new thoughts and ideas. In addition to this symbol-
ism, the black and white colours are a reflection of one’s negative and posi-tive thoughts and feelings.
4. Aziza Rahimi
Aziza is an Afghan artist. She arrived in Australia in 2016 and hopes to complete her studies in Melbourne. Aziza paints, draws and is also a gifted, self-taught photographer, being drawn to photography at a young age. She is inspired by the reali-ty of daily life on the street and sees beauty in the simplest things that surround her. “My photos speak about traditional and new cultures. I believe a portrait can evoke an emotion and atmosphere and speaks about a moment in time. As an observer, noth-ing remains the same. I like to capture that moment as a legacy of passing of time, age and across different genera-tions.”
5. Badiya Jawish
Badiya is a Syrian artist from Aleppo and has lived in Australia for 2 years. Some of her family is still in Syria and Badiya is very interested in fundrais-ing for Syria. At the moment, Badiya is studying an English Certificate 3 Diploma and wishes to eventually study interior design at university. For more of Badiya’s works, please see
6. Bushra Hasan
Bushra is an Indian artist who has artistic and business experience across many countries. She studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Delhi, and has since worked with numerous big name magazines such as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, India Today and Hindustan Times. She also start-ed her own small art venture, ‘Indybin-di’, where she paints recycled items in an Indian tribal art style. Bushra has exhibited in the USA and Hong Kong and she moved to Australia hoping to establish her art, where she was discovered by Multicultural Arts Victo-ria. As a part of this organisation, she painted the life-sized elephant for Moomba Parade. Bushra is also involved with Jindi and has designed the logo, T-shirt, comment card and flyer for the 1000 voices project. For more of Bushra’s works please visit
7. Edith Rodriguez
Edith is from Mexico and has lived in Australia for 11 years. She created this painting with her grandmother when she was 13, it was the first artwork that they made together. Edith’s grandmother had brought her up from a young age and this artwork is a special tribute to her. Edith has also included a colourful Mexican wooden sculpture called ‘alebrigue’.
8. Fadi Lazar
Fadi is an Iraqi artist and has only been in Australia for 10 months. He has digitally created a series of artworks, and while only being a beginner artist, Fadi has shown great talent, dedication and vision. “I wonder about the universe and life beyond our planet”, and this is reflect-ed in the dark vastness of his art. Fadi is also interested in the film industry and volunteers at the Melbourne Film Festival. He wishes to go to university and to become a film director.
9. Heba El Farra
Heba is a 21-year-old, Palestinian, Egyptian-born photographer. Due to the war in Palestine, Heba’s family relocated to different parts of the world. Her maternal grandparents moved to Kuwait and paternal grand-parents to Egypt. When Heba was 4 years old her parents made the deci-sion to migrate to Australia, to provide their children with the best opportuni-ties in life and for better education. Growing up in a Western society whilst trying to remain true to her Middle Eastern roots, was a constant struggle for Heba and eventually she found comfort in nature. The beauty of nature is something everyone can appreciate regardless of their, age, culture or religion. Heba’s artwork is a combination of her two passions; photography and nature. She aims to capture the beauty of nature in its
purest form.
10. Helen Sartinas
Helen is a multimedia artist who has a Greek cultural heritage. Her parents were economic refugees from WWII and came to Australia in the 1960s on the assisted passage scheme. Helen’s series of photographs explore her travels to India and the people and landscapes of its transient space. She focuses on women’s moments of peace and reflection that occur in chaos, and there is the suggestion that this reflection can transcend such chaos. Artworks are for sale, please contact [email protected].
11. Dr Iman Alattar
Iman is an Iraqi artist who moved to from New Zealand to Australia in 2008. She has completed a PhD in Architecture from the University of Tasmania. For Iman, painting is her hobby and she has participated in a number of art exhibitions previously. She mostly works with oil paints, watercolours and calligraphy and uniquely combines geometrical shapes with personal connections to culture and spirituality.
12. Joulunar Alnajar
Joulunar is an Iraqi artist who takes great inspiration from her cultural history and religion. One of the paint-
ings on display is based on the story of the imam Hussain, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, where the Arabic writing reads "The revenge of the imam Hussain". This is one of Joulunar’s first paintings as she experimented with the sunset colours. The second painting was inspired from the ancient Mesopota-mian history, Bagdadiat, and Joulunar has creatively modernised the story using abstract colours. The last paint-ing is a retake on the previous Bagda-di painting, where she aims to empha-sise the details of the initial work and has further developed skills and experimented with the colours and patterns. The artworks are for sale, please contact 0431647366 if inter-ested.
13. Mary Denkha
Mary is from Syria and has been in Australia for 8 months. She is current-ly enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Foundation at Melbourne Polytechnic. Mary enjoys photography as a hobby and would like to be an aviation engineer.
14. Maryam Basa
Maryam is a 20-year-old Iraqi artist who has been in Australia for almost 3 years. She has loved drawing since she was a little girl and has always discovered new drawing methods. Maryam has found a love for drawing because it allows her to be creative
and this gives her a sense of peace and happiness from a simple little piece of paper.
15. Maryam Ibrahim
Maryam is a young Yemeni artist who explores human emotions in her figurative artworks. She tends to capture only one person at a time, as she wants to focus on individual emo-tions. Maryam beautifully unites watercolours, fine-liner, calligraphy and portraiture to express this singu-lar emotion. She has been inspired by the artist Egon Schiele because he has a unique style and creates unreal-istic portraits of odd characters. This in turn has encouraged Maryam to find her own style, using her imagina-tion and creativity. For more of Maryam’s artworks, please visit her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryam.art98/.
16. Mojgan Honarvar
Mojgan is an Iranian artist who moved to Australia 2011 to study a Masters of IT. She has been drawing since she was 6 years old with no formal educa-tion in art. Mojgan sees the times she spends drawing and painting as special moments of freedom. But at the same time, such moments for her can also be a time of madness, creation and theosophy. Mojgan is also a beautiful singer and has been singing since she was nine years old. Mojgan’s artworks are for sale, please
contact directly 045005671.
17. Nouha Saigh
Nouha is a Syrian artist and has been in Australia for over two years. She paints with oils and considers themes of homeland and displacement. She has previously shown her work in exhibitions such as the Heartlands Art Project and at the Walker St Gallery. Nouha is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program, which offers mento-ring, business skills, training and support to women from refugee, migrant and asylum seeker back-grounds. Nouha’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0435033227.
18. Pamela Mujica
Pamela is from Chile and immigrated to Melbourne in 2010. She is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program. Pamela crochets wire using a tech-nique from Peru called Peruvian Stitch which is the art of making loops. She uses fine silver, silver plated and copper wire to create her jewellery. Pamela’s jewellery is for sale, please contact directly 0404211446.
19. Robertson Buitrago
Roberson is from Colombia and has lived in Australia for three years. His paintings convey ideas about the
world around him, as he creates series of works that approach partic-ular subjects. His use of tone and colour beautifully capture the emotive in the subject matter and strengthen the artwork’s message. In his series ‘Stereoscapes’, Robertson explores the mediation between new and old technologies, suggesting that this interaction, in fact, becomes a media-tion between reality and our self. The bigger work is based on a photo of a rebel woman from the FARC guerrilla forces who cared for her hair during the war in the jungle. This juxtaposi-tion exposes the violence in Colombia and leaves us with a poignant and lasting image. Robertson’s works are for sale, please contact 0403772931.
20. Saif Parwti
Saif is a Baghdadi musician and has lived in Australia for 9 months. His instrument is called an oud and Saif has made arguably the very first Australian oud from Australian walnut timber. His father is also a musician specialising in al-kanoon which is a traditional Middle Eastern instrument. Saif makes ouds for sale, priced at around $1000 each and he also hosts oud workshops at home for anyone interested. Please contact directly 0406538819.
21. Stafro Daniel
Stafro from Iraq and has been in Australia for a year and half. He is
currently enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Founda-tion at Melbourne Polytechnic. Stafro takes photographs as a hobby in his spare time. He says that photography needs a lot of practice and while he hasn’t had formal education in photography, he learns online on his own and is excited by the possibilities of new techniques.
22. Serap Kaman Istekl
Serap is from a Turkish background and arrived in Australia in 1985. She has been passionate about art since a young age, and has experimented with many mediums, techniques and styles, finding her true love in mixed media (also known as collaging). Serap enjoys the collaging art making process because it is very therapeutic and relaxing and encourages every-one to try it. She is a dynamic and talented artist as her style encapsu-lates a range of mythical, utopian, dystopian, abstract and surreal elements. Serap is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Craigieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
23. Vesi Kupenova
Vesi is a young Bulgarian artist who moved to Australia in 2004. Her artworks aim to capture the starkness of Soviet architecture which dominat-ed the landscape of her childhood. Her art practice includes drawing, photography, intaglio and lithographic prints. The printmaking process is laborious and time-consuming and Vesi aims to contrast this with quick, rash strokes. Further meaning can be drawn from the intaglio print, where the small text reads “Engineers not Creators”, and this suggests that the purpose of Soviet architecture is purely utilitarian and does not contain many aspects of creativity. Vesi’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0422911548.
24. Yelena Ashlapova
Yelena is a Russian-Korean artist who was born in Kazakhstan. She approaches her art with an immedia-cy that seeks to evade conscious intention. Yelena nurtures a trust in raw intuition and the personal conver-sation that occurs in the very moment of art-making. “Talking to image, as with a mirror, gives an opportunity to deepen an understanding of soul and spirit nature”. Yelena is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Crai-gieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
For a collection of Yelena’s works please visit
Yelena’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0432946722.
Araluen artists Claudio Petri
Claudio is an artist from an Italian cultural background who works within the "Art Connects" program at Araluen's Rosanna support hub. His strikingly simple compositions are usually based upon the built environment and how we inhabit it. By stripping down his subject to its most simple form, Claudio can convey his affinity with his own surroundings and place. His choice of carefully considered, vibrant colour convey a sense of home as a place of security and comfort. For further information about Claudio or to purchase his work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Julie Potamianos
Julie is a prolific artist from a Greek cultural background, who works within the supported studio at Aralu-en. Here, she can explore and develop her many ideas whilst receiving prac-tical personal supports. As a hearing
impaired person, Julie speaks to the world with a pen and brush. She is fascinated by fish and birds which form the subjects of her work exclu-sively. Julie uses ink, which she allows to find it's on way on the page, mixing to form new colours and original, unknown effects. This technique ensures that the end result is incredi-bly unique. For further information about Julie or to purchase her work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Olatunji Olafioye
Olatunji is a young architect and artist from Nigeria, Africa, who moved to Australia in August 2016.
“My works are inspired by the Melbourne built environment and iconic monuments. All I try to do with the watercolour medium is to objectify the subjective reality of Victoria and the city life.’These works are for sale, contact 0432 647 556.
Films
‘Lead to Achieve’ filmsShabnam and Reza from Iran and Afghanistan respectively, sought asylum in Australia.They joined ‘Lead to Achieve’, a program for young people from newly arrived and migrant communities. The artists who took part in film making workshops came from varied cultures, ethnic and religious back-
grounds. Identity and belonging are central themes to their video stories. The program provided an opportunity to explore these themes through personal creative expression, to help build a community of understanding through diversity. The original draw-ings are created by the artists, as are the poetry and voices.
1. Ahlam Alsharifi
Ahlam is an Iraqi artist who creatively uses recycled materials and fashions them into decorative and ornamental sculptures. The pieces on display were especially made for the month of Ramadan, showing a representa-tion of the Islamic religion and culture. The pieces also emphasise the detail-ing of Islamic art and pattern work. Ahlam’s works are for sale, please contact directly 0423596867.
2. Awni Alghareeb
Awni is sculptor from Bagdad and has been making wood sculptures for over 40 years. He uses only two tools found in any common household for his work. Awni creates works for churches of religious symbols and icons. His sculptures are for sale, ranging from $75-$300, please contact directly 0455301252.
3. Ayat Al Qassim
Ayat is a young Iraqi artist and she has created an abstract film exploring the way our eyes collect moving images and process them into thoughts and emotions. In the film, the paper strips of writing are a representation of thoughts gathered in by our eyes. The various cut outs that create shadows explain how thoughts and ideas can affect each other, and how old thoughts can influence new thoughts and ideas. In addition to this symbol-
Acknowledgements
We have lots of people to thank for the creation of this amazing Emerge in the North Arts and Craft Exhibition! Thanks must go to: The City of Whittlesea who proposed the idea of an Emerge in the North Festival in partnership with Multicultur-al Arts Victoria, Whittlesea Community Connections and AMES. What a great team of people to work with! Barry Plant for creating our Art Display notice board in record time And a special thanks to Pacific Epping for displaying and promoting our art. Meredith Budge and Zara Al-Hasany – both members of the Multicultural Communities Team who came up with the crazy idea of an Art Exhibition to showcase the work of our many talent-ed visual artists from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Hutch Hussein, Senior Manager, Refu-gees, Immigration & Multiculturalism (RIM) who supported our crazy idea with enthusiasm and openness and Matilda Langley who’s driven our social media campaigns. And, of course, all the enthusiastic support from the entire Multicultural Communities Team to recruit artists, promote the event and help out in all sorts of ways.
The Epping Community Services Hub team who’ve patiently allowed us to disrupt the centre and fund the installa-tion of hanging devices! And used their networks to draw in an amazing group of volunteers and partners for the event, especially Edith Rodriguez and Jacinta Head. But especially to the Volunteers who have come to the fore and provided tireless effort to plan, promote and curate the Art Exhibition. Particularly:
• Vesi Kupenova for doing practically everything to make this exhibit happen from creating project’s plans, attain-ing arts supplies, creating this art cata-logue to finally her skilful curating touches!
• Bushra Hasan for contributing art, promotions, attaining supplies, aiding curating, designing our certificates of appreciation.
• Francisco Correa for designing our beautiful real-estate display board, pamphlets and catalogue with patience and good humour.
• Rocio Valledarez for helping to estab-lish a strong social media presence and documenting the event.
ism, the black and white colours are a reflection of one’s negative and posi-tive thoughts and feelings.
4. Aziza Rahimi
Aziza is an Afghan artist. She arrived in Australia in 2016 and hopes to complete her studies in Melbourne. Aziza paints, draws and is also a gifted, self-taught photographer, being drawn to photography at a young age. She is inspired by the reali-ty of daily life on the street and sees beauty in the simplest things that surround her. “My photos speak about traditional and new cultures. I believe a portrait can evoke an emotion and atmosphere and speaks about a moment in time. As an observer, noth-ing remains the same. I like to capture that moment as a legacy of passing of time, age and across different genera-tions.”
5. Badiya Jawish
Badiya is a Syrian artist from Aleppo and has lived in Australia for 2 years. Some of her family is still in Syria and Badiya is very interested in fundrais-ing for Syria. At the moment, Badiya is studying an English Certificate 3 Diploma and wishes to eventually study interior design at university. For more of Badiya’s works, please see
6. Bushra Hasan
Bushra is an Indian artist who has artistic and business experience across many countries. She studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Delhi, and has since worked with numerous big name magazines such as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, India Today and Hindustan Times. She also start-ed her own small art venture, ‘Indybin-di’, where she paints recycled items in an Indian tribal art style. Bushra has exhibited in the USA and Hong Kong and she moved to Australia hoping to establish her art, where she was discovered by Multicultural Arts Victo-ria. As a part of this organisation, she painted the life-sized elephant for Moomba Parade. Bushra is also involved with Jindi and has designed the logo, T-shirt, comment card and flyer for the 1000 voices project. For more of Bushra’s works please visit
7. Edith Rodriguez
Edith is from Mexico and has lived in Australia for 11 years. She created this painting with her grandmother when she was 13, it was the first artwork that they made together. Edith’s grandmother had brought her up from a young age and this artwork is a special tribute to her. Edith has also included a colourful Mexican wooden sculpture called ‘alebrigue’.
8. Fadi Lazar
Fadi is an Iraqi artist and has only been in Australia for 10 months. He has digitally created a series of artworks, and while only being a beginner artist, Fadi has shown great talent, dedication and vision. “I wonder about the universe and life beyond our planet”, and this is reflect-ed in the dark vastness of his art. Fadi is also interested in the film industry and volunteers at the Melbourne Film Festival. He wishes to go to university and to become a film director.
9. Heba El Farra
Heba is a 21-year-old, Palestinian, Egyptian-born photographer. Due to the war in Palestine, Heba’s family relocated to different parts of the world. Her maternal grandparents moved to Kuwait and paternal grand-parents to Egypt. When Heba was 4 years old her parents made the deci-sion to migrate to Australia, to provide their children with the best opportuni-ties in life and for better education. Growing up in a Western society whilst trying to remain true to her Middle Eastern roots, was a constant struggle for Heba and eventually she found comfort in nature. The beauty of nature is something everyone can appreciate regardless of their, age, culture or religion. Heba’s artwork is a combination of her two passions; photography and nature. She aims to capture the beauty of nature in its
purest form.
10. Helen Sartinas
Helen is a multimedia artist who has a Greek cultural heritage. Her parents were economic refugees from WWII and came to Australia in the 1960s on the assisted passage scheme. Helen’s series of photographs explore her travels to India and the people and landscapes of its transient space. She focuses on women’s moments of peace and reflection that occur in chaos, and there is the suggestion that this reflection can transcend such chaos. Artworks are for sale, please contact [email protected].
11. Dr Iman Alattar
Iman is an Iraqi artist who moved to from New Zealand to Australia in 2008. She has completed a PhD in Architecture from the University of Tasmania. For Iman, painting is her hobby and she has participated in a number of art exhibitions previously. She mostly works with oil paints, watercolours and calligraphy and uniquely combines geometrical shapes with personal connections to culture and spirituality.
12. Joulunar Alnajar
Joulunar is an Iraqi artist who takes great inspiration from her cultural history and religion. One of the paint-
ings on display is based on the story of the imam Hussain, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, where the Arabic writing reads "The revenge of the imam Hussain". This is one of Joulunar’s first paintings as she experimented with the sunset colours. The second painting was inspired from the ancient Mesopota-mian history, Bagdadiat, and Joulunar has creatively modernised the story using abstract colours. The last paint-ing is a retake on the previous Bagda-di painting, where she aims to empha-sise the details of the initial work and has further developed skills and experimented with the colours and patterns. The artworks are for sale, please contact 0431647366 if inter-ested.
13. Mary Denkha
Mary is from Syria and has been in Australia for 8 months. She is current-ly enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Foundation at Melbourne Polytechnic. Mary enjoys photography as a hobby and would like to be an aviation engineer.
14. Maryam Basa
Maryam is a 20-year-old Iraqi artist who has been in Australia for almost 3 years. She has loved drawing since she was a little girl and has always discovered new drawing methods. Maryam has found a love for drawing because it allows her to be creative
and this gives her a sense of peace and happiness from a simple little piece of paper.
15. Maryam Ibrahim
Maryam is a young Yemeni artist who explores human emotions in her figurative artworks. She tends to capture only one person at a time, as she wants to focus on individual emo-tions. Maryam beautifully unites watercolours, fine-liner, calligraphy and portraiture to express this singu-lar emotion. She has been inspired by the artist Egon Schiele because he has a unique style and creates unreal-istic portraits of odd characters. This in turn has encouraged Maryam to find her own style, using her imagina-tion and creativity. For more of Maryam’s artworks, please visit her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryam.art98/.
16. Mojgan Honarvar
Mojgan is an Iranian artist who moved to Australia 2011 to study a Masters of IT. She has been drawing since she was 6 years old with no formal educa-tion in art. Mojgan sees the times she spends drawing and painting as special moments of freedom. But at the same time, such moments for her can also be a time of madness, creation and theosophy. Mojgan is also a beautiful singer and has been singing since she was nine years old. Mojgan’s artworks are for sale, please
contact directly 045005671.
17. Nouha Saigh
Nouha is a Syrian artist and has been in Australia for over two years. She paints with oils and considers themes of homeland and displacement. She has previously shown her work in exhibitions such as the Heartlands Art Project and at the Walker St Gallery. Nouha is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program, which offers mento-ring, business skills, training and support to women from refugee, migrant and asylum seeker back-grounds. Nouha’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0435033227.
18. Pamela Mujica
Pamela is from Chile and immigrated to Melbourne in 2010. She is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program. Pamela crochets wire using a tech-nique from Peru called Peruvian Stitch which is the art of making loops. She uses fine silver, silver plated and copper wire to create her jewellery. Pamela’s jewellery is for sale, please contact directly 0404211446.
19. Robertson Buitrago
Roberson is from Colombia and has lived in Australia for three years. His paintings convey ideas about the
world around him, as he creates series of works that approach partic-ular subjects. His use of tone and colour beautifully capture the emotive in the subject matter and strengthen the artwork’s message. In his series ‘Stereoscapes’, Robertson explores the mediation between new and old technologies, suggesting that this interaction, in fact, becomes a media-tion between reality and our self. The bigger work is based on a photo of a rebel woman from the FARC guerrilla forces who cared for her hair during the war in the jungle. This juxtaposi-tion exposes the violence in Colombia and leaves us with a poignant and lasting image. Robertson’s works are for sale, please contact 0403772931.
20. Saif Parwti
Saif is a Baghdadi musician and has lived in Australia for 9 months. His instrument is called an oud and Saif has made arguably the very first Australian oud from Australian walnut timber. His father is also a musician specialising in al-kanoon which is a traditional Middle Eastern instrument. Saif makes ouds for sale, priced at around $1000 each and he also hosts oud workshops at home for anyone interested. Please contact directly 0406538819.
21. Stafro Daniel
Stafro from Iraq and has been in Australia for a year and half. He is
currently enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Founda-tion at Melbourne Polytechnic. Stafro takes photographs as a hobby in his spare time. He says that photography needs a lot of practice and while he hasn’t had formal education in photography, he learns online on his own and is excited by the possibilities of new techniques.
22. Serap Kaman Istekl
Serap is from a Turkish background and arrived in Australia in 1985. She has been passionate about art since a young age, and has experimented with many mediums, techniques and styles, finding her true love in mixed media (also known as collaging). Serap enjoys the collaging art making process because it is very therapeutic and relaxing and encourages every-one to try it. She is a dynamic and talented artist as her style encapsu-lates a range of mythical, utopian, dystopian, abstract and surreal elements. Serap is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Craigieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
23. Vesi Kupenova
Vesi is a young Bulgarian artist who moved to Australia in 2004. Her artworks aim to capture the starkness of Soviet architecture which dominat-ed the landscape of her childhood. Her art practice includes drawing, photography, intaglio and lithographic prints. The printmaking process is laborious and time-consuming and Vesi aims to contrast this with quick, rash strokes. Further meaning can be drawn from the intaglio print, where the small text reads “Engineers not Creators”, and this suggests that the purpose of Soviet architecture is purely utilitarian and does not contain many aspects of creativity. Vesi’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0422911548.
24. Yelena Ashlapova
Yelena is a Russian-Korean artist who was born in Kazakhstan. She approaches her art with an immedia-cy that seeks to evade conscious intention. Yelena nurtures a trust in raw intuition and the personal conver-sation that occurs in the very moment of art-making. “Talking to image, as with a mirror, gives an opportunity to deepen an understanding of soul and spirit nature”. Yelena is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Crai-gieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
For a collection of Yelena’s works please visit
Yelena’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0432946722.
Araluen artists Claudio Petri
Claudio is an artist from an Italian cultural background who works within the "Art Connects" program at Araluen's Rosanna support hub. His strikingly simple compositions are usually based upon the built environment and how we inhabit it. By stripping down his subject to its most simple form, Claudio can convey his affinity with his own surroundings and place. His choice of carefully considered, vibrant colour convey a sense of home as a place of security and comfort. For further information about Claudio or to purchase his work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Julie Potamianos
Julie is a prolific artist from a Greek cultural background, who works within the supported studio at Aralu-en. Here, she can explore and develop her many ideas whilst receiving prac-tical personal supports. As a hearing
impaired person, Julie speaks to the world with a pen and brush. She is fascinated by fish and birds which form the subjects of her work exclu-sively. Julie uses ink, which she allows to find it's on way on the page, mixing to form new colours and original, unknown effects. This technique ensures that the end result is incredi-bly unique. For further information about Julie or to purchase her work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Olatunji Olafioye
Olatunji is a young architect and artist from Nigeria, Africa, who moved to Australia in August 2016.
“My works are inspired by the Melbourne built environment and iconic monuments. All I try to do with the watercolour medium is to objectify the subjective reality of Victoria and the city life.’These works are for sale, contact 0432 647 556.
Films
‘Lead to Achieve’ filmsShabnam and Reza from Iran and Afghanistan respectively, sought asylum in Australia.They joined ‘Lead to Achieve’, a program for young people from newly arrived and migrant communities. The artists who took part in film making workshops came from varied cultures, ethnic and religious back-
• Yelena Ashlapova and Joe Billich for helping with the hanging of the works.
• Other volunteers who helped enor-mously closer to the day including Seerat Nasheen, Rosemary Morris, Muhammad Isa and Karolina Sevcikova Everyone from the wider Brotherhood of St Laurence team and the Epping Com-munity Services Hub partners who have all helped out with promotion and logis-tics in many practical ways. And finally, all the amazing artists who have trusted us with their artwork and provided a diverse and exceptional range of art to exhibit.
The Emerge in the North Art and Craft Exhibition Planning Team!
Note re the Catalogue. Most artists have at least three artworks on display, however, the catalogue shows one example. The numbers in the catalogue match the artist. Their additional work is added to the same number. E.g. 1. Ahlam Alsharifi: Artwork numbered: 1.1; 1.2; 1.3 Enjoy this wonderful collection of artwork that celebrates the incredible talent and contribution that people from refugee and migrant background make to the life and creativity of our community!
grounds. Identity and belonging are central themes to their video stories. The program provided an opportunity to explore these themes through personal creative expression, to help build a community of understanding through diversity. The original draw-ings are created by the artists, as are the poetry and voices.
1. Ahlam Alsharifi
Ahlam is an Iraqi artist who creatively uses recycled materials and fashions them into decorative and ornamental sculptures. The pieces on display were especially made for the month of Ramadan, showing a representa-tion of the Islamic religion and culture. The pieces also emphasise the detail-ing of Islamic art and pattern work. Ahlam’s works are for sale, please contact directly 0423596867.
2. Awni Alghareeb
Awni is sculptor from Bagdad and has been making wood sculptures for over 40 years. He uses only two tools found in any common household for his work. Awni creates works for churches of religious symbols and icons. His sculptures are for sale, ranging from $75-$300, please contact directly 0455301252.
3. Ayat Al Qassim
Ayat is a young Iraqi artist and she has created an abstract film exploring the way our eyes collect moving images and process them into thoughts and emotions. In the film, the paper strips of writing are a representation of thoughts gathered in by our eyes. The various cut outs that create shadows explain how thoughts and ideas can affect each other, and how old thoughts can influence new thoughts and ideas. In addition to this symbol-
ism, the black and white colours are a reflection of one’s negative and posi-tive thoughts and feelings.
4. Aziza Rahimi
Aziza is an Afghan artist. She arrived in Australia in 2016 and hopes to complete her studies in Melbourne. Aziza paints, draws and is also a gifted, self-taught photographer, being drawn to photography at a young age. She is inspired by the reali-ty of daily life on the street and sees beauty in the simplest things that surround her. “My photos speak about traditional and new cultures. I believe a portrait can evoke an emotion and atmosphere and speaks about a moment in time. As an observer, noth-ing remains the same. I like to capture that moment as a legacy of passing of time, age and across different genera-tions.”
5. Badiya Jawish
Badiya is a Syrian artist from Aleppo and has lived in Australia for 2 years. Some of her family is still in Syria and Badiya is very interested in fundrais-ing for Syria. At the moment, Badiya is studying an English Certificate 3 Diploma and wishes to eventually study interior design at university. For more of Badiya’s works, please see
6. Bushra Hasan
Bushra is an Indian artist who has artistic and business experience across many countries. She studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Delhi, and has since worked with numerous big name magazines such as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, India Today and Hindustan Times. She also start-ed her own small art venture, ‘Indybin-di’, where she paints recycled items in an Indian tribal art style. Bushra has exhibited in the USA and Hong Kong and she moved to Australia hoping to establish her art, where she was discovered by Multicultural Arts Victo-ria. As a part of this organisation, she painted the life-sized elephant for Moomba Parade. Bushra is also involved with Jindi and has designed the logo, T-shirt, comment card and flyer for the 1000 voices project. For more of Bushra’s works please visit
7. Edith Rodriguez
Edith is from Mexico and has lived in Australia for 11 years. She created this painting with her grandmother when she was 13, it was the first artwork that they made together. Edith’s grandmother had brought her up from a young age and this artwork is a special tribute to her. Edith has also included a colourful Mexican wooden sculpture called ‘alebrigue’.
8. Fadi Lazar
Fadi is an Iraqi artist and has only been in Australia for 10 months. He has digitally created a series of artworks, and while only being a beginner artist, Fadi has shown great talent, dedication and vision. “I wonder about the universe and life beyond our planet”, and this is reflect-ed in the dark vastness of his art. Fadi is also interested in the film industry and volunteers at the Melbourne Film Festival. He wishes to go to university and to become a film director.
9. Heba El Farra
Heba is a 21-year-old, Palestinian, Egyptian-born photographer. Due to the war in Palestine, Heba’s family relocated to different parts of the world. Her maternal grandparents moved to Kuwait and paternal grand-parents to Egypt. When Heba was 4 years old her parents made the deci-sion to migrate to Australia, to provide their children with the best opportuni-ties in life and for better education. Growing up in a Western society whilst trying to remain true to her Middle Eastern roots, was a constant struggle for Heba and eventually she found comfort in nature. The beauty of nature is something everyone can appreciate regardless of their, age, culture or religion. Heba’s artwork is a combination of her two passions; photography and nature. She aims to capture the beauty of nature in its
purest form.
10. Helen Sartinas
Helen is a multimedia artist who has a Greek cultural heritage. Her parents were economic refugees from WWII and came to Australia in the 1960s on the assisted passage scheme. Helen’s series of photographs explore her travels to India and the people and landscapes of its transient space. She focuses on women’s moments of peace and reflection that occur in chaos, and there is the suggestion that this reflection can transcend such chaos. Artworks are for sale, please contact [email protected].
11. Dr Iman Alattar
Iman is an Iraqi artist who moved to from New Zealand to Australia in 2008. She has completed a PhD in Architecture from the University of Tasmania. For Iman, painting is her hobby and she has participated in a number of art exhibitions previously. She mostly works with oil paints, watercolours and calligraphy and uniquely combines geometrical shapes with personal connections to culture and spirituality.
12. Joulunar Alnajar
Joulunar is an Iraqi artist who takes great inspiration from her cultural history and religion. One of the paint-
ings on display is based on the story of the imam Hussain, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, where the Arabic writing reads "The revenge of the imam Hussain". This is one of Joulunar’s first paintings as she experimented with the sunset colours. The second painting was inspired from the ancient Mesopota-mian history, Bagdadiat, and Joulunar has creatively modernised the story using abstract colours. The last paint-ing is a retake on the previous Bagda-di painting, where she aims to empha-sise the details of the initial work and has further developed skills and experimented with the colours and patterns. The artworks are for sale, please contact 0431647366 if inter-ested.
13. Mary Denkha
Mary is from Syria and has been in Australia for 8 months. She is current-ly enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Foundation at Melbourne Polytechnic. Mary enjoys photography as a hobby and would like to be an aviation engineer.
14. Maryam Basa
Maryam is a 20-year-old Iraqi artist who has been in Australia for almost 3 years. She has loved drawing since she was a little girl and has always discovered new drawing methods. Maryam has found a love for drawing because it allows her to be creative
and this gives her a sense of peace and happiness from a simple little piece of paper.
15. Maryam Ibrahim
Maryam is a young Yemeni artist who explores human emotions in her figurative artworks. She tends to capture only one person at a time, as she wants to focus on individual emo-tions. Maryam beautifully unites watercolours, fine-liner, calligraphy and portraiture to express this singu-lar emotion. She has been inspired by the artist Egon Schiele because he has a unique style and creates unreal-istic portraits of odd characters. This in turn has encouraged Maryam to find her own style, using her imagina-tion and creativity. For more of Maryam’s artworks, please visit her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryam.art98/.
16. Mojgan Honarvar
Mojgan is an Iranian artist who moved to Australia 2011 to study a Masters of IT. She has been drawing since she was 6 years old with no formal educa-tion in art. Mojgan sees the times she spends drawing and painting as special moments of freedom. But at the same time, such moments for her can also be a time of madness, creation and theosophy. Mojgan is also a beautiful singer and has been singing since she was nine years old. Mojgan’s artworks are for sale, please
contact directly 045005671.
17. Nouha Saigh
Nouha is a Syrian artist and has been in Australia for over two years. She paints with oils and considers themes of homeland and displacement. She has previously shown her work in exhibitions such as the Heartlands Art Project and at the Walker St Gallery. Nouha is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program, which offers mento-ring, business skills, training and support to women from refugee, migrant and asylum seeker back-grounds. Nouha’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0435033227.
18. Pamela Mujica
Pamela is from Chile and immigrated to Melbourne in 2010. She is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program. Pamela crochets wire using a tech-nique from Peru called Peruvian Stitch which is the art of making loops. She uses fine silver, silver plated and copper wire to create her jewellery. Pamela’s jewellery is for sale, please contact directly 0404211446.
19. Robertson Buitrago
Roberson is from Colombia and has lived in Australia for three years. His paintings convey ideas about the
world around him, as he creates series of works that approach partic-ular subjects. His use of tone and colour beautifully capture the emotive in the subject matter and strengthen the artwork’s message. In his series ‘Stereoscapes’, Robertson explores the mediation between new and old technologies, suggesting that this interaction, in fact, becomes a media-tion between reality and our self. The bigger work is based on a photo of a rebel woman from the FARC guerrilla forces who cared for her hair during the war in the jungle. This juxtaposi-tion exposes the violence in Colombia and leaves us with a poignant and lasting image. Robertson’s works are for sale, please contact 0403772931.
20. Saif Parwti
Saif is a Baghdadi musician and has lived in Australia for 9 months. His instrument is called an oud and Saif has made arguably the very first Australian oud from Australian walnut timber. His father is also a musician specialising in al-kanoon which is a traditional Middle Eastern instrument. Saif makes ouds for sale, priced at around $1000 each and he also hosts oud workshops at home for anyone interested. Please contact directly 0406538819.
21. Stafro Daniel
Stafro from Iraq and has been in Australia for a year and half. He is
currently enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Founda-tion at Melbourne Polytechnic. Stafro takes photographs as a hobby in his spare time. He says that photography needs a lot of practice and while he hasn’t had formal education in photography, he learns online on his own and is excited by the possibilities of new techniques.
22. Serap Kaman Istekl
Serap is from a Turkish background and arrived in Australia in 1985. She has been passionate about art since a young age, and has experimented with many mediums, techniques and styles, finding her true love in mixed media (also known as collaging). Serap enjoys the collaging art making process because it is very therapeutic and relaxing and encourages every-one to try it. She is a dynamic and talented artist as her style encapsu-lates a range of mythical, utopian, dystopian, abstract and surreal elements. Serap is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Craigieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
23. Vesi Kupenova
Vesi is a young Bulgarian artist who moved to Australia in 2004. Her artworks aim to capture the starkness of Soviet architecture which dominat-ed the landscape of her childhood. Her art practice includes drawing, photography, intaglio and lithographic prints. The printmaking process is laborious and time-consuming and Vesi aims to contrast this with quick, rash strokes. Further meaning can be drawn from the intaglio print, where the small text reads “Engineers not Creators”, and this suggests that the purpose of Soviet architecture is purely utilitarian and does not contain many aspects of creativity. Vesi’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0422911548.
24. Yelena Ashlapova
Yelena is a Russian-Korean artist who was born in Kazakhstan. She approaches her art with an immedia-cy that seeks to evade conscious intention. Yelena nurtures a trust in raw intuition and the personal conver-sation that occurs in the very moment of art-making. “Talking to image, as with a mirror, gives an opportunity to deepen an understanding of soul and spirit nature”. Yelena is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Crai-gieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
For a collection of Yelena’s works please visit
Yelena’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0432946722.
Araluen artists Claudio Petri
Claudio is an artist from an Italian cultural background who works within the "Art Connects" program at Araluen's Rosanna support hub. His strikingly simple compositions are usually based upon the built environment and how we inhabit it. By stripping down his subject to its most simple form, Claudio can convey his affinity with his own surroundings and place. His choice of carefully considered, vibrant colour convey a sense of home as a place of security and comfort. For further information about Claudio or to purchase his work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Julie Potamianos
Julie is a prolific artist from a Greek cultural background, who works within the supported studio at Aralu-en. Here, she can explore and develop her many ideas whilst receiving prac-tical personal supports. As a hearing
impaired person, Julie speaks to the world with a pen and brush. She is fascinated by fish and birds which form the subjects of her work exclu-sively. Julie uses ink, which she allows to find it's on way on the page, mixing to form new colours and original, unknown effects. This technique ensures that the end result is incredi-bly unique. For further information about Julie or to purchase her work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Olatunji Olafioye
Olatunji is a young architect and artist from Nigeria, Africa, who moved to Australia in August 2016.
“My works are inspired by the Melbourne built environment and iconic monuments. All I try to do with the watercolour medium is to objectify the subjective reality of Victoria and the city life.’These works are for sale, contact 0432 647 556.
Films
‘Lead to Achieve’ filmsShabnam and Reza from Iran and Afghanistan respectively, sought asylum in Australia.They joined ‘Lead to Achieve’, a program for young people from newly arrived and migrant communities. The artists who took part in film making workshops came from varied cultures, ethnic and religious back-
https://www.facebook.com/Art-Badiya-Jaw-ish-Afren-1689847071301191/?ref=nf . Badiya’s works are also for sale, please contact her directly at [email protected] or on 0416691780.
grounds. Identity and belonging are central themes to their video stories. The program provided an opportunity to explore these themes through personal creative expression, to help build a community of understanding through diversity. The original draw-ings are created by the artists, as are the poetry and voices.
1. Ahlam Alsharifi
Ahlam is an Iraqi artist who creatively uses recycled materials and fashions them into decorative and ornamental sculptures. The pieces on display were especially made for the month of Ramadan, showing a representa-tion of the Islamic religion and culture. The pieces also emphasise the detail-ing of Islamic art and pattern work. Ahlam’s works are for sale, please contact directly 0423596867.
2. Awni Alghareeb
Awni is sculptor from Bagdad and has been making wood sculptures for over 40 years. He uses only two tools found in any common household for his work. Awni creates works for churches of religious symbols and icons. His sculptures are for sale, ranging from $75-$300, please contact directly 0455301252.
3. Ayat Al Qassim
Ayat is a young Iraqi artist and she has created an abstract film exploring the way our eyes collect moving images and process them into thoughts and emotions. In the film, the paper strips of writing are a representation of thoughts gathered in by our eyes. The various cut outs that create shadows explain how thoughts and ideas can affect each other, and how old thoughts can influence new thoughts and ideas. In addition to this symbol-
ism, the black and white colours are a reflection of one’s negative and posi-tive thoughts and feelings.
4. Aziza Rahimi
Aziza is an Afghan artist. She arrived in Australia in 2016 and hopes to complete her studies in Melbourne. Aziza paints, draws and is also a gifted, self-taught photographer, being drawn to photography at a young age. She is inspired by the reali-ty of daily life on the street and sees beauty in the simplest things that surround her. “My photos speak about traditional and new cultures. I believe a portrait can evoke an emotion and atmosphere and speaks about a moment in time. As an observer, noth-ing remains the same. I like to capture that moment as a legacy of passing of time, age and across different genera-tions.”
5. Badiya Jawish
Badiya is a Syrian artist from Aleppo and has lived in Australia for 2 years. Some of her family is still in Syria and Badiya is very interested in fundrais-ing for Syria. At the moment, Badiya is studying an English Certificate 3 Diploma and wishes to eventually study interior design at university. For more of Badiya’s works, please see
6. Bushra Hasan
Bushra is an Indian artist who has artistic and business experience across many countries. She studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Delhi, and has since worked with numerous big name magazines such as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, India Today and Hindustan Times. She also start-ed her own small art venture, ‘Indybin-di’, where she paints recycled items in an Indian tribal art style. Bushra has exhibited in the USA and Hong Kong and she moved to Australia hoping to establish her art, where she was discovered by Multicultural Arts Victo-ria. As a part of this organisation, she painted the life-sized elephant for Moomba Parade. Bushra is also involved with Jindi and has designed the logo, T-shirt, comment card and flyer for the 1000 voices project. For more of Bushra’s works please visit
7. Edith Rodriguez
Edith is from Mexico and has lived in Australia for 11 years. She created this painting with her grandmother when she was 13, it was the first artwork that they made together. Edith’s grandmother had brought her up from a young age and this artwork is a special tribute to her. Edith has also included a colourful Mexican wooden sculpture called ‘alebrigue’.
8. Fadi Lazar
Fadi is an Iraqi artist and has only been in Australia for 10 months. He has digitally created a series of artworks, and while only being a beginner artist, Fadi has shown great talent, dedication and vision. “I wonder about the universe and life beyond our planet”, and this is reflect-ed in the dark vastness of his art. Fadi is also interested in the film industry and volunteers at the Melbourne Film Festival. He wishes to go to university and to become a film director.
9. Heba El Farra
Heba is a 21-year-old, Palestinian, Egyptian-born photographer. Due to the war in Palestine, Heba’s family relocated to different parts of the world. Her maternal grandparents moved to Kuwait and paternal grand-parents to Egypt. When Heba was 4 years old her parents made the deci-sion to migrate to Australia, to provide their children with the best opportuni-ties in life and for better education. Growing up in a Western society whilst trying to remain true to her Middle Eastern roots, was a constant struggle for Heba and eventually she found comfort in nature. The beauty of nature is something everyone can appreciate regardless of their, age, culture or religion. Heba’s artwork is a combination of her two passions; photography and nature. She aims to capture the beauty of nature in its
purest form.
10. Helen Sartinas
Helen is a multimedia artist who has a Greek cultural heritage. Her parents were economic refugees from WWII and came to Australia in the 1960s on the assisted passage scheme. Helen’s series of photographs explore her travels to India and the people and landscapes of its transient space. She focuses on women’s moments of peace and reflection that occur in chaos, and there is the suggestion that this reflection can transcend such chaos. Artworks are for sale, please contact [email protected].
11. Dr Iman Alattar
Iman is an Iraqi artist who moved to from New Zealand to Australia in 2008. She has completed a PhD in Architecture from the University of Tasmania. For Iman, painting is her hobby and she has participated in a number of art exhibitions previously. She mostly works with oil paints, watercolours and calligraphy and uniquely combines geometrical shapes with personal connections to culture and spirituality.
12. Joulunar Alnajar
Joulunar is an Iraqi artist who takes great inspiration from her cultural history and religion. One of the paint-
ings on display is based on the story of the imam Hussain, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, where the Arabic writing reads "The revenge of the imam Hussain". This is one of Joulunar’s first paintings as she experimented with the sunset colours. The second painting was inspired from the ancient Mesopota-mian history, Bagdadiat, and Joulunar has creatively modernised the story using abstract colours. The last paint-ing is a retake on the previous Bagda-di painting, where she aims to empha-sise the details of the initial work and has further developed skills and experimented with the colours and patterns. The artworks are for sale, please contact 0431647366 if inter-ested.
13. Mary Denkha
Mary is from Syria and has been in Australia for 8 months. She is current-ly enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Foundation at Melbourne Polytechnic. Mary enjoys photography as a hobby and would like to be an aviation engineer.
14. Maryam Basa
Maryam is a 20-year-old Iraqi artist who has been in Australia for almost 3 years. She has loved drawing since she was a little girl and has always discovered new drawing methods. Maryam has found a love for drawing because it allows her to be creative
and this gives her a sense of peace and happiness from a simple little piece of paper.
15. Maryam Ibrahim
Maryam is a young Yemeni artist who explores human emotions in her figurative artworks. She tends to capture only one person at a time, as she wants to focus on individual emo-tions. Maryam beautifully unites watercolours, fine-liner, calligraphy and portraiture to express this singu-lar emotion. She has been inspired by the artist Egon Schiele because he has a unique style and creates unreal-istic portraits of odd characters. This in turn has encouraged Maryam to find her own style, using her imagina-tion and creativity. For more of Maryam’s artworks, please visit her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryam.art98/.
16. Mojgan Honarvar
Mojgan is an Iranian artist who moved to Australia 2011 to study a Masters of IT. She has been drawing since she was 6 years old with no formal educa-tion in art. Mojgan sees the times she spends drawing and painting as special moments of freedom. But at the same time, such moments for her can also be a time of madness, creation and theosophy. Mojgan is also a beautiful singer and has been singing since she was nine years old. Mojgan’s artworks are for sale, please
contact directly 045005671.
17. Nouha Saigh
Nouha is a Syrian artist and has been in Australia for over two years. She paints with oils and considers themes of homeland and displacement. She has previously shown her work in exhibitions such as the Heartlands Art Project and at the Walker St Gallery. Nouha is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program, which offers mento-ring, business skills, training and support to women from refugee, migrant and asylum seeker back-grounds. Nouha’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0435033227.
18. Pamela Mujica
Pamela is from Chile and immigrated to Melbourne in 2010. She is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program. Pamela crochets wire using a tech-nique from Peru called Peruvian Stitch which is the art of making loops. She uses fine silver, silver plated and copper wire to create her jewellery. Pamela’s jewellery is for sale, please contact directly 0404211446.
19. Robertson Buitrago
Roberson is from Colombia and has lived in Australia for three years. His paintings convey ideas about the
world around him, as he creates series of works that approach partic-ular subjects. His use of tone and colour beautifully capture the emotive in the subject matter and strengthen the artwork’s message. In his series ‘Stereoscapes’, Robertson explores the mediation between new and old technologies, suggesting that this interaction, in fact, becomes a media-tion between reality and our self. The bigger work is based on a photo of a rebel woman from the FARC guerrilla forces who cared for her hair during the war in the jungle. This juxtaposi-tion exposes the violence in Colombia and leaves us with a poignant and lasting image. Robertson’s works are for sale, please contact 0403772931.
20. Saif Parwti
Saif is a Baghdadi musician and has lived in Australia for 9 months. His instrument is called an oud and Saif has made arguably the very first Australian oud from Australian walnut timber. His father is also a musician specialising in al-kanoon which is a traditional Middle Eastern instrument. Saif makes ouds for sale, priced at around $1000 each and he also hosts oud workshops at home for anyone interested. Please contact directly 0406538819.
21. Stafro Daniel
Stafro from Iraq and has been in Australia for a year and half. He is
currently enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Founda-tion at Melbourne Polytechnic. Stafro takes photographs as a hobby in his spare time. He says that photography needs a lot of practice and while he hasn’t had formal education in photography, he learns online on his own and is excited by the possibilities of new techniques.
22. Serap Kaman Istekl
Serap is from a Turkish background and arrived in Australia in 1985. She has been passionate about art since a young age, and has experimented with many mediums, techniques and styles, finding her true love in mixed media (also known as collaging). Serap enjoys the collaging art making process because it is very therapeutic and relaxing and encourages every-one to try it. She is a dynamic and talented artist as her style encapsu-lates a range of mythical, utopian, dystopian, abstract and surreal elements. Serap is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Craigieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
23. Vesi Kupenova
Vesi is a young Bulgarian artist who moved to Australia in 2004. Her artworks aim to capture the starkness of Soviet architecture which dominat-ed the landscape of her childhood. Her art practice includes drawing, photography, intaglio and lithographic prints. The printmaking process is laborious and time-consuming and Vesi aims to contrast this with quick, rash strokes. Further meaning can be drawn from the intaglio print, where the small text reads “Engineers not Creators”, and this suggests that the purpose of Soviet architecture is purely utilitarian and does not contain many aspects of creativity. Vesi’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0422911548.
24. Yelena Ashlapova
Yelena is a Russian-Korean artist who was born in Kazakhstan. She approaches her art with an immedia-cy that seeks to evade conscious intention. Yelena nurtures a trust in raw intuition and the personal conver-sation that occurs in the very moment of art-making. “Talking to image, as with a mirror, gives an opportunity to deepen an understanding of soul and spirit nature”. Yelena is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Crai-gieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
For a collection of Yelena’s works please visit
Yelena’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0432946722.
Araluen artists Claudio Petri
Claudio is an artist from an Italian cultural background who works within the "Art Connects" program at Araluen's Rosanna support hub. His strikingly simple compositions are usually based upon the built environment and how we inhabit it. By stripping down his subject to its most simple form, Claudio can convey his affinity with his own surroundings and place. His choice of carefully considered, vibrant colour convey a sense of home as a place of security and comfort. For further information about Claudio or to purchase his work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Julie Potamianos
Julie is a prolific artist from a Greek cultural background, who works within the supported studio at Aralu-en. Here, she can explore and develop her many ideas whilst receiving prac-tical personal supports. As a hearing
impaired person, Julie speaks to the world with a pen and brush. She is fascinated by fish and birds which form the subjects of her work exclu-sively. Julie uses ink, which she allows to find it's on way on the page, mixing to form new colours and original, unknown effects. This technique ensures that the end result is incredi-bly unique. For further information about Julie or to purchase her work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Olatunji Olafioye
Olatunji is a young architect and artist from Nigeria, Africa, who moved to Australia in August 2016.
“My works are inspired by the Melbourne built environment and iconic monuments. All I try to do with the watercolour medium is to objectify the subjective reality of Victoria and the city life.’These works are for sale, contact 0432 647 556.
Films
‘Lead to Achieve’ filmsShabnam and Reza from Iran and Afghanistan respectively, sought asylum in Australia.They joined ‘Lead to Achieve’, a program for young people from newly arrived and migrant communities. The artists who took part in film making workshops came from varied cultures, ethnic and religious back-
https://www.instagram.com/bushra_kitsch_me_up/. Bushra’a artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0414434162.
grounds. Identity and belonging are central themes to their video stories. The program provided an opportunity to explore these themes through personal creative expression, to help build a community of understanding through diversity. The original draw-ings are created by the artists, as are the poetry and voices.
1. Ahlam Alsharifi
Ahlam is an Iraqi artist who creatively uses recycled materials and fashions them into decorative and ornamental sculptures. The pieces on display were especially made for the month of Ramadan, showing a representa-tion of the Islamic religion and culture. The pieces also emphasise the detail-ing of Islamic art and pattern work. Ahlam’s works are for sale, please contact directly 0423596867.
2. Awni Alghareeb
Awni is sculptor from Bagdad and has been making wood sculptures for over 40 years. He uses only two tools found in any common household for his work. Awni creates works for churches of religious symbols and icons. His sculptures are for sale, ranging from $75-$300, please contact directly 0455301252.
3. Ayat Al Qassim
Ayat is a young Iraqi artist and she has created an abstract film exploring the way our eyes collect moving images and process them into thoughts and emotions. In the film, the paper strips of writing are a representation of thoughts gathered in by our eyes. The various cut outs that create shadows explain how thoughts and ideas can affect each other, and how old thoughts can influence new thoughts and ideas. In addition to this symbol-
ism, the black and white colours are a reflection of one’s negative and posi-tive thoughts and feelings.
4. Aziza Rahimi
Aziza is an Afghan artist. She arrived in Australia in 2016 and hopes to complete her studies in Melbourne. Aziza paints, draws and is also a gifted, self-taught photographer, being drawn to photography at a young age. She is inspired by the reali-ty of daily life on the street and sees beauty in the simplest things that surround her. “My photos speak about traditional and new cultures. I believe a portrait can evoke an emotion and atmosphere and speaks about a moment in time. As an observer, noth-ing remains the same. I like to capture that moment as a legacy of passing of time, age and across different genera-tions.”
5. Badiya Jawish
Badiya is a Syrian artist from Aleppo and has lived in Australia for 2 years. Some of her family is still in Syria and Badiya is very interested in fundrais-ing for Syria. At the moment, Badiya is studying an English Certificate 3 Diploma and wishes to eventually study interior design at university. For more of Badiya’s works, please see
6. Bushra Hasan
Bushra is an Indian artist who has artistic and business experience across many countries. She studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Delhi, and has since worked with numerous big name magazines such as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, India Today and Hindustan Times. She also start-ed her own small art venture, ‘Indybin-di’, where she paints recycled items in an Indian tribal art style. Bushra has exhibited in the USA and Hong Kong and she moved to Australia hoping to establish her art, where she was discovered by Multicultural Arts Victo-ria. As a part of this organisation, she painted the life-sized elephant for Moomba Parade. Bushra is also involved with Jindi and has designed the logo, T-shirt, comment card and flyer for the 1000 voices project. For more of Bushra’s works please visit
7. Edith Rodriguez
Edith is from Mexico and has lived in Australia for 11 years. She created this painting with her grandmother when she was 13, it was the first artwork that they made together. Edith’s grandmother had brought her up from a young age and this artwork is a special tribute to her. Edith has also included a colourful Mexican wooden sculpture called ‘alebrigue’.
8. Fadi Lazar
Fadi is an Iraqi artist and has only been in Australia for 10 months. He has digitally created a series of artworks, and while only being a beginner artist, Fadi has shown great talent, dedication and vision. “I wonder about the universe and life beyond our planet”, and this is reflect-ed in the dark vastness of his art. Fadi is also interested in the film industry and volunteers at the Melbourne Film Festival. He wishes to go to university and to become a film director.
9. Heba El Farra
Heba is a 21-year-old, Palestinian, Egyptian-born photographer. Due to the war in Palestine, Heba’s family relocated to different parts of the world. Her maternal grandparents moved to Kuwait and paternal grand-parents to Egypt. When Heba was 4 years old her parents made the deci-sion to migrate to Australia, to provide their children with the best opportuni-ties in life and for better education. Growing up in a Western society whilst trying to remain true to her Middle Eastern roots, was a constant struggle for Heba and eventually she found comfort in nature. The beauty of nature is something everyone can appreciate regardless of their, age, culture or religion. Heba’s artwork is a combination of her two passions; photography and nature. She aims to capture the beauty of nature in its
purest form.
10. Helen Sartinas
Helen is a multimedia artist who has a Greek cultural heritage. Her parents were economic refugees from WWII and came to Australia in the 1960s on the assisted passage scheme. Helen’s series of photographs explore her travels to India and the people and landscapes of its transient space. She focuses on women’s moments of peace and reflection that occur in chaos, and there is the suggestion that this reflection can transcend such chaos. Artworks are for sale, please contact [email protected].
11. Dr Iman Alattar
Iman is an Iraqi artist who moved to from New Zealand to Australia in 2008. She has completed a PhD in Architecture from the University of Tasmania. For Iman, painting is her hobby and she has participated in a number of art exhibitions previously. She mostly works with oil paints, watercolours and calligraphy and uniquely combines geometrical shapes with personal connections to culture and spirituality.
12. Joulunar Alnajar
Joulunar is an Iraqi artist who takes great inspiration from her cultural history and religion. One of the paint-
ings on display is based on the story of the imam Hussain, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, where the Arabic writing reads "The revenge of the imam Hussain". This is one of Joulunar’s first paintings as she experimented with the sunset colours. The second painting was inspired from the ancient Mesopota-mian history, Bagdadiat, and Joulunar has creatively modernised the story using abstract colours. The last paint-ing is a retake on the previous Bagda-di painting, where she aims to empha-sise the details of the initial work and has further developed skills and experimented with the colours and patterns. The artworks are for sale, please contact 0431647366 if inter-ested.
13. Mary Denkha
Mary is from Syria and has been in Australia for 8 months. She is current-ly enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Foundation at Melbourne Polytechnic. Mary enjoys photography as a hobby and would like to be an aviation engineer.
14. Maryam Basa
Maryam is a 20-year-old Iraqi artist who has been in Australia for almost 3 years. She has loved drawing since she was a little girl and has always discovered new drawing methods. Maryam has found a love for drawing because it allows her to be creative
and this gives her a sense of peace and happiness from a simple little piece of paper.
15. Maryam Ibrahim
Maryam is a young Yemeni artist who explores human emotions in her figurative artworks. She tends to capture only one person at a time, as she wants to focus on individual emo-tions. Maryam beautifully unites watercolours, fine-liner, calligraphy and portraiture to express this singu-lar emotion. She has been inspired by the artist Egon Schiele because he has a unique style and creates unreal-istic portraits of odd characters. This in turn has encouraged Maryam to find her own style, using her imagina-tion and creativity. For more of Maryam’s artworks, please visit her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryam.art98/.
16. Mojgan Honarvar
Mojgan is an Iranian artist who moved to Australia 2011 to study a Masters of IT. She has been drawing since she was 6 years old with no formal educa-tion in art. Mojgan sees the times she spends drawing and painting as special moments of freedom. But at the same time, such moments for her can also be a time of madness, creation and theosophy. Mojgan is also a beautiful singer and has been singing since she was nine years old. Mojgan’s artworks are for sale, please
contact directly 045005671.
17. Nouha Saigh
Nouha is a Syrian artist and has been in Australia for over two years. She paints with oils and considers themes of homeland and displacement. She has previously shown her work in exhibitions such as the Heartlands Art Project and at the Walker St Gallery. Nouha is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program, which offers mento-ring, business skills, training and support to women from refugee, migrant and asylum seeker back-grounds. Nouha’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0435033227.
18. Pamela Mujica
Pamela is from Chile and immigrated to Melbourne in 2010. She is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program. Pamela crochets wire using a tech-nique from Peru called Peruvian Stitch which is the art of making loops. She uses fine silver, silver plated and copper wire to create her jewellery. Pamela’s jewellery is for sale, please contact directly 0404211446.
19. Robertson Buitrago
Roberson is from Colombia and has lived in Australia for three years. His paintings convey ideas about the
world around him, as he creates series of works that approach partic-ular subjects. His use of tone and colour beautifully capture the emotive in the subject matter and strengthen the artwork’s message. In his series ‘Stereoscapes’, Robertson explores the mediation between new and old technologies, suggesting that this interaction, in fact, becomes a media-tion between reality and our self. The bigger work is based on a photo of a rebel woman from the FARC guerrilla forces who cared for her hair during the war in the jungle. This juxtaposi-tion exposes the violence in Colombia and leaves us with a poignant and lasting image. Robertson’s works are for sale, please contact 0403772931.
20. Saif Parwti
Saif is a Baghdadi musician and has lived in Australia for 9 months. His instrument is called an oud and Saif has made arguably the very first Australian oud from Australian walnut timber. His father is also a musician specialising in al-kanoon which is a traditional Middle Eastern instrument. Saif makes ouds for sale, priced at around $1000 each and he also hosts oud workshops at home for anyone interested. Please contact directly 0406538819.
21. Stafro Daniel
Stafro from Iraq and has been in Australia for a year and half. He is
currently enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Founda-tion at Melbourne Polytechnic. Stafro takes photographs as a hobby in his spare time. He says that photography needs a lot of practice and while he hasn’t had formal education in photography, he learns online on his own and is excited by the possibilities of new techniques.
22. Serap Kaman Istekl
Serap is from a Turkish background and arrived in Australia in 1985. She has been passionate about art since a young age, and has experimented with many mediums, techniques and styles, finding her true love in mixed media (also known as collaging). Serap enjoys the collaging art making process because it is very therapeutic and relaxing and encourages every-one to try it. She is a dynamic and talented artist as her style encapsu-lates a range of mythical, utopian, dystopian, abstract and surreal elements. Serap is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Craigieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
23. Vesi Kupenova
Vesi is a young Bulgarian artist who moved to Australia in 2004. Her artworks aim to capture the starkness of Soviet architecture which dominat-ed the landscape of her childhood. Her art practice includes drawing, photography, intaglio and lithographic prints. The printmaking process is laborious and time-consuming and Vesi aims to contrast this with quick, rash strokes. Further meaning can be drawn from the intaglio print, where the small text reads “Engineers not Creators”, and this suggests that the purpose of Soviet architecture is purely utilitarian and does not contain many aspects of creativity. Vesi’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0422911548.
24. Yelena Ashlapova
Yelena is a Russian-Korean artist who was born in Kazakhstan. She approaches her art with an immedia-cy that seeks to evade conscious intention. Yelena nurtures a trust in raw intuition and the personal conver-sation that occurs in the very moment of art-making. “Talking to image, as with a mirror, gives an opportunity to deepen an understanding of soul and spirit nature”. Yelena is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Crai-gieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
For a collection of Yelena’s works please visit
Yelena’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0432946722.
Araluen artists Claudio Petri
Claudio is an artist from an Italian cultural background who works within the "Art Connects" program at Araluen's Rosanna support hub. His strikingly simple compositions are usually based upon the built environment and how we inhabit it. By stripping down his subject to its most simple form, Claudio can convey his affinity with his own surroundings and place. His choice of carefully considered, vibrant colour convey a sense of home as a place of security and comfort. For further information about Claudio or to purchase his work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Julie Potamianos
Julie is a prolific artist from a Greek cultural background, who works within the supported studio at Aralu-en. Here, she can explore and develop her many ideas whilst receiving prac-tical personal supports. As a hearing
impaired person, Julie speaks to the world with a pen and brush. She is fascinated by fish and birds which form the subjects of her work exclu-sively. Julie uses ink, which she allows to find it's on way on the page, mixing to form new colours and original, unknown effects. This technique ensures that the end result is incredi-bly unique. For further information about Julie or to purchase her work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Olatunji Olafioye
Olatunji is a young architect and artist from Nigeria, Africa, who moved to Australia in August 2016.
“My works are inspired by the Melbourne built environment and iconic monuments. All I try to do with the watercolour medium is to objectify the subjective reality of Victoria and the city life.’These works are for sale, contact 0432 647 556.
Films
‘Lead to Achieve’ filmsShabnam and Reza from Iran and Afghanistan respectively, sought asylum in Australia.They joined ‘Lead to Achieve’, a program for young people from newly arrived and migrant communities. The artists who took part in film making workshops came from varied cultures, ethnic and religious back-
grounds. Identity and belonging are central themes to their video stories. The program provided an opportunity to explore these themes through personal creative expression, to help build a community of understanding through diversity. The original draw-ings are created by the artists, as are the poetry and voices.
1. Ahlam Alsharifi
Ahlam is an Iraqi artist who creatively uses recycled materials and fashions them into decorative and ornamental sculptures. The pieces on display were especially made for the month of Ramadan, showing a representa-tion of the Islamic religion and culture. The pieces also emphasise the detail-ing of Islamic art and pattern work. Ahlam’s works are for sale, please contact directly 0423596867.
2. Awni Alghareeb
Awni is sculptor from Bagdad and has been making wood sculptures for over 40 years. He uses only two tools found in any common household for his work. Awni creates works for churches of religious symbols and icons. His sculptures are for sale, ranging from $75-$300, please contact directly 0455301252.
3. Ayat Al Qassim
Ayat is a young Iraqi artist and she has created an abstract film exploring the way our eyes collect moving images and process them into thoughts and emotions. In the film, the paper strips of writing are a representation of thoughts gathered in by our eyes. The various cut outs that create shadows explain how thoughts and ideas can affect each other, and how old thoughts can influence new thoughts and ideas. In addition to this symbol-
ism, the black and white colours are a reflection of one’s negative and posi-tive thoughts and feelings.
4. Aziza Rahimi
Aziza is an Afghan artist. She arrived in Australia in 2016 and hopes to complete her studies in Melbourne. Aziza paints, draws and is also a gifted, self-taught photographer, being drawn to photography at a young age. She is inspired by the reali-ty of daily life on the street and sees beauty in the simplest things that surround her. “My photos speak about traditional and new cultures. I believe a portrait can evoke an emotion and atmosphere and speaks about a moment in time. As an observer, noth-ing remains the same. I like to capture that moment as a legacy of passing of time, age and across different genera-tions.”
5. Badiya Jawish
Badiya is a Syrian artist from Aleppo and has lived in Australia for 2 years. Some of her family is still in Syria and Badiya is very interested in fundrais-ing for Syria. At the moment, Badiya is studying an English Certificate 3 Diploma and wishes to eventually study interior design at university. For more of Badiya’s works, please see
6. Bushra Hasan
Bushra is an Indian artist who has artistic and business experience across many countries. She studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Delhi, and has since worked with numerous big name magazines such as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, India Today and Hindustan Times. She also start-ed her own small art venture, ‘Indybin-di’, where she paints recycled items in an Indian tribal art style. Bushra has exhibited in the USA and Hong Kong and she moved to Australia hoping to establish her art, where she was discovered by Multicultural Arts Victo-ria. As a part of this organisation, she painted the life-sized elephant for Moomba Parade. Bushra is also involved with Jindi and has designed the logo, T-shirt, comment card and flyer for the 1000 voices project. For more of Bushra’s works please visit
7. Edith Rodriguez
Edith is from Mexico and has lived in Australia for 11 years. She created this painting with her grandmother when she was 13, it was the first artwork that they made together. Edith’s grandmother had brought her up from a young age and this artwork is a special tribute to her. Edith has also included a colourful Mexican wooden sculpture called ‘alebrigue’.
8. Fadi Lazar
Fadi is an Iraqi artist and has only been in Australia for 10 months. He has digitally created a series of artworks, and while only being a beginner artist, Fadi has shown great talent, dedication and vision. “I wonder about the universe and life beyond our planet”, and this is reflect-ed in the dark vastness of his art. Fadi is also interested in the film industry and volunteers at the Melbourne Film Festival. He wishes to go to university and to become a film director.
9. Heba El Farra
Heba is a 21-year-old, Palestinian, Egyptian-born photographer. Due to the war in Palestine, Heba’s family relocated to different parts of the world. Her maternal grandparents moved to Kuwait and paternal grand-parents to Egypt. When Heba was 4 years old her parents made the deci-sion to migrate to Australia, to provide their children with the best opportuni-ties in life and for better education. Growing up in a Western society whilst trying to remain true to her Middle Eastern roots, was a constant struggle for Heba and eventually she found comfort in nature. The beauty of nature is something everyone can appreciate regardless of their, age, culture or religion. Heba’s artwork is a combination of her two passions; photography and nature. She aims to capture the beauty of nature in its
purest form.
10. Helen Sartinas
Helen is a multimedia artist who has a Greek cultural heritage. Her parents were economic refugees from WWII and came to Australia in the 1960s on the assisted passage scheme. Helen’s series of photographs explore her travels to India and the people and landscapes of its transient space. She focuses on women’s moments of peace and reflection that occur in chaos, and there is the suggestion that this reflection can transcend such chaos. Artworks are for sale, please contact [email protected].
11. Dr Iman Alattar
Iman is an Iraqi artist who moved to from New Zealand to Australia in 2008. She has completed a PhD in Architecture from the University of Tasmania. For Iman, painting is her hobby and she has participated in a number of art exhibitions previously. She mostly works with oil paints, watercolours and calligraphy and uniquely combines geometrical shapes with personal connections to culture and spirituality.
12. Joulunar Alnajar
Joulunar is an Iraqi artist who takes great inspiration from her cultural history and religion. One of the paint-
ings on display is based on the story of the imam Hussain, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, where the Arabic writing reads "The revenge of the imam Hussain". This is one of Joulunar’s first paintings as she experimented with the sunset colours. The second painting was inspired from the ancient Mesopota-mian history, Bagdadiat, and Joulunar has creatively modernised the story using abstract colours. The last paint-ing is a retake on the previous Bagda-di painting, where she aims to empha-sise the details of the initial work and has further developed skills and experimented with the colours and patterns. The artworks are for sale, please contact 0431647366 if inter-ested.
13. Mary Denkha
Mary is from Syria and has been in Australia for 8 months. She is current-ly enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Foundation at Melbourne Polytechnic. Mary enjoys photography as a hobby and would like to be an aviation engineer.
14. Maryam Basa
Maryam is a 20-year-old Iraqi artist who has been in Australia for almost 3 years. She has loved drawing since she was a little girl and has always discovered new drawing methods. Maryam has found a love for drawing because it allows her to be creative
and this gives her a sense of peace and happiness from a simple little piece of paper.
15. Maryam Ibrahim
Maryam is a young Yemeni artist who explores human emotions in her figurative artworks. She tends to capture only one person at a time, as she wants to focus on individual emo-tions. Maryam beautifully unites watercolours, fine-liner, calligraphy and portraiture to express this singu-lar emotion. She has been inspired by the artist Egon Schiele because he has a unique style and creates unreal-istic portraits of odd characters. This in turn has encouraged Maryam to find her own style, using her imagina-tion and creativity. For more of Maryam’s artworks, please visit her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryam.art98/.
16. Mojgan Honarvar
Mojgan is an Iranian artist who moved to Australia 2011 to study a Masters of IT. She has been drawing since she was 6 years old with no formal educa-tion in art. Mojgan sees the times she spends drawing and painting as special moments of freedom. But at the same time, such moments for her can also be a time of madness, creation and theosophy. Mojgan is also a beautiful singer and has been singing since she was nine years old. Mojgan’s artworks are for sale, please
contact directly 045005671.
17. Nouha Saigh
Nouha is a Syrian artist and has been in Australia for over two years. She paints with oils and considers themes of homeland and displacement. She has previously shown her work in exhibitions such as the Heartlands Art Project and at the Walker St Gallery. Nouha is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program, which offers mento-ring, business skills, training and support to women from refugee, migrant and asylum seeker back-grounds. Nouha’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0435033227.
18. Pamela Mujica
Pamela is from Chile and immigrated to Melbourne in 2010. She is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program. Pamela crochets wire using a tech-nique from Peru called Peruvian Stitch which is the art of making loops. She uses fine silver, silver plated and copper wire to create her jewellery. Pamela’s jewellery is for sale, please contact directly 0404211446.
19. Robertson Buitrago
Roberson is from Colombia and has lived in Australia for three years. His paintings convey ideas about the
world around him, as he creates series of works that approach partic-ular subjects. His use of tone and colour beautifully capture the emotive in the subject matter and strengthen the artwork’s message. In his series ‘Stereoscapes’, Robertson explores the mediation between new and old technologies, suggesting that this interaction, in fact, becomes a media-tion between reality and our self. The bigger work is based on a photo of a rebel woman from the FARC guerrilla forces who cared for her hair during the war in the jungle. This juxtaposi-tion exposes the violence in Colombia and leaves us with a poignant and lasting image. Robertson’s works are for sale, please contact 0403772931.
20. Saif Parwti
Saif is a Baghdadi musician and has lived in Australia for 9 months. His instrument is called an oud and Saif has made arguably the very first Australian oud from Australian walnut timber. His father is also a musician specialising in al-kanoon which is a traditional Middle Eastern instrument. Saif makes ouds for sale, priced at around $1000 each and he also hosts oud workshops at home for anyone interested. Please contact directly 0406538819.
21. Stafro Daniel
Stafro from Iraq and has been in Australia for a year and half. He is
currently enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Founda-tion at Melbourne Polytechnic. Stafro takes photographs as a hobby in his spare time. He says that photography needs a lot of practice and while he hasn’t had formal education in photography, he learns online on his own and is excited by the possibilities of new techniques.
22. Serap Kaman Istekl
Serap is from a Turkish background and arrived in Australia in 1985. She has been passionate about art since a young age, and has experimented with many mediums, techniques and styles, finding her true love in mixed media (also known as collaging). Serap enjoys the collaging art making process because it is very therapeutic and relaxing and encourages every-one to try it. She is a dynamic and talented artist as her style encapsu-lates a range of mythical, utopian, dystopian, abstract and surreal elements. Serap is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Craigieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
23. Vesi Kupenova
Vesi is a young Bulgarian artist who moved to Australia in 2004. Her artworks aim to capture the starkness of Soviet architecture which dominat-ed the landscape of her childhood. Her art practice includes drawing, photography, intaglio and lithographic prints. The printmaking process is laborious and time-consuming and Vesi aims to contrast this with quick, rash strokes. Further meaning can be drawn from the intaglio print, where the small text reads “Engineers not Creators”, and this suggests that the purpose of Soviet architecture is purely utilitarian and does not contain many aspects of creativity. Vesi’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0422911548.
24. Yelena Ashlapova
Yelena is a Russian-Korean artist who was born in Kazakhstan. She approaches her art with an immedia-cy that seeks to evade conscious intention. Yelena nurtures a trust in raw intuition and the personal conver-sation that occurs in the very moment of art-making. “Talking to image, as with a mirror, gives an opportunity to deepen an understanding of soul and spirit nature”. Yelena is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Crai-gieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
For a collection of Yelena’s works please visit
Yelena’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0432946722.
Araluen artists Claudio Petri
Claudio is an artist from an Italian cultural background who works within the "Art Connects" program at Araluen's Rosanna support hub. His strikingly simple compositions are usually based upon the built environment and how we inhabit it. By stripping down his subject to its most simple form, Claudio can convey his affinity with his own surroundings and place. His choice of carefully considered, vibrant colour convey a sense of home as a place of security and comfort. For further information about Claudio or to purchase his work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Julie Potamianos
Julie is a prolific artist from a Greek cultural background, who works within the supported studio at Aralu-en. Here, she can explore and develop her many ideas whilst receiving prac-tical personal supports. As a hearing
impaired person, Julie speaks to the world with a pen and brush. She is fascinated by fish and birds which form the subjects of her work exclu-sively. Julie uses ink, which she allows to find it's on way on the page, mixing to form new colours and original, unknown effects. This technique ensures that the end result is incredi-bly unique. For further information about Julie or to purchase her work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Olatunji Olafioye
Olatunji is a young architect and artist from Nigeria, Africa, who moved to Australia in August 2016.
“My works are inspired by the Melbourne built environment and iconic monuments. All I try to do with the watercolour medium is to objectify the subjective reality of Victoria and the city life.’These works are for sale, contact 0432 647 556.
Films
‘Lead to Achieve’ filmsShabnam and Reza from Iran and Afghanistan respectively, sought asylum in Australia.They joined ‘Lead to Achieve’, a program for young people from newly arrived and migrant communities. The artists who took part in film making workshops came from varied cultures, ethnic and religious back-
grounds. Identity and belonging are central themes to their video stories. The program provided an opportunity to explore these themes through personal creative expression, to help build a community of understanding through diversity. The original draw-ings are created by the artists, as are the poetry and voices.
1. Ahlam Alsharifi
Ahlam is an Iraqi artist who creatively uses recycled materials and fashions them into decorative and ornamental sculptures. The pieces on display were especially made for the month of Ramadan, showing a representa-tion of the Islamic religion and culture. The pieces also emphasise the detail-ing of Islamic art and pattern work. Ahlam’s works are for sale, please contact directly 0423596867.
2. Awni Alghareeb
Awni is sculptor from Bagdad and has been making wood sculptures for over 40 years. He uses only two tools found in any common household for his work. Awni creates works for churches of religious symbols and icons. His sculptures are for sale, ranging from $75-$300, please contact directly 0455301252.
3. Ayat Al Qassim
Ayat is a young Iraqi artist and she has created an abstract film exploring the way our eyes collect moving images and process them into thoughts and emotions. In the film, the paper strips of writing are a representation of thoughts gathered in by our eyes. The various cut outs that create shadows explain how thoughts and ideas can affect each other, and how old thoughts can influence new thoughts and ideas. In addition to this symbol-
ism, the black and white colours are a reflection of one’s negative and posi-tive thoughts and feelings.
4. Aziza Rahimi
Aziza is an Afghan artist. She arrived in Australia in 2016 and hopes to complete her studies in Melbourne. Aziza paints, draws and is also a gifted, self-taught photographer, being drawn to photography at a young age. She is inspired by the reali-ty of daily life on the street and sees beauty in the simplest things that surround her. “My photos speak about traditional and new cultures. I believe a portrait can evoke an emotion and atmosphere and speaks about a moment in time. As an observer, noth-ing remains the same. I like to capture that moment as a legacy of passing of time, age and across different genera-tions.”
5. Badiya Jawish
Badiya is a Syrian artist from Aleppo and has lived in Australia for 2 years. Some of her family is still in Syria and Badiya is very interested in fundrais-ing for Syria. At the moment, Badiya is studying an English Certificate 3 Diploma and wishes to eventually study interior design at university. For more of Badiya’s works, please see
6. Bushra Hasan
Bushra is an Indian artist who has artistic and business experience across many countries. She studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Delhi, and has since worked with numerous big name magazines such as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, India Today and Hindustan Times. She also start-ed her own small art venture, ‘Indybin-di’, where she paints recycled items in an Indian tribal art style. Bushra has exhibited in the USA and Hong Kong and she moved to Australia hoping to establish her art, where she was discovered by Multicultural Arts Victo-ria. As a part of this organisation, she painted the life-sized elephant for Moomba Parade. Bushra is also involved with Jindi and has designed the logo, T-shirt, comment card and flyer for the 1000 voices project. For more of Bushra’s works please visit
7. Edith Rodriguez
Edith is from Mexico and has lived in Australia for 11 years. She created this painting with her grandmother when she was 13, it was the first artwork that they made together. Edith’s grandmother had brought her up from a young age and this artwork is a special tribute to her. Edith has also included a colourful Mexican wooden sculpture called ‘alebrigue’.
8. Fadi Lazar
Fadi is an Iraqi artist and has only been in Australia for 10 months. He has digitally created a series of artworks, and while only being a beginner artist, Fadi has shown great talent, dedication and vision. “I wonder about the universe and life beyond our planet”, and this is reflect-ed in the dark vastness of his art. Fadi is also interested in the film industry and volunteers at the Melbourne Film Festival. He wishes to go to university and to become a film director.
9. Heba El Farra
Heba is a 21-year-old, Palestinian, Egyptian-born photographer. Due to the war in Palestine, Heba’s family relocated to different parts of the world. Her maternal grandparents moved to Kuwait and paternal grand-parents to Egypt. When Heba was 4 years old her parents made the deci-sion to migrate to Australia, to provide their children with the best opportuni-ties in life and for better education. Growing up in a Western society whilst trying to remain true to her Middle Eastern roots, was a constant struggle for Heba and eventually she found comfort in nature. The beauty of nature is something everyone can appreciate regardless of their, age, culture or religion. Heba’s artwork is a combination of her two passions; photography and nature. She aims to capture the beauty of nature in its
purest form.
10. Helen Sartinas
Helen is a multimedia artist who has a Greek cultural heritage. Her parents were economic refugees from WWII and came to Australia in the 1960s on the assisted passage scheme. Helen’s series of photographs explore her travels to India and the people and landscapes of its transient space. She focuses on women’s moments of peace and reflection that occur in chaos, and there is the suggestion that this reflection can transcend such chaos. Artworks are for sale, please contact [email protected].
11. Dr Iman Alattar
Iman is an Iraqi artist who moved to from New Zealand to Australia in 2008. She has completed a PhD in Architecture from the University of Tasmania. For Iman, painting is her hobby and she has participated in a number of art exhibitions previously. She mostly works with oil paints, watercolours and calligraphy and uniquely combines geometrical shapes with personal connections to culture and spirituality.
12. Joulunar Alnajar
Joulunar is an Iraqi artist who takes great inspiration from her cultural history and religion. One of the paint-
ings on display is based on the story of the imam Hussain, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, where the Arabic writing reads "The revenge of the imam Hussain". This is one of Joulunar’s first paintings as she experimented with the sunset colours. The second painting was inspired from the ancient Mesopota-mian history, Bagdadiat, and Joulunar has creatively modernised the story using abstract colours. The last paint-ing is a retake on the previous Bagda-di painting, where she aims to empha-sise the details of the initial work and has further developed skills and experimented with the colours and patterns. The artworks are for sale, please contact 0431647366 if inter-ested.
13. Mary Denkha
Mary is from Syria and has been in Australia for 8 months. She is current-ly enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Foundation at Melbourne Polytechnic. Mary enjoys photography as a hobby and would like to be an aviation engineer.
14. Maryam Basa
Maryam is a 20-year-old Iraqi artist who has been in Australia for almost 3 years. She has loved drawing since she was a little girl and has always discovered new drawing methods. Maryam has found a love for drawing because it allows her to be creative
and this gives her a sense of peace and happiness from a simple little piece of paper.
15. Maryam Ibrahim
Maryam is a young Yemeni artist who explores human emotions in her figurative artworks. She tends to capture only one person at a time, as she wants to focus on individual emo-tions. Maryam beautifully unites watercolours, fine-liner, calligraphy and portraiture to express this singu-lar emotion. She has been inspired by the artist Egon Schiele because he has a unique style and creates unreal-istic portraits of odd characters. This in turn has encouraged Maryam to find her own style, using her imagina-tion and creativity. For more of Maryam’s artworks, please visit her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryam.art98/.
16. Mojgan Honarvar
Mojgan is an Iranian artist who moved to Australia 2011 to study a Masters of IT. She has been drawing since she was 6 years old with no formal educa-tion in art. Mojgan sees the times she spends drawing and painting as special moments of freedom. But at the same time, such moments for her can also be a time of madness, creation and theosophy. Mojgan is also a beautiful singer and has been singing since she was nine years old. Mojgan’s artworks are for sale, please
contact directly 045005671.
17. Nouha Saigh
Nouha is a Syrian artist and has been in Australia for over two years. She paints with oils and considers themes of homeland and displacement. She has previously shown her work in exhibitions such as the Heartlands Art Project and at the Walker St Gallery. Nouha is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program, which offers mento-ring, business skills, training and support to women from refugee, migrant and asylum seeker back-grounds. Nouha’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0435033227.
18. Pamela Mujica
Pamela is from Chile and immigrated to Melbourne in 2010. She is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program. Pamela crochets wire using a tech-nique from Peru called Peruvian Stitch which is the art of making loops. She uses fine silver, silver plated and copper wire to create her jewellery. Pamela’s jewellery is for sale, please contact directly 0404211446.
19. Robertson Buitrago
Roberson is from Colombia and has lived in Australia for three years. His paintings convey ideas about the
world around him, as he creates series of works that approach partic-ular subjects. His use of tone and colour beautifully capture the emotive in the subject matter and strengthen the artwork’s message. In his series ‘Stereoscapes’, Robertson explores the mediation between new and old technologies, suggesting that this interaction, in fact, becomes a media-tion between reality and our self. The bigger work is based on a photo of a rebel woman from the FARC guerrilla forces who cared for her hair during the war in the jungle. This juxtaposi-tion exposes the violence in Colombia and leaves us with a poignant and lasting image. Robertson’s works are for sale, please contact 0403772931.
20. Saif Parwti
Saif is a Baghdadi musician and has lived in Australia for 9 months. His instrument is called an oud and Saif has made arguably the very first Australian oud from Australian walnut timber. His father is also a musician specialising in al-kanoon which is a traditional Middle Eastern instrument. Saif makes ouds for sale, priced at around $1000 each and he also hosts oud workshops at home for anyone interested. Please contact directly 0406538819.
21. Stafro Daniel
Stafro from Iraq and has been in Australia for a year and half. He is
currently enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Founda-tion at Melbourne Polytechnic. Stafro takes photographs as a hobby in his spare time. He says that photography needs a lot of practice and while he hasn’t had formal education in photography, he learns online on his own and is excited by the possibilities of new techniques.
22. Serap Kaman Istekl
Serap is from a Turkish background and arrived in Australia in 1985. She has been passionate about art since a young age, and has experimented with many mediums, techniques and styles, finding her true love in mixed media (also known as collaging). Serap enjoys the collaging art making process because it is very therapeutic and relaxing and encourages every-one to try it. She is a dynamic and talented artist as her style encapsu-lates a range of mythical, utopian, dystopian, abstract and surreal elements. Serap is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Craigieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
23. Vesi Kupenova
Vesi is a young Bulgarian artist who moved to Australia in 2004. Her artworks aim to capture the starkness of Soviet architecture which dominat-ed the landscape of her childhood. Her art practice includes drawing, photography, intaglio and lithographic prints. The printmaking process is laborious and time-consuming and Vesi aims to contrast this with quick, rash strokes. Further meaning can be drawn from the intaglio print, where the small text reads “Engineers not Creators”, and this suggests that the purpose of Soviet architecture is purely utilitarian and does not contain many aspects of creativity. Vesi’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0422911548.
24. Yelena Ashlapova
Yelena is a Russian-Korean artist who was born in Kazakhstan. She approaches her art with an immedia-cy that seeks to evade conscious intention. Yelena nurtures a trust in raw intuition and the personal conver-sation that occurs in the very moment of art-making. “Talking to image, as with a mirror, gives an opportunity to deepen an understanding of soul and spirit nature”. Yelena is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Crai-gieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
For a collection of Yelena’s works please visit
Yelena’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0432946722.
Araluen artists Claudio Petri
Claudio is an artist from an Italian cultural background who works within the "Art Connects" program at Araluen's Rosanna support hub. His strikingly simple compositions are usually based upon the built environment and how we inhabit it. By stripping down his subject to its most simple form, Claudio can convey his affinity with his own surroundings and place. His choice of carefully considered, vibrant colour convey a sense of home as a place of security and comfort. For further information about Claudio or to purchase his work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Julie Potamianos
Julie is a prolific artist from a Greek cultural background, who works within the supported studio at Aralu-en. Here, she can explore and develop her many ideas whilst receiving prac-tical personal supports. As a hearing
impaired person, Julie speaks to the world with a pen and brush. She is fascinated by fish and birds which form the subjects of her work exclu-sively. Julie uses ink, which she allows to find it's on way on the page, mixing to form new colours and original, unknown effects. This technique ensures that the end result is incredi-bly unique. For further information about Julie or to purchase her work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Olatunji Olafioye
Olatunji is a young architect and artist from Nigeria, Africa, who moved to Australia in August 2016.
“My works are inspired by the Melbourne built environment and iconic monuments. All I try to do with the watercolour medium is to objectify the subjective reality of Victoria and the city life.’These works are for sale, contact 0432 647 556.
Films
‘Lead to Achieve’ filmsShabnam and Reza from Iran and Afghanistan respectively, sought asylum in Australia.They joined ‘Lead to Achieve’, a program for young people from newly arrived and migrant communities. The artists who took part in film making workshops came from varied cultures, ethnic and religious back-
https://www.hume.vic.gov.au/What39s_On_amp_Things_To_Do/Arts_Culture/Art_Gallery/Current_exhibition/Soul_Spirit_Self_-_Art_of_Intuition. Serap’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0419133937.
grounds. Identity and belonging are central themes to their video stories. The program provided an opportunity to explore these themes through personal creative expression, to help build a community of understanding through diversity. The original draw-ings are created by the artists, as are the poetry and voices.
1. Ahlam Alsharifi
Ahlam is an Iraqi artist who creatively uses recycled materials and fashions them into decorative and ornamental sculptures. The pieces on display were especially made for the month of Ramadan, showing a representa-tion of the Islamic religion and culture. The pieces also emphasise the detail-ing of Islamic art and pattern work. Ahlam’s works are for sale, please contact directly 0423596867.
2. Awni Alghareeb
Awni is sculptor from Bagdad and has been making wood sculptures for over 40 years. He uses only two tools found in any common household for his work. Awni creates works for churches of religious symbols and icons. His sculptures are for sale, ranging from $75-$300, please contact directly 0455301252.
3. Ayat Al Qassim
Ayat is a young Iraqi artist and she has created an abstract film exploring the way our eyes collect moving images and process them into thoughts and emotions. In the film, the paper strips of writing are a representation of thoughts gathered in by our eyes. The various cut outs that create shadows explain how thoughts and ideas can affect each other, and how old thoughts can influence new thoughts and ideas. In addition to this symbol-
ism, the black and white colours are a reflection of one’s negative and posi-tive thoughts and feelings.
4. Aziza Rahimi
Aziza is an Afghan artist. She arrived in Australia in 2016 and hopes to complete her studies in Melbourne. Aziza paints, draws and is also a gifted, self-taught photographer, being drawn to photography at a young age. She is inspired by the reali-ty of daily life on the street and sees beauty in the simplest things that surround her. “My photos speak about traditional and new cultures. I believe a portrait can evoke an emotion and atmosphere and speaks about a moment in time. As an observer, noth-ing remains the same. I like to capture that moment as a legacy of passing of time, age and across different genera-tions.”
5. Badiya Jawish
Badiya is a Syrian artist from Aleppo and has lived in Australia for 2 years. Some of her family is still in Syria and Badiya is very interested in fundrais-ing for Syria. At the moment, Badiya is studying an English Certificate 3 Diploma and wishes to eventually study interior design at university. For more of Badiya’s works, please see
6. Bushra Hasan
Bushra is an Indian artist who has artistic and business experience across many countries. She studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Delhi, and has since worked with numerous big name magazines such as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, India Today and Hindustan Times. She also start-ed her own small art venture, ‘Indybin-di’, where she paints recycled items in an Indian tribal art style. Bushra has exhibited in the USA and Hong Kong and she moved to Australia hoping to establish her art, where she was discovered by Multicultural Arts Victo-ria. As a part of this organisation, she painted the life-sized elephant for Moomba Parade. Bushra is also involved with Jindi and has designed the logo, T-shirt, comment card and flyer for the 1000 voices project. For more of Bushra’s works please visit
7. Edith Rodriguez
Edith is from Mexico and has lived in Australia for 11 years. She created this painting with her grandmother when she was 13, it was the first artwork that they made together. Edith’s grandmother had brought her up from a young age and this artwork is a special tribute to her. Edith has also included a colourful Mexican wooden sculpture called ‘alebrigue’.
8. Fadi Lazar
Fadi is an Iraqi artist and has only been in Australia for 10 months. He has digitally created a series of artworks, and while only being a beginner artist, Fadi has shown great talent, dedication and vision. “I wonder about the universe and life beyond our planet”, and this is reflect-ed in the dark vastness of his art. Fadi is also interested in the film industry and volunteers at the Melbourne Film Festival. He wishes to go to university and to become a film director.
9. Heba El Farra
Heba is a 21-year-old, Palestinian, Egyptian-born photographer. Due to the war in Palestine, Heba’s family relocated to different parts of the world. Her maternal grandparents moved to Kuwait and paternal grand-parents to Egypt. When Heba was 4 years old her parents made the deci-sion to migrate to Australia, to provide their children with the best opportuni-ties in life and for better education. Growing up in a Western society whilst trying to remain true to her Middle Eastern roots, was a constant struggle for Heba and eventually she found comfort in nature. The beauty of nature is something everyone can appreciate regardless of their, age, culture or religion. Heba’s artwork is a combination of her two passions; photography and nature. She aims to capture the beauty of nature in its
purest form.
10. Helen Sartinas
Helen is a multimedia artist who has a Greek cultural heritage. Her parents were economic refugees from WWII and came to Australia in the 1960s on the assisted passage scheme. Helen’s series of photographs explore her travels to India and the people and landscapes of its transient space. She focuses on women’s moments of peace and reflection that occur in chaos, and there is the suggestion that this reflection can transcend such chaos. Artworks are for sale, please contact [email protected].
11. Dr Iman Alattar
Iman is an Iraqi artist who moved to from New Zealand to Australia in 2008. She has completed a PhD in Architecture from the University of Tasmania. For Iman, painting is her hobby and she has participated in a number of art exhibitions previously. She mostly works with oil paints, watercolours and calligraphy and uniquely combines geometrical shapes with personal connections to culture and spirituality.
12. Joulunar Alnajar
Joulunar is an Iraqi artist who takes great inspiration from her cultural history and religion. One of the paint-
ings on display is based on the story of the imam Hussain, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, where the Arabic writing reads "The revenge of the imam Hussain". This is one of Joulunar’s first paintings as she experimented with the sunset colours. The second painting was inspired from the ancient Mesopota-mian history, Bagdadiat, and Joulunar has creatively modernised the story using abstract colours. The last paint-ing is a retake on the previous Bagda-di painting, where she aims to empha-sise the details of the initial work and has further developed skills and experimented with the colours and patterns. The artworks are for sale, please contact 0431647366 if inter-ested.
13. Mary Denkha
Mary is from Syria and has been in Australia for 8 months. She is current-ly enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Foundation at Melbourne Polytechnic. Mary enjoys photography as a hobby and would like to be an aviation engineer.
14. Maryam Basa
Maryam is a 20-year-old Iraqi artist who has been in Australia for almost 3 years. She has loved drawing since she was a little girl and has always discovered new drawing methods. Maryam has found a love for drawing because it allows her to be creative
and this gives her a sense of peace and happiness from a simple little piece of paper.
15. Maryam Ibrahim
Maryam is a young Yemeni artist who explores human emotions in her figurative artworks. She tends to capture only one person at a time, as she wants to focus on individual emo-tions. Maryam beautifully unites watercolours, fine-liner, calligraphy and portraiture to express this singu-lar emotion. She has been inspired by the artist Egon Schiele because he has a unique style and creates unreal-istic portraits of odd characters. This in turn has encouraged Maryam to find her own style, using her imagina-tion and creativity. For more of Maryam’s artworks, please visit her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryam.art98/.
16. Mojgan Honarvar
Mojgan is an Iranian artist who moved to Australia 2011 to study a Masters of IT. She has been drawing since she was 6 years old with no formal educa-tion in art. Mojgan sees the times she spends drawing and painting as special moments of freedom. But at the same time, such moments for her can also be a time of madness, creation and theosophy. Mojgan is also a beautiful singer and has been singing since she was nine years old. Mojgan’s artworks are for sale, please
contact directly 045005671.
17. Nouha Saigh
Nouha is a Syrian artist and has been in Australia for over two years. She paints with oils and considers themes of homeland and displacement. She has previously shown her work in exhibitions such as the Heartlands Art Project and at the Walker St Gallery. Nouha is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program, which offers mento-ring, business skills, training and support to women from refugee, migrant and asylum seeker back-grounds. Nouha’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0435033227.
18. Pamela Mujica
Pamela is from Chile and immigrated to Melbourne in 2010. She is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program. Pamela crochets wire using a tech-nique from Peru called Peruvian Stitch which is the art of making loops. She uses fine silver, silver plated and copper wire to create her jewellery. Pamela’s jewellery is for sale, please contact directly 0404211446.
19. Robertson Buitrago
Roberson is from Colombia and has lived in Australia for three years. His paintings convey ideas about the
world around him, as he creates series of works that approach partic-ular subjects. His use of tone and colour beautifully capture the emotive in the subject matter and strengthen the artwork’s message. In his series ‘Stereoscapes’, Robertson explores the mediation between new and old technologies, suggesting that this interaction, in fact, becomes a media-tion between reality and our self. The bigger work is based on a photo of a rebel woman from the FARC guerrilla forces who cared for her hair during the war in the jungle. This juxtaposi-tion exposes the violence in Colombia and leaves us with a poignant and lasting image. Robertson’s works are for sale, please contact 0403772931.
20. Saif Parwti
Saif is a Baghdadi musician and has lived in Australia for 9 months. His instrument is called an oud and Saif has made arguably the very first Australian oud from Australian walnut timber. His father is also a musician specialising in al-kanoon which is a traditional Middle Eastern instrument. Saif makes ouds for sale, priced at around $1000 each and he also hosts oud workshops at home for anyone interested. Please contact directly 0406538819.
21. Stafro Daniel
Stafro from Iraq and has been in Australia for a year and half. He is
currently enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Founda-tion at Melbourne Polytechnic. Stafro takes photographs as a hobby in his spare time. He says that photography needs a lot of practice and while he hasn’t had formal education in photography, he learns online on his own and is excited by the possibilities of new techniques.
22. Serap Kaman Istekl
Serap is from a Turkish background and arrived in Australia in 1985. She has been passionate about art since a young age, and has experimented with many mediums, techniques and styles, finding her true love in mixed media (also known as collaging). Serap enjoys the collaging art making process because it is very therapeutic and relaxing and encourages every-one to try it. She is a dynamic and talented artist as her style encapsu-lates a range of mythical, utopian, dystopian, abstract and surreal elements. Serap is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Craigieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
23. Vesi Kupenova
Vesi is a young Bulgarian artist who moved to Australia in 2004. Her artworks aim to capture the starkness of Soviet architecture which dominat-ed the landscape of her childhood. Her art practice includes drawing, photography, intaglio and lithographic prints. The printmaking process is laborious and time-consuming and Vesi aims to contrast this with quick, rash strokes. Further meaning can be drawn from the intaglio print, where the small text reads “Engineers not Creators”, and this suggests that the purpose of Soviet architecture is purely utilitarian and does not contain many aspects of creativity. Vesi’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0422911548.
24. Yelena Ashlapova
Yelena is a Russian-Korean artist who was born in Kazakhstan. She approaches her art with an immedia-cy that seeks to evade conscious intention. Yelena nurtures a trust in raw intuition and the personal conver-sation that occurs in the very moment of art-making. “Talking to image, as with a mirror, gives an opportunity to deepen an understanding of soul and spirit nature”. Yelena is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Crai-gieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
For a collection of Yelena’s works please visit
Yelena’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0432946722.
Araluen artists Claudio Petri
Claudio is an artist from an Italian cultural background who works within the "Art Connects" program at Araluen's Rosanna support hub. His strikingly simple compositions are usually based upon the built environment and how we inhabit it. By stripping down his subject to its most simple form, Claudio can convey his affinity with his own surroundings and place. His choice of carefully considered, vibrant colour convey a sense of home as a place of security and comfort. For further information about Claudio or to purchase his work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Julie Potamianos
Julie is a prolific artist from a Greek cultural background, who works within the supported studio at Aralu-en. Here, she can explore and develop her many ideas whilst receiving prac-tical personal supports. As a hearing
impaired person, Julie speaks to the world with a pen and brush. She is fascinated by fish and birds which form the subjects of her work exclu-sively. Julie uses ink, which she allows to find it's on way on the page, mixing to form new colours and original, unknown effects. This technique ensures that the end result is incredi-bly unique. For further information about Julie or to purchase her work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Olatunji Olafioye
Olatunji is a young architect and artist from Nigeria, Africa, who moved to Australia in August 2016.
“My works are inspired by the Melbourne built environment and iconic monuments. All I try to do with the watercolour medium is to objectify the subjective reality of Victoria and the city life.’These works are for sale, contact 0432 647 556.
Films
‘Lead to Achieve’ filmsShabnam and Reza from Iran and Afghanistan respectively, sought asylum in Australia.They joined ‘Lead to Achieve’, a program for young people from newly arrived and migrant communities. The artists who took part in film making workshops came from varied cultures, ethnic and religious back-
https://www.hume.vic.gov.au/What39s_On_amp_Things_To_Do/Arts_Culture/Art_Gallery/Current_exhibition/Soul_Spirit_Self_-_Art_of_Intuition.
https://www.facebook.com/yelenaashlapovacreativeartist/.
grounds. Identity and belonging are central themes to their video stories. The program provided an opportunity to explore these themes through personal creative expression, to help build a community of understanding through diversity. The original draw-ings are created by the artists, as are the poetry and voices.
1. Ahlam Alsharifi
Ahlam is an Iraqi artist who creatively uses recycled materials and fashions them into decorative and ornamental sculptures. The pieces on display were especially made for the month of Ramadan, showing a representa-tion of the Islamic religion and culture. The pieces also emphasise the detail-ing of Islamic art and pattern work. Ahlam’s works are for sale, please contact directly 0423596867.
2. Awni Alghareeb
Awni is sculptor from Bagdad and has been making wood sculptures for over 40 years. He uses only two tools found in any common household for his work. Awni creates works for churches of religious symbols and icons. His sculptures are for sale, ranging from $75-$300, please contact directly 0455301252.
3. Ayat Al Qassim
Ayat is a young Iraqi artist and she has created an abstract film exploring the way our eyes collect moving images and process them into thoughts and emotions. In the film, the paper strips of writing are a representation of thoughts gathered in by our eyes. The various cut outs that create shadows explain how thoughts and ideas can affect each other, and how old thoughts can influence new thoughts and ideas. In addition to this symbol-
ism, the black and white colours are a reflection of one’s negative and posi-tive thoughts and feelings.
4. Aziza Rahimi
Aziza is an Afghan artist. She arrived in Australia in 2016 and hopes to complete her studies in Melbourne. Aziza paints, draws and is also a gifted, self-taught photographer, being drawn to photography at a young age. She is inspired by the reali-ty of daily life on the street and sees beauty in the simplest things that surround her. “My photos speak about traditional and new cultures. I believe a portrait can evoke an emotion and atmosphere and speaks about a moment in time. As an observer, noth-ing remains the same. I like to capture that moment as a legacy of passing of time, age and across different genera-tions.”
5. Badiya Jawish
Badiya is a Syrian artist from Aleppo and has lived in Australia for 2 years. Some of her family is still in Syria and Badiya is very interested in fundrais-ing for Syria. At the moment, Badiya is studying an English Certificate 3 Diploma and wishes to eventually study interior design at university. For more of Badiya’s works, please see
6. Bushra Hasan
Bushra is an Indian artist who has artistic and business experience across many countries. She studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Delhi, and has since worked with numerous big name magazines such as Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, India Today and Hindustan Times. She also start-ed her own small art venture, ‘Indybin-di’, where she paints recycled items in an Indian tribal art style. Bushra has exhibited in the USA and Hong Kong and she moved to Australia hoping to establish her art, where she was discovered by Multicultural Arts Victo-ria. As a part of this organisation, she painted the life-sized elephant for Moomba Parade. Bushra is also involved with Jindi and has designed the logo, T-shirt, comment card and flyer for the 1000 voices project. For more of Bushra’s works please visit
7. Edith Rodriguez
Edith is from Mexico and has lived in Australia for 11 years. She created this painting with her grandmother when she was 13, it was the first artwork that they made together. Edith’s grandmother had brought her up from a young age and this artwork is a special tribute to her. Edith has also included a colourful Mexican wooden sculpture called ‘alebrigue’.
8. Fadi Lazar
Fadi is an Iraqi artist and has only been in Australia for 10 months. He has digitally created a series of artworks, and while only being a beginner artist, Fadi has shown great talent, dedication and vision. “I wonder about the universe and life beyond our planet”, and this is reflect-ed in the dark vastness of his art. Fadi is also interested in the film industry and volunteers at the Melbourne Film Festival. He wishes to go to university and to become a film director.
9. Heba El Farra
Heba is a 21-year-old, Palestinian, Egyptian-born photographer. Due to the war in Palestine, Heba’s family relocated to different parts of the world. Her maternal grandparents moved to Kuwait and paternal grand-parents to Egypt. When Heba was 4 years old her parents made the deci-sion to migrate to Australia, to provide their children with the best opportuni-ties in life and for better education. Growing up in a Western society whilst trying to remain true to her Middle Eastern roots, was a constant struggle for Heba and eventually she found comfort in nature. The beauty of nature is something everyone can appreciate regardless of their, age, culture or religion. Heba’s artwork is a combination of her two passions; photography and nature. She aims to capture the beauty of nature in its
purest form.
10. Helen Sartinas
Helen is a multimedia artist who has a Greek cultural heritage. Her parents were economic refugees from WWII and came to Australia in the 1960s on the assisted passage scheme. Helen’s series of photographs explore her travels to India and the people and landscapes of its transient space. She focuses on women’s moments of peace and reflection that occur in chaos, and there is the suggestion that this reflection can transcend such chaos. Artworks are for sale, please contact [email protected].
11. Dr Iman Alattar
Iman is an Iraqi artist who moved to from New Zealand to Australia in 2008. She has completed a PhD in Architecture from the University of Tasmania. For Iman, painting is her hobby and she has participated in a number of art exhibitions previously. She mostly works with oil paints, watercolours and calligraphy and uniquely combines geometrical shapes with personal connections to culture and spirituality.
12. Joulunar Alnajar
Joulunar is an Iraqi artist who takes great inspiration from her cultural history and religion. One of the paint-
ings on display is based on the story of the imam Hussain, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, where the Arabic writing reads "The revenge of the imam Hussain". This is one of Joulunar’s first paintings as she experimented with the sunset colours. The second painting was inspired from the ancient Mesopota-mian history, Bagdadiat, and Joulunar has creatively modernised the story using abstract colours. The last paint-ing is a retake on the previous Bagda-di painting, where she aims to empha-sise the details of the initial work and has further developed skills and experimented with the colours and patterns. The artworks are for sale, please contact 0431647366 if inter-ested.
13. Mary Denkha
Mary is from Syria and has been in Australia for 8 months. She is current-ly enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Foundation at Melbourne Polytechnic. Mary enjoys photography as a hobby and would like to be an aviation engineer.
14. Maryam Basa
Maryam is a 20-year-old Iraqi artist who has been in Australia for almost 3 years. She has loved drawing since she was a little girl and has always discovered new drawing methods. Maryam has found a love for drawing because it allows her to be creative
and this gives her a sense of peace and happiness from a simple little piece of paper.
15. Maryam Ibrahim
Maryam is a young Yemeni artist who explores human emotions in her figurative artworks. She tends to capture only one person at a time, as she wants to focus on individual emo-tions. Maryam beautifully unites watercolours, fine-liner, calligraphy and portraiture to express this singu-lar emotion. She has been inspired by the artist Egon Schiele because he has a unique style and creates unreal-istic portraits of odd characters. This in turn has encouraged Maryam to find her own style, using her imagina-tion and creativity. For more of Maryam’s artworks, please visit her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryam.art98/.
16. Mojgan Honarvar
Mojgan is an Iranian artist who moved to Australia 2011 to study a Masters of IT. She has been drawing since she was 6 years old with no formal educa-tion in art. Mojgan sees the times she spends drawing and painting as special moments of freedom. But at the same time, such moments for her can also be a time of madness, creation and theosophy. Mojgan is also a beautiful singer and has been singing since she was nine years old. Mojgan’s artworks are for sale, please
contact directly 045005671.
17. Nouha Saigh
Nouha is a Syrian artist and has been in Australia for over two years. She paints with oils and considers themes of homeland and displacement. She has previously shown her work in exhibitions such as the Heartlands Art Project and at the Walker St Gallery. Nouha is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program, which offers mento-ring, business skills, training and support to women from refugee, migrant and asylum seeker back-grounds. Nouha’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0435033227.
18. Pamela Mujica
Pamela is from Chile and immigrated to Melbourne in 2010. She is also a participant of the Brotherhood of St Laurance ‘Stepping Stones’ program. Pamela crochets wire using a tech-nique from Peru called Peruvian Stitch which is the art of making loops. She uses fine silver, silver plated and copper wire to create her jewellery. Pamela’s jewellery is for sale, please contact directly 0404211446.
19. Robertson Buitrago
Roberson is from Colombia and has lived in Australia for three years. His paintings convey ideas about the
world around him, as he creates series of works that approach partic-ular subjects. His use of tone and colour beautifully capture the emotive in the subject matter and strengthen the artwork’s message. In his series ‘Stereoscapes’, Robertson explores the mediation between new and old technologies, suggesting that this interaction, in fact, becomes a media-tion between reality and our self. The bigger work is based on a photo of a rebel woman from the FARC guerrilla forces who cared for her hair during the war in the jungle. This juxtaposi-tion exposes the violence in Colombia and leaves us with a poignant and lasting image. Robertson’s works are for sale, please contact 0403772931.
20. Saif Parwti
Saif is a Baghdadi musician and has lived in Australia for 9 months. His instrument is called an oud and Saif has made arguably the very first Australian oud from Australian walnut timber. His father is also a musician specialising in al-kanoon which is a traditional Middle Eastern instrument. Saif makes ouds for sale, priced at around $1000 each and he also hosts oud workshops at home for anyone interested. Please contact directly 0406538819.
21. Stafro Daniel
Stafro from Iraq and has been in Australia for a year and half. He is
currently enrolled in the YAMEC English program doing VCAL Founda-tion at Melbourne Polytechnic. Stafro takes photographs as a hobby in his spare time. He says that photography needs a lot of practice and while he hasn’t had formal education in photography, he learns online on his own and is excited by the possibilities of new techniques.
22. Serap Kaman Istekl
Serap is from a Turkish background and arrived in Australia in 1985. She has been passionate about art since a young age, and has experimented with many mediums, techniques and styles, finding her true love in mixed media (also known as collaging). Serap enjoys the collaging art making process because it is very therapeutic and relaxing and encourages every-one to try it. She is a dynamic and talented artist as her style encapsu-lates a range of mythical, utopian, dystopian, abstract and surreal elements. Serap is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Craigieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
23. Vesi Kupenova
Vesi is a young Bulgarian artist who moved to Australia in 2004. Her artworks aim to capture the starkness of Soviet architecture which dominat-ed the landscape of her childhood. Her art practice includes drawing, photography, intaglio and lithographic prints. The printmaking process is laborious and time-consuming and Vesi aims to contrast this with quick, rash strokes. Further meaning can be drawn from the intaglio print, where the small text reads “Engineers not Creators”, and this suggests that the purpose of Soviet architecture is purely utilitarian and does not contain many aspects of creativity. Vesi’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0422911548.
24. Yelena Ashlapova
Yelena is a Russian-Korean artist who was born in Kazakhstan. She approaches her art with an immedia-cy that seeks to evade conscious intention. Yelena nurtures a trust in raw intuition and the personal conver-sation that occurs in the very moment of art-making. “Talking to image, as with a mirror, gives an opportunity to deepen an understanding of soul and spirit nature”. Yelena is currently exhibiting some of her artworks at the Gee Lee-Wik Doleen Gallery in Crai-gieburn, which is showing until mid-August. More information at:
For a collection of Yelena’s works please visit
Yelena’s artworks are for sale, please contact directly 0432946722.
Araluen artists Claudio Petri
Claudio is an artist from an Italian cultural background who works within the "Art Connects" program at Araluen's Rosanna support hub. His strikingly simple compositions are usually based upon the built environment and how we inhabit it. By stripping down his subject to its most simple form, Claudio can convey his affinity with his own surroundings and place. His choice of carefully considered, vibrant colour convey a sense of home as a place of security and comfort. For further information about Claudio or to purchase his work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Julie Potamianos
Julie is a prolific artist from a Greek cultural background, who works within the supported studio at Aralu-en. Here, she can explore and develop her many ideas whilst receiving prac-tical personal supports. As a hearing
impaired person, Julie speaks to the world with a pen and brush. She is fascinated by fish and birds which form the subjects of her work exclu-sively. Julie uses ink, which she allows to find it's on way on the page, mixing to form new colours and original, unknown effects. This technique ensures that the end result is incredi-bly unique. For further information about Julie or to purchase her work, contact Lara at "Art Connects" on 9438 2944 or [email protected]
Olatunji Olafioye
Olatunji is a young architect and artist from Nigeria, Africa, who moved to Australia in August 2016.
“My works are inspired by the Melbourne built environment and iconic monuments. All I try to do with the watercolour medium is to objectify the subjective reality of Victoria and the city life.’These works are for sale, contact 0432 647 556.
Films
‘Lead to Achieve’ filmsShabnam and Reza from Iran and Afghanistan respectively, sought asylum in Australia.They joined ‘Lead to Achieve’, a program for young people from newly arrived and migrant communities. The artists who took part in film making workshops came from varied cultures, ethnic and religious back-
www.bsl.org.au/refugees Email – [email protected] us on Facebook – BSL Multicultural Communities
Catalogue content developmentVesi Kupenova.0422911548
Catalogue and poster design Francisco Correa.0404550411
grounds. Identity and belonging are central themes to their video stories. The program provided an opportunity to explore these themes through personal creative expression, to help build a community of understanding through diversity. The original draw-ings are created by the artists, as are the poetry and voices.
