Settlement Services International
Empowerment through the arts The New Beginnings Festival
Since its partnership with Settlement Services International (SSI) began, the museum has been helping to build social bridges with members of refugee and migrant communities and creating a sense of welcome. SSI’s Arts and Culture Manager, Laura Luna, explains the organisation’s work in delivering its flagship arts and culture event, the New Beginnings Festival, at the museum last month.
SETTLEMENT SERVICES INTERNATIONAL (SSI) has long recognised the enormous potential of the arts to help people forge their identities and build more inclusive communities for everyone. In 2014, we established an innovative arts and culture program encouraging cultural engagement and nurturing artists and cultural practitioners from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Being able to experience – and participate in – arts and cultural life is essential to the wellbeing of every human being. For refugees and new migrants to Australia, such interactions have a doubly important role. By providing a platform for connection and selfexpression, arts and culture initiatives can empower individuals, bring communities together and help build a stronger society. Underpinning our arts and culture program is the philosophy of UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Adopted in 2005 and ratified by Australia in 2009, the convention aims to ensure that artists, cultural practitioners and citizens worldwide have the right to cultural practice and preservation. 68
Signals 139 Winter 2022
Before the pandemic, New Beginnings was held annually at Darling Harbour. Its mix of lively dance and music performances, interactive workshops and culinary market stalls showcased more than 25 different cultures from around the world. This year we were excited to re-emerge after two long years of restrictions and co-host our festival with the museum. The headline acts, Dobby, a Filipino–First Nations rapper and drummer, and Gordon Koang, a household name in South Sudan who arrived in Australia seeking asylum, really encapsulated the festival and this year’s theme of bringing people from all walks of life together and creating synergies through the arts. SSI moderated a discussion on climate emergencies to coincide with the United Nations 66th Commission for the Status of Women (CSW66), highlighting how increased inequalities and risks for women are exacerbated by climate change and disproportionately affect communities already experiencing vulnerability. South Asian fusion arts company Bindi Bosses presented the debut of ‘Signs’, expressing the devastating effects of, and intersections between, climate change, colonisation and rising temperatures in Western Sydney. The choreography was created in collaboration with Ella Havelka – a descendant of the Wiradjuri people, former Bangarra Dance company member and the first Aboriginal woman to join the Australian Ballet – and was set to spoken word by Boori Monty Pryor, a multi-disciplinary Birri-gubba and Kunggandji author, performer and poet. The festival’s ambassador Shyamla Eswaran, an independent movement artist, teacher and founder of Bindi Bosses, who has a Master’s Degree in International Human Rights Law, said this year’s theme ‘Where You Belong’ invited the public to join a broader conversation through arts and culture, attracting thousands of Sydneysiders to the event.
