nemedia.com.au
north east regional extra | April 26 - May 2, 2023
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April 26 - May 2, 2023
Artistry across the globe By BELINDA HARRISON FROM Wangaratta to China, Kenya, Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Vietnam and Canada, Anna Weston has experienced a vast array of sights and met some wonderful people, many of whom have since influenced her art. After completing a Bachelor of Speech Pathology at La Trobe University, Anna worked in the UK and took jobs in rural, remote and city areas across Australia, but in 2011 her horizons were broadened when she started with Operation Smile. “Operation Smile provides cleft palate and craniofacial surgeries to babies, children and adults in developing countries and I volunteered with them as a speech pathologist,” Anna explained. “Along with nurses, doctors, surgeons and dentists, I helped figure out who was an appropriate candidate for surgery, worked with local people and families to best support kids to develop speech and language skills in their own languages and dialects, and helped parents figure out how to best help their babies and kids eat and drink. “It’s hard work and confronting at times but it is also great to meet people just like you who happen to live across the other side of the world, and to learn about different cultures and ways of being.” The work for Operation Smile was for around 12 days at a time, which Anna completed around her day job and among finding time to create and make art. “I have made art for as long as I can remember, my teachers in primary school strongly encouraged creativity which was integral, and my parents were encouraging,” Anna said.
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◆ RELAXED: Anna in her studio. PHOTO: Alexandra Hose
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