CHANGED FOREVER

BY SUE BURGESS AND KATRINA NICOLSON

Changed Forever: Legacies of conflict commenced its tour in late 2019. Whilst the events of 2020 have had an impact, the exhibition is still strongly resonating with audiences. Visitors are leaving with a strong sense of our shared humanity.

The Shrine’s current touring exhibition, Changed Forever: Legacies of conflict, explores the stories of refugees fleeing conflict zones alongside the experience of recent veterans who served overseas with the Australian Defence Force and the impact conflict has had on their families. Visitors are invited to delve into the influence of global and civil conflict on changing lives and shaping contemporary Australia through engagement with these very personal stories. The oral histories shared with us have been shaped into narratives enhanced with art, objects, photographs, poetry and audio visuals.

The exhibition launched in September 2019 with a resounding performance at the Shrine by the Dili Allstars band, led by Paulie Stewart OAM and Jose ‘Zeca’ Mesquite, two of the exhibition storytellers. It was a wonderful opportunity for our storytellers to meet each other for the first time.

The tour started positively at the Hume Global Learning Centre in Craigieburn. If we needed affirmation of the importance of the exhibition, we got it with our community group tours. Tour participants from a local Community Hubs group found the stories gave them the language to share their stories with others around them:

This was amazing, I didn’t think anyone in Australia would understand what it meant to be sent away from my mother and father, but she understood exactly. I am outspoken and my father worried that I would be shot if I stayed in Mosul and he begged [my husband] to take me and look after me in Australia and we are now married, but I miss my home.

This powerful exhibition triggered personal stories of fleeing conflict and settlement in Australia... It was a wonderful moment in the Hub when two women found they had a common connection emanating from their home city of Mosul.

Arriving at Bendigo Soldiers Memorial in February 2020, storytellers, Museum staff, volunteers and visitors were all enthusiastic about the exhibition. At the launch we had over 40 people hear from storytellers and curators about the exhibition. Visitation was very strong in the four weeks it was open to the public, with many encouraging and heartfelt comments left in the Visitor Book. Here are some reflections from our Bendigo visitors:

Thank you for your stories and courage.

Covers so much and puts the world in a perspective that we overlook from our own comfort zones–gripping, emotional and a wake up call!

Very humbling and evocative.

Then in March 2020, the world changed and we were all required to close our doors due to COVID-19 restrictions. The exhibition spent the bulk of 2020 locked away inside the Soldiers Memorial.

It was a great day in February 2021, almost 12 months later, that we opened at the Walker St Gallery in Dandenong. Due to visitor restrictions it was launched with a curator talk online. This achieved over 500 views and visitors to the exhibition were thrilled to see previously unknown stories on display. We were fortunate to have Jean McAuslan, exhibition curator and former Shrine Director of Access and Learning, return to lead our rescheduled community program. She was joined by storytellers James Farquharson, Paulie Stewart OAM and Zeca Mesquite, in his first public speaking engagement. This was serendipitous, as all three have connections to East Timor and between them covered the themes underpinning the exhibition—refugee, family and service impacts of conflict. Zeca was born in East Timor, his family fled the Indonesian invasion; Paulie’s brother Tony was killed at Balibo, one of five Australian journalists murdered by Indonesian forces; and James served with UNMISET (UN Mission in Support of East Timor).

Dandenong is one of the most culturally diverse areas of Victoria, which was reflected in attendance at the Gallery. ‘Visitors came from very diverse backgrounds and some had never visited Walker Street Gallery before and came because of the content of the exhibition.’

Frankston exhibition launch 2021

(left to right) Ben Pullin, James Farquharson. Lt Cdr Helen Ward and Matter Muchar

The exhibition enjoyed more strong local support at the Cube 37 Gallery Frankston and the Central Goldfields Art Gallery, Maryborough. We could hold physical launches and once again our storytellers were generous in sharing their experiences. In Frankston we had four storytellers at the launch; visitors were fortunate to hear some heartfelt reflections, including how much it means to be a part of the exhibition:

Thank you for displaying this wonderful exhibition and allowing us to tell our stories.

Helen Ward

We were lucky to deliver community programs to two U3A groups and a combined group of Rural Australians for Refugees and general public in Maryborough between lockdowns. The talks coincided with Refugee Week, which brought a new audience to the gallery. Staff reported many of the new visitors had not previously thought exhibitions of this nature would run regionally.

A visitor to Maryborough was so moved by the exhibition he wrote to the local paper:

I am compelled to say that I was deeply affected by the exhibition. It is a very confronting display, extremely artistically and tastefully presented, and very deeply engaging and moving of the experiences of a number of people associated with some of the more recent theatres of war and conflict in which Australia has been involved. It is the ‘telling of the stories’ of soldiers, sailors, and aviators from the Australian Defence Forces and their families, and the equally compelling stories of civilians whose lives have been affected by these and similar events in recent years. In each of these cases, the title of the exhibition describes exactly what has happened to the lives of these men, women and children whether military or civilian, whether friend or foe.

This deep emotional engagement has been a feature of visitor

comments so far across all venues. Undoubtedly, the power of the exhibition lies with the storytellers and their compelling stories. Hearing from them in their own words at each launch has been a highlight.

Each time we attend a launch event, we are reminded of the bravery and resilience of each of the storytellers. Their stories help us to expand our understanding of what civilians and service people go through in war; to bridge the gap in comprehension between Australians at home and service people who have served abroad and new arrivals. Visitors are left with a strong sense of our shared humanity.

For many of the storytellers, the experience has been cathartic and gives them confidence to move forward in their lives. We are grateful for their generosity and openness.

It is very important for me to learn to express my emotions in my art and have the chance to talk about these experiences as well. Being part of this exhibition has affirmed the importance of my service and helped rebuild my self-confidence.

James Farquharson

Changed Forever launch event at the Shrine 2019

photographer Susan Gordon-Brown

One of our aims with the exhibition has been to collect new stories along the way. The circumstances of the last 18 months have made this challenging but we are still keen to capture the stories of others and include them digitally in the exhibition. Please contact us at stories@shrine.org.au if you would like to share your story.

Our goal has always been to tour the exhibition to as much of Regional Victoria as possible. So, we are excited to share that come December, we will be at Coal Creek Community Park and Museum, Korumburra, followed by runs in Swan Hill and Pyramid Hill.

We could not have known how relevant this exhibition would be, given the unfolding events in Afghanistan. Many of our storytellers have strong links to Afghanistan, either as refugees or service veterans. In recent days we have been made painfully aware of how tenuous safety can be and how quickly people’s lives are changed forever.

Sue Burgess is Director Public Programs and Katrina Nicolson is Exhibitions Outreach and Grants Officer at the Shrine of Remembrance.

If this article has raised concerns for you or a loved one, help is available. Open Arms Safe Zone Support offers free, 24 hour, anonymous counselling for all current and ex-serving members of the ADF, veterans and their families. Call 1800 142 072. Lifeline is supported by TIS National (Translating and Interpretation Services) to provide interpretation and translation for their crisis support help line.