Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours
Unlike any other exhibition in an Australia museum, Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours provides fresh and challenging insights into personal identity – who we are, how we perceive each other and what it means to belong or not belong in Australia today. Focusing on the things that make up our sense of who we are – ethnicity, ancestry, language, spirituality and citizenship – the exhibition explores the many and varied identities that make up our nation. Featuring objects, immersive multimedia displays and a range of personal stories from Australians of widely diverse backgrounds, Identity will challenge visitors to examine their own assumptions and confront everyday prejudices about Australia’s multicultural society.
Date: Now open
West Africa: Rhythm and Spirit
This exhibition explores the long-held traditional beliefs and cultural practices of contemporary West African society. Featuring over 200 objects, including colourful masks, intricately carved figures, musical instruments, beautifully decorative cloth and jewellery as well as photographs and film, this exhibition provides a window into the life of today’s West African cultures. West Africa: Rhythm and Spirit encompasses six major themes – kingship and authority, fertility, pattern and adornment, divination, masks and masquerades, and trade – which reflect the diversity and dynamism of this unique and fascinating region.
Date: Until 29 May 2011
Belonging: Reflections on Place
A video installation by video artist Wendy Woodson and installation artist Kathy Couch, Belonging: Reflections on Place features interviews with diverse migrants and refugees and members of their families living in Australia who reflect on their experiences of place, migration and belonging. Large scale projections of travel and migration inspire a sense of movement and transition from place to place, encouraging visitors to reflect on experiences of place and belonging across different continents and cultures.
Date: 10 July 2011 to 22 January 2012
School holiday program: Carnivale Capers
Join in the carnival at the Immigration Museum these winter school holidays and take part in Carnivale traditions worldwide. Fashion a flamboyant Brazilian headpiece with feathers, stars, sequins and glitter inspired by the world’s biggest Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. Disguise yourself for the Venetian Carnivale masquerade with a multi-coloured Arlecchino mask held with a baton. Make and shake your own Haitian Rara tambourine. Listen to stories from countries that celebrate Carnivale traditions, such as Brazil and Italy, in our storytelling area.
Date: 2 July to 17 July 2011
Kids Fest Carnivale
Join in the revelry and celebrate traditions worldwide with riotous music and dance workshops, roving performers, face painting, puppet shows and masquerades. Create a musical instrument, help decorate a float for the parade and enjoy the fun, food and family activities.
Date: 11am to 4pm, Sunday 17 July
On Their Own: Britain’s Child Migrants
From the 1860s, more than 100,000 children were sent from Britain to Australia, Canada and other Commonwealth countries through child migration schemes. Few were orphans; many came from families who were unable to care for them. The lives of these children changed dramatically. Some succeeded in creating new futures while others suffered lonely, brutal childhoods. All experienced disruption and separation from family and homeland. This exhibition explores the government endorsed schemes and the motivations behind them. Through detailed case studies, visitors will meet a number of former child migrants and find out more about their difference experiences.
Date: 7 October 2011 to 29 April 2012
Immigration Museum, 400 Flinders Street, Melbourne. Open daily 10.00am to 5.00pm except Good Friday and Christmas Day. Admission: Adult $8, child/concession FREE. More info 13 11 02 or museumvictoria.com.au/immigration museum