Aboriginal Greek artist Kelly Koumalatsos has been awarded for her work "Portrait Of Sister In-Laws; Wemba Wemba Great Aunty Frieda Stewart And Wergaia Great Grandmother Eleanor Stewart, 2019", a work made of paper, fur print, printing ink, and framed image.
The Koorie Art Show is an annual art award and exhibition and is the only exhibition in Victoria dedicated to showcasing the work of Koorie and Victorian-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. 90 artists from across Victoria submitted works for the Award.
Ms. Koumalatsos spoke to SBS Greek and here are some of her quotes:
“It is about reclaiming and rediscoveries the stories of mother and my ancestors. I am a descendant of Great Aunty Frieda Stewart from the Wemba Wemba tribe and from Great Grandmother Eleanor Stewart from the Wergaia tribe”.
“It represents the strength of the woman in my family and their ability to do more than simply survive the oppression of the times.
This work symbolizes the cultural identity of Granny and Aunty regardless of the colonizing life that was around them. Granny who was born on Ebenezer Mission in 1887 and was a strong and determined woman who had kept her own dictionary of Wergaia language. The photograph was taken early 1900's. Very beautiful, very strong women and so proud!”
“We really do not know their stories, we know about the history and the history of the laws that Australian governments developed to control Aboriginal people, but some of my ancestors’ stories are fantastic stories of resilience, determination, and strength. I am deliberately focusing on who are they and their stories.”
“My father, ‘mpampa’, Dimitrios Koumalatsos cames from the village Kokkari of the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean. Literally, I grew up with Greek family members and Aboriginal families mixing together, with the families of my mother Eleanor Burke, and my fathers’. Until they separated, my life with both identities was quite cohesive.”
“In the 60s, when we were living in West Brunswick when I was a little girl, I have a lot of memories of being in Greek houses, with Greek families, sitting around a big kitchen table with the men, and the women, and the children.
In the 70s, we were living in Kensington, there was a bigger cohesion between Greeks and the blacks. Lots of bouzouki nights at the ‘Retreat Hotel’, which was so much fun so much dancing. The men were doing their own dances and the women were doing their own. It was so rich and such a celebration.”
“It was difficult as a Greek teenager in the Greek world because girls should not talk to the boys, you know, that culture staff. Now that I am older I can say that this is my mother country, I was born here, I have an affinity with my Aboriginality and that doesn’t mean that I am not Greek. The whole thing with the identity is very complex and very complicated for anyone from a mixed-race family. I got to a certain age when I decided that I would not tear myself apart over it anymore.”
Press Play on the main photo and listen the podcast
