Grants to help bring migrant stories, museum vision to life

An IMB grant will help the champions behind an ambitious campaign to build a world-class Illawarra regional museum to lay the foundations for what’s ahead.

The grant, announced this week as part of the IMB’s annual Community Foundation Grants program, will enable the production of the first in a series of more than 100 mini-documentaries that will tell the stories of migrants who’ve helped shape our region.

The series will be titled “Whose shoulders are we standing on?”

“This project addresses the risk of losing the Illawarra’s important stories of First Nations heritage, migration, industry, and our unique social history,” said Franca Facci, who leads the museum project.

“Through the Museum of People, Country and Industry, the project will preserve community history, strengthen cultural pride, and celebrate the diverse people who helped shape the region.”

Franca says the project, which will be delivered in collaboration with Screen Illawarra, has been shaped through ongoing consultation with First Nations and multicultural community groups.

As many of the region’s postwar migrants are now well into their 80s and 90s, Franca said the community identified a strong need to preserve and celebrate the Illawarra’s stories of migration, industry and First Nations history before it is lost.

With the initial funding secure, the search is now underway for the first five people to feature in the mini-documentaries.

“This is about telling the stories of the people who’ve helped shape the Illawarra,” Franca said. “People who’ve really helped build the values and the culture of the city; people who have demonstrated their appreciation of coming to live in Australia and this region, and who have helped build not only its culture, but also its economy and wealth.”

First Nations stories will also be included in the documentary series.

“It’s pivotal, and it’s fundamentally important to acknowledge, recognise and include our First Nations. Every First Nations person was displaced by invaders and migrants, and we’ve got to recognise that, and acknowledge the very first culture that was in the first language too.”

Also attending the IMB grants announcement was an enthusiastic Nick Bolton, who heads Screen Illawarra.

“What I like about this project is that a film documentary is an oral archive of these amazing stories, and when it’s built, the museum will be the physical archive for these amazing stories,” Nick said. “And there are not hundreds, or thousands, there are tens of thousands of really important stories of migrants who have contributed to the beautiful Illawarra that we know today.”

The documentary series project has been designed to grow progressively as funding is secured, allowing each story to be captured, released and shared with the community in stages.

“The documentaries will also reach broader audiences through community events, online distribution, educational use, and film festival exposure, helping foster greater understanding of our heritage and regional identity,” Franca said.

Ultimately though, it will help promote the grand plans for a regional museum we can be proud of.

“They will help us to showcase, when we do presentations to philanthropists, or people wanting to engage in the program, an immediate understanding of what the purpose of our mission is; and our mission is to create a museum,” Franca said.

“It’s great that the IMB Foundation has recognised the value of creative projects as valid and important projects, not only in the economy, but in the social wellbeing of our community; the importance of recognising where we’ve come from to know where we are going.”

On Monday, IMB announced 68 community and not-for-profit organisations will share more than $770,000 in grant funding following a record number of applications.

IMB Bank Community Foundation chair Jann Gardner said the 2026 recipients reflected the breadth of need across the community.

“From wellbeing and inclusion to education, emergency support, the environment, and arts and culture, these projects will deliver meaningful and lasting impact. They will bring connection to the lives of individuals, families and their community,” Jann said.

Other grant recipients from the Illawarra include: Kiama Meals on Wheels, Dave Winner Foundation, Safe Water Community Care, Escabags, Skin Check Champions, Football South Coast, Southern Illawarra and Thirroul Men’s Shed and the George Cross Falcons Maltese Community Centre.

The Illawarra Flame is a supporter of the Migrant Heritage Project – for more information, visit the MHP website.