By Ann Burbrook of Illawarra Multicultural Services
On Thursday, August 14, the Illawarra Multicultural Services (IMS) held a celebration completing the annual Creative Expressions Writing and Art Competition, now in its sixth year, in the Music Lounge of the Wollongong Town Hall.
This competition encourages the voices we don’t often hear to speak out. It is the culmination of creative workshops, support from teachers and school staff, and the courage of people who may never have told their story before.
This year, 113 students from Warrawong, Cringila, Wollongong and Fairy Meadow primary schools, The Warrawong Intensive English Centre (IEC), TAFE Wollongong and MAX either wrote, drew or painted their responses to the 2025 Refugee Week theme – 'Finding Freedom: Diversity in Community'.
Thursday night's event took the form of an exhibition, inviting guests to read the stories and poems, and look at the artworks created by people from across the globe. For some people, this was the first time they had explored their creative side, the first time they had picked up a pencil to create an artwork or write creatively. Some of the voices were raw but all of them spoke from the heart.
The voices were primarily those of people from refugee or migrant backgrounds. People who have come to Australia and the Illawarra in search of a new home, a new life, a new beginning. The stories and pictures created for this event shared hopes, fears, pain and joy. They talked about the loss of community, of home, of friends and of country and what it means to find a new community, make new friends and call a new country home.
IMS was joined by the Hon. Paul Scully, NSW State Member for Wollongong (representing the Hon Stephen Camper, NSW Minister for Multiculturalism), the Hon. Alison Byrnes, Federal Member for Cunningham, representatives from NSW Health, Refugee and Migrant support organisations in the Illawarra, and members of our multicultural community, their friends and families.
Dharawal elder Uncle Richard spoke about the importance of all communities coming together and acknowledging each other, finding our similar stories and celebrating our cultures in a statement that was warmly welcomed by the over 200 people representing our culturally diverse community.
The audience had the opportunity to hear three of the writers – a primary school student, a high school student and a student at MAX – read their works. Hearing these stories read aloud enhanced the experience of the evening and brought many in the audience to tears.
The evening also featured a beautiful performance by the Karenni Women’s dance group.
IMS CEO Kim McCausland summed up the evening beautifully: “It is such a privilege to be part of an organisation that invites people to come together and feel safe enough to express themselves through writing and art. In doing so, this event brings us all closer and acknowledges that we are a rich and diverse community.”
Five online books have been created featuring all of the 2025 submissions and can be found on the IMS website.
