I'm honoured to be hosting an event that is likely to be a highlight of National Refugee Week. I hope you'll join me.
Renowned Australian Painter Ben Quilty and German-born, Syrian-American musician Malek Jandali have both spent time visiting and working in refugees camps around the world. Along with special guest, Professor Emeritus Stuart Rees AM, they will be in conversation about the role of creativity in recovering peace and humanity.
German born, Syrian-American composer and pianist Malek Jandali is a leading figure in today's music world. He is the founder of Pianos for Peace, a non-profit dedicated to building peace through music and education and a member of the Recording Academy and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Malek was honoured with the 2013 GUSI International Peace Prize and the 2014 Global Music Humanitarian Award for his ongoing world tour The Voice of the Free Syrian Children and dedication to peace and humanitarian causes.
In less than a decade Ben Qulity has become one of the country’s favourite artists. Travelling through refugee camps with author Richard Flanagan brought home the horror facing the world's most desperate families. Flanagan asked Quilty to accompany him on the trip after the writer was invited by World Vision to document the situation in a different way to standard media representations. Following his trip in 2016 through Greece, Serbia and Lebanon, together with Flanagan, Ben produced the book Notes on an Exodus, which conveys a deep personal understanding of the global issue of refugees.
I hope to see you there.
Here are the details:
Tuesday, 20 June, 6:30pm to 8:30pm @ NSW Parliament
