In early October we listened to a very interesting talk, ‘Curating Migrant Stories’, where History and Art came together.  The history of Sikhs in Benalla is not well known, and we were privileged to hear some of their story from the curator of the exhibition Amrit Gill. M/s Gill is extremely well versed in some of our local history, and we enjoyed every minute of her lecture.  She is an extremely competent and articulate curator.  We learned that a local Hawker Siva Singh organised the first complete reading of the Sikh Holy Text in Australia.  This took place at Reef Hills in the early 20th century and was attended by many notable Sikh figures.  And luckily a Press Photographer as well.  The reading took approximately 40 hours to complete and is now treated as Historic. Siva Singh came to Australia from Singapore before Federation as a British Subject.  Unfortunately, he was affected by the Federal Government putting into place the White Australia Policy after Federation and he had his citizenship and voting rights withdrawn.  He would have been threatened with deportation.  He objected to this and after many battles it ended in the High Court and his rights were restored.  Thankfully he persisted for many years against the forces of adversity.

My recollection of Indian Hawkers in the local area was that they were always held in affection and well respected.  Of course, they knew everyone, and everyone knew them.  I cannot recall anyone who would have objected to them being citizens.

M/s Gill also explained the meaning behind the exhibits on show.  The Art on exhibition is of a symbolic type and not normally shown in Art Galleries.  The exhibits are mostly craft inspired.  Punjabi women have a special skill in needlework and this method was incorporated in producing the Artworks on display.  The symbols shown in the Artworks are attempting to incorporate Punjabi Culture into western understanding.

​Neville Gibb

​Coming up at 'First Mondays' at the Benalla Art Gallery on Monday 7 November from 10-11am, 'I Wish I'd Told You' -  Presenters: Claire Bridge and Chelle Destefano

What I Wish I’d Told You, centres Deaf voices, identity, language and culture. Auslan storytellers affirm Deaf experiences and complex identities, in an immersive exhibition of large-scale video projections, which bring visitors into a Deaf world.

Claire Bridge and Chelle Destefano consider themes of Deaf culture, Deaf pride and decolonising audism. The artists discuss critical approaches to embedding social justice concerns into exhibition design and curatorial custodianship.

“In Auslan, we pass stories from hand to hand. Our stories cannot be put on a page, detached from us. Our signed stories carry culture. They are a site of resistance and pride.” Chelle Destefano

Access: Auslan/ English interpreters