MASKED art exhibition honours local Covid medical heroes

A UNIQUE arts exhibition will open at One Arts Gallery in Surfers Paradise on March 5 to celebrate our Gold Coast Covid-19 medical heroes.

MASKED is a group exhibition delivered by the Multicultural Families Organisation (MFO) and their International Women’s Arts Group. 

It will feature 15 mask-related artworks and 30 paintings by five artists (Atousa Salehpour, Elham Lalehdoust, Esmeralda Maximo, Hengameh Shamlou and Rocio Alexandra), as well as guest artists Nasrin Vaziri from Gold Coast MAGIC and Chad & Charles from The Arts Exchange.

MASKED project co-ordinator Nasrin Vaziri said the mask was a symbolic element and how the artists show their appreciation of medical people who have been working on saving people’s lives during the pandemic.

“Through their work, artists explore masked faces highlighting the status of medical staff in various mediums and forms including traditional, contemporary, abstract and photo-painting,” Mrs Vaziri said. 

“The aim of this project is to demonstrate understanding and appreciation of the workers who risked their lives for the health of the community.”

Each artist will exhibit artworks with different mediums and styles, including acrylic, photo-painting, oils and mixed media. 

“Through this project, we aim to engage the skills of our international artists to encourage a harmonious society.”

This exhibition will be held at One Arts Gallery in collaboration with Gold Coast MAGIC. 

The opening launch will be during Queensland Women’s Week on March 5, just before International Women’s Day on March 8.

Mrs Vaziri said this project had provided career development opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse female artists living on the Gold Coast. 

“Through the delivery of a variety of workshops, we assisted the women to explore culture and identity in the context of the pandemic. We also explored ideas and concepts in art and taught them about exhibiting, arts opportunities on the Gold Coast, council’s facilities and funding opportunities.”

The Multicultural Families Organisation (MFO) in Southport was funded by the City of Gold Coast Council for this project in November 2020.

“Through various services and programs, MFO aims to promote a more accepting, harmonious and cohesive society where everyone, regardless of their cultural background, gender or faith, feels supported, safe, respected and welcomed,” MFO director Cornelia Queenie Babbage said.

“MFO believes that arts and cultural projects provide a fantastic means to promote the positive impacts of diversity and greatly enrich our city.”

This project is funded by the Regional Arts Development Fund, a partnership between the Queensland Government and the City of Gold Coast Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

MASKED will open at ONE Arts Gallery, 13 Verona Ave, Surfers Paradise, on March 5 from 5.30pm to 7.30pm with refreshment and live music. Entry is free and open to the public. The exhibition will remain on display until March 31. The gallery is open from 10am to 3pm Monday to Friday.

On March 8, The Art Exchange will also host a special Coffee ‘n’ Canvas sip and paint to raise money to support domestic violence victims for International Women’s Day at One Arts Gold Coast.

Painters will be taken step-by-step through creating a delicate painting featuring a butterfly sitting on water surrounded by natural beauty.

As Chad and Charles from The Art Exchange say, ‘this isn’t fine art, it’s fun art’.

For more details about MASKED, call Nasrin on 0434 932 537 or Rana on 0402261258.

For more details on the Coffee ‘n’ Canvas sip and paint, call Charles from the Art Exchange on 0413 099 925.