Page 3999 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 15 Sept 2009
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As with all community groups, it is the outstanding effort of volunteers that makes the organisation functional. I would like to pay tribute to Mrs Pru Carpenter, New South Wales and ACT state commissioner; Mrs Belinda Allen, New South Wales and ACT state commissioner elect, who will take over as commissioner this coming weekend; Shareen Gleeson, regional leader for ACT and south-east New South Wales; and Claire McGurk, who is a leader in the Murrungundie unit and was the master of ceremonies at the awards day on Sunday.
I wish all involved in the Girl Guides in the region and elsewhere a wonderful celebration for their centenary and congratulate all involved on making the organisation the success it continues to be today.
Mr Ante Sardelic—Cultural Parallels
Battle of Britain commemoration
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (4.31): Last night I had the opportunity to assist in opening an art exhibition called Cultural Parallels: Recent Drawings and Paintings by Mr Ante Sardelic. I was joined by some 150 guests, including members of the diplomatic corps and interested members of the ACT community.
It was a great honour to have the opportunity to jointly host this exhibition in the ACT Legislative Assembly with Mrs Vicki Dunne. It is quite an extraordinary exhibition. I encourage members to go up and see it. It is a sensational and unique exhibition. The colour, vibrancy and insight that this special artist brings are really something to behold.
Ante Sardelic has been an active and vibrant artist since his formal training in Croatia in the late 60s and early 70s before moving to Canada, where he made his living as a professional and profound artist. He has been exhibited in what appears to be almost every country in the world, from Canada to Australia, extensively through South America and Europe and in centres such as New York and Washington.
He has created a body of work amounting to 76 one-man exhibitions and more than 150 group exhibitions. That is quite an extraordinary achievement. Now his work has come to Canberra and, as I said, I was very pleased to help this exhibition come to Canberra and to be able to co-host it.
The title of the exhibition is Cultural Parallels. At its core is the exploration of cross-cultural understanding and exchange. I think it is very fitting that the exhibition hangs in the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly is a place where ideas and inputs from a variety of cultures are brought together and given a genuine forum in which to flourish.
Last night, in speaking about the exhibition, I spoke about our shared cultural heritage. My parents came from Croatia in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Of course, that cultural background is a big part of who we are. I also pointed out that, indeed, in the Canberra Liberals we have quite a diversity of cultural backgrounds, with Steve Doszpot of Hungarian extraction, Mrs Dunne from Italy, Mr Smyth from
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