11 September 2009

Women's voices revealed through photos

The Royal Hospital for Women on Saturday, 19 September 2009, will launch a unique exhibition of photos taken by women whose perspectives, aren’t widely seen in our community.

“The exhibition shows work completed by 13 women who participated in Photovoice, an international movement which uses photography to give voice to individuals, groups and communities,” said Ms Debra Hanlin, Manager, Women's Health and Community Partnerships.

“The exhibition title, Joys challenges and aspirations for future generations, reflects the themes explored throughout the photos. Some of the photos focus on the women’s babies, others on their personal journeys and others on the environment.

“This has been a great project, which has provided some isolated women with valuable networks and the opportunity through photography and informal discussion to express their thoughts and feelings on child birth and parenting.

“The staff, from the Royal Hospital for Women, who participated in the sessions, were able to better understand the issues that can affect women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds,” Ms Hanlin said.

The women, from a variety of cultures such as Indonesia, Korea, Lebanon, Japan, the Ukraine and Australia, met for two hours fortnightly for eight weeks from April -July 2009 at the Deli Women & Children’s Centre in Eastlakes.

“The women all with young babies spent the last few months learning about photography and each other’s cultures, talking about issues affecting them, enjoying some time out and taking some great photos,” Mrs Diala Barsoum, course participant said.

“Once we began this project, we found time to develop our photography skills, kept diaries and worked on developing ideas which translated into the final photos on display in this exhibition.

“Myself and the other women in the group discovered creative talents we did not realise we had, as well as developing new social networks and friendships,” Mrs Barsoum said.

“This program has been valuable both for the women participating and for hospital staff,” Ms Saulan Yin-Lo, RHW Diversity Health Coordinator said.

“The Royal Hospital for Women offers ongoing support to women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds through its community midwifery programs.

“The Photovoice launch is on at the Royal Hospital for Women’s South Foyer, from 2-4pm on 19 September 2009. The exhibition will stay on display until Monday 28 September 2009,” Ms Yin-Lo said.


Media Enquiries: Selina O’Connor 9382 8226 or 0421 618 793