Celebrate the diversity of the Gold Coast by visiting this unique photo exhibition.

Diverse GC Photography Exhibition in collaboration with Multicultural Communities Council Gold Coast (MCCGC) and local photographer Andro Engelbrecht will showcase portraits of Gold Coast Multicultural community members at the Robina Community Centre Art Gallery. The exhibition allows the Gold Coast community to experience the multicultural faces that makes our city so diverse and learn about their stories.

The exhibition will be open from the 8th to 21st of March to the public for free to celebrate multiculturalism in the lead up to Harmony Week. The portraits feature a diverse range of people from migrant and refugee backgrounds, people seeking Asylum, First Nations peoples and Australian South Sea Islander peoples.

Asmeret Kesete, one of the portrait subjects, assists with MCCGC’s Settlement Engagement Transition Support (SETS) program to help newly arrived people on refugee visas connect with the community and access services and support. She grew up in Sudan but was born in Eritrea, and due to the ongoing conflict there, she and her family needed to flee. Her family then became refugees, got registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and got approved in 2013 to seek asylum in Australia.

We asked Asmeret what she thought of the exhibition, “It’s a fantastic opportunity to be more aware of the diversity on the Gold Coast. Everyday Gold Coasters can learn more about the differences that make us all unique. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, I believe these portraits tell the stories of what we’ve been through, but also the triumphs we’ve overcome to now be part of this beautiful country that embraces us all”.

Andro is a portrait and headshot photographer based on the Gold Coast, and a migrant himself. He loves people, photography, and this city, and has combined these three passions into a career over the past 7 years. His work mostly focuses on the people of the Gold Coast: small business owners, corporate professionals, actors, musicians, artists, sports figures, and TV personalities. MCCGC has been supporting multicultural communities on the Gold Coast for over 40 years, providing a range of services and supports to connect and empower individuals, families and communities.

After the completion of the exhibit, framed portraits will be donated to organisations across the Gold Coast to spread positive images and stories of multicultural community members. We also plan to create coffee table books of the portraits and stories to donate to organisations, encapsulating the essence of the event to live on in the community well past the completion of the festivities.

If you want to know more stories like Asmeret’s journey, come and join us as we celebrate multiculturalism. Diverse GC is a Queensland Government funded event.

Dates: 8th to 21st March
Time: 9am – 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am – 4pm Saturday & Sunday
Location: Robina Community Centre Art Gallery, 196 Robina Town Centre Dr

Facebook event here