Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2013

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Connecting & belonging MS MICHELLE JAMES, PUBLICATIONS OFFICER PHILANTHROPY IN FOCUS

ARTICLE

AUTHOR

AFFINITY AND ALTRUISM PROMPTED MS LESLEY BRYANT, ALUMNA (CLASS OF 1963) , PAST TRUSTEE, AND PHILANTHROPIST, TO SPONSOR THE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAMME AT BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR.

Previously, the School’s Artist in Residence programme has been sponsored by Dr Cathryn Mittelheuser (Class of 1949) and Miss Margaret Mittelheuser (Class of 1947), remarkable women who, through their support of the School and many other organisations, exemplify philanthropic leadership. To continue their legacy, Ms Bryant decided to re-establish the residency. ‘Both Margaret and Cathryn have been mentors to me in many ways. Cathryn and I studied at The University of Queensland at the same time, and Margaret has always challenged me to go beyond my comfort zone, including serving on the Board of Trustees. Her foresight and vision when she served on the Board was inspirational.’

meant to marry a high chief from Fiji. But she ran away and married a sailor from Cornwall instead. The family immigrated to Australia in 1898. At that time, the racism In North Queensland was entrenched, so they hid their origins. I never knew much about my ancestral culture, and I have been fortunate to reconnect with that in Fiji and Samoa through people I’ve met over the past few years.’ Ms Bryant became aware of Krishna Nahow’s art practice in 2010, and started thinking about what she could do for the ASSI 150 anniversary in 2013 in a way that could assist the artist and support the School. ‘My purpose in sponsoring Krishna as Artist in Residence was to enable her, as an emerging Australian South Sea Islander artist, to express her own ancestral story and her personal reconnection with her cultural heritage through her art. I also hoped she would benefit from engaging with students and staff at Girls Grammar, and for all to connect with the significant history of South Sea Islanders in Queensland. Sir Samuel Griffith, who was Chair of the Board of Trustees and Premier of Queensland during the ‘blackbirding’ era, unsuccessfully tried to stop the labour trade. As Krishna says, the history is quite hidden. I want the students to know about Queensland history and for Queenslanders to know about the history of their state. And art can express issues in a way that is accessible, a way in to understanding the feelings, which are still relevant today.’ The School is very grateful to Ms Bryant for her generous sponsorship of the 2013 Artist in Residence programme. The sense of connecting and belonging for all participants — within the School and in the wider community — engendered by such initiatives is invaluable.

A further impetus for Ms Bryant came from her work on the steering committee of the ASSI 150 Project South East Queensland chapter. ASSI 150 commemorates 150 years since the first South Sea Islanders were brought to Queensland to work as indentured labourers in 1863 (ASSI 150 Project Newsletter, 2011). Through events and activities, the project aims to tell the story to the wider community, and to acknowledge the contribution that Australian South Sea Islanders have made to Australia. ‘My mother has hidden her Samoan heritage for almost her whole life. My grandfather was born in Fiji and his mother, my great grandmother, was Samoan. I found out that she was a taupo , a village maiden with high status,

REFERENCES

ASSI 150 Project newsletter . (June, 2011). Retrieved from http://www.ipswich. qld.gov.au/documents/community/assi_150_news_june_2011.pdf

IMAGE

(L-R) Lesley Bryant and Krishna Nahow

AUTUMN ISSUE / 2013