Dreamtime for Aboriginal doctors
IT'S not often that paint and medicine are discussed in the same breath, but thanks to the Shalom Institute's Aboriginal education scholarship program, Shalom Gamarada, art is helping Aboriginal doctors improve health outcomes for indigenous Australians.
LEXI LANDSMAN
IT’S not often that paint and medicine are discussed in the same breath, but thanks to the Shalom Institute’s Aboriginal education scholarship program, Shalom Gamarada, art is helping Aboriginal doctors improve health outcomes for indigenous Australians.
The fifth Shalom Gamarada Art Exhibition is currently being held in Sydney at Shalom College until July 26, with a share of the proceeds used to fund residential scholarships for Aboriginal medical students at Shalom College.
“It’s a unique exhibition in that it gives the Jewish community a real opportunity at practical reconciliation in helping put these students through their courses,” Jenny Hillman, the exhibition’s curator, says.
“It’s also a fantastic opportunity for students to live in Shalom College and to be ambassadors for the community when they graduate.”
Featuring a wide range of contemporary works, Hillman says the exhibition showcases original artwork created in the past year by emerging and acclaimed Aboriginal artists around Australia.
The exhibited artwork is valued at more than $1.6 million and will feature special installations from Gloria Petyarre and Shorty Jangala Robinson, as well as works from Jan Billycan, Daniel Walbidi and Weaver Jack.
With only 120 indigenous students enrolled in medicine across Australia, scholarship founder and Professor Lisa Jackson Pulver believes the Shalom Gamarada Art Exhibition plays an important role in bringing the Jewish and indigenous communities together.
“With both Jewish and Aboriginal communities no stranger to prejudice, this program is an important way of bringing the two cultures together through art,” said Prof Jackson Pulver.
“By attending the exhibition, the Jewish community can play a vital role in improving the health outcomes of Aboriginal Australians,” she added.
The Shalom Gamarada scholarship program was set up in 2005 to boost the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical students attending the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and runs in partnership with the UNSW’s Shalom College, Nura Gili Indigenous Programs Unit and the Muru Marri Indigenous Health Unit.
Each scholarship is valued at $15,000 per year and covers full board and lodging at the college on the University’s Kensington campus.
Currently there are 10 indigenous students on scholarships residing at Shalom College —- eight medical students, one health sciences student and one optometry student.
The patron of the 2009 Shalom Gamarada Art Exhibition is the Governor of NSW Professor Marie Bashir.
The Shalom Gamarada Art Exhibition runs until July 26 at the Caspary Conference entre, Shalom College NSW, Barker Street, Kensington. Enquiries: www.shalomgamarada.org.
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