The accomplishments and role of grandmothers in the Chinese, Italian, Greek, Muslim and Jewish communities are celebrated in an exhibition officially opened by the Hon. Linda Dessau AC, Governor of Victoria, today.
The 'Grandmothers' Project' exhibition by Multicultural Museums Victoria - a new alliance between the Chinese, Italian, Greek, Islamic and Jewish museums in Melbourne - opens on Sunday, 6 May.
'Through grandmas and grannies, nanas and nonnas, ya-yas and lao laos, bubbes and jaddas, we have a universal symbol by which we can tell the stories of and celebrate our multiculturalism here in Victoria,' the Governor said at the official launch held at Government House.
'There is a special place for grandmothers in every culture. In each, they are regarded with respect and affection. And in each, they provide help, care, education and sage advice.'
‘Grandmothers' Project' pays tribute to the women who are custodians of culture and tradition, through portraits and artworks, recipes, tales of war, survival and migration, language, religious texts and traditional objects.
The exhibitions are on at the Chinese Museum, the Co-As-It Museo Italiano, the Hellenic Museum, the Jewish Museum of Australia and the Islamic Museum of Australia.
(Pictured: The Governor with three women who feature in the Grandmothers' Project exhibition. Image by DS Images - Dean Schmideg)