On the top floor of the Maitland Regional Art Gallery two rows of black and white images line the walls.
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Recreated from photographs, the illustrations, titled Displaced: Great Migrant Camp 1949-1960, show little girls in headscarves, young boys in sandals and the dwellings they knew, mostly, as the chocolate and silver cities.
“This is an incredibly important exhibition for the gallery to show,” gallery deputy director Brigette Uren said. “These stories are real and they are alive and people want to share them.”
The exhibition is a multi-faceted display hinting at the lives of the thousands of people evacuated from war-torn Europe who made a temporary home at Greta.
Through their work artists Vivienne Dadour and Gail Burrows give voice to the story of these people, where they came from, where they went to and their history of settling into Australia.
“It’s great to have this exhibition in the art gallery from an artistic, cultural perspective but the true meaning behind these works is steeped in Maitland’s rich history and it’s a privilege to be able to show it,” Ms Uren said.
The gallery will also host a Greta Migrant Camp forum on September 21 for those wanting to share their experiences of living at the camp.
Displaced: Greta Migrant Camp 1949-1960 will be opened on Saturday as part of gallery’s mid-season winter program launch.