Home movies targeted as part of groundbreaking migrant heritage project

Feb 27, 2006

The search has begun in the Illawarra for home movies filmed from the 1950s to the 1980s that will contribute to an Australian groundbreaking project that will reveal the country's migrant heritage.

Home movies capture a way of life that has long since passed. Now a new community project, Home Movies -- Animating Heritage, aims to preserve these memories and give them a wider audience using new media technologies.

It is a joint initiative of the Illawarra Migration Heritage Project Incorporated and the University of Wollongong's School of Art and Design, Faculty of Creative Arts, and Film Illawarra located in the Faculty of Arts. The project is funded by the IMB Community Foundation.

Ms Beth Herbert, an Arts graduate from UOW who did an internship with Film Illawarra has been employed by the Migration Heritage Project Inc. to establish a registry of home movies, collect examples and contact migrant groups and individuals.

Mr Gregor Cullen, Lecturer in Graphic Design from the School of Art and Design, Faculty of Creative Arts, is also a committee member on the Migration Heritage Project, who initiated the project to explore the creative potential of new digital media and bring to the attention of a wider community the importance of migrant heritage to the identity of the region.

Franca Facci, chairperson for the Migrant Heritage Project, said that the home movies-animating heritage project made it possible for the organisation to partner with UOW's creativity and technology know-how and bring to life the experiences and stories of Wollongong's migrant communities.

Ms Herbert said the project, believed to be the first ever undertaken in Australia, is seeking movies which feature migrant arrival in Australia, migrant hostel accommodation and lifestyle, festivals, parades, school/family/sporting events and cultural celebrations and ceremonies. Footage could also include the laying of the foundation stone of a community club or images of a first home.

A selection of these movies will then be transferred on to digital format and used in an audio visual exhibition to open later this year. Negotiations are under way to bring the exhibition to the Migrant Heritage Centre at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

Ms Herbert said it would be shown at future events such as Viva La Gong, displayed in Australian regional museums and accessed via the Migration Heritage Project website.

"Migrant communities have played an important part in the culture and life of the Illawarra. We want to collect home movies to enrich and add to our understanding and knowledge of the Illawarra region and its diverse history," Ms Herbert said.

She said the project would ensure that an important part of the Illawarra's history was maintained and preserved for future generations to view and learn from.