House debates

Monday, 22 October 2018

Statements by Members

International Veterans Art Exhibition

4:20 pm

Photo of Luke GoslingLuke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This week the inaugural International Veterans Art Exhibition is being held alongside the Invictus Games. This exhibition is the result of over 12 months of planning by a dedicated team of volunteers from ex-service organisation the Australian National Veterans Art Museum, ANVAM. I would like to congratulate the co-curator of this exhibition, former New South Wales police officer Jillian Oliver. I was introduced to Jillian by Lieutenant-Colonel Steve Jenkins. Jillian, after losing a hand in an accident as a police officer, taught herself to paint with her left hand as part of her rehabilitation. A print of a painting she drew of a dawn service in Afghanistan is in my office, and I invite members to drop by. I was proud to introduce Jill to ANVAM's founder and head of arts programs, Tanja Johnson, and the two have worked closely on this watershed exhibition ever since. For the first time, veterans of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US along with veterans from Ukraine and Poland are exhibiting their work in a single exhibition. Members and senators will have also received an invitation from me to an ANVAM exhibition of veterans art right here in Parliament House, so please RSVP and come along.

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