Welcome to UBtopia
In last week’s newsletter you may have seen a picture of Youbi Lee aka UB on the CERES Fair Food packing line, where she works as a team leader and grocery buyer. This week I’d like to share UB’s other life as a community artist.
UB studied printmaking in South Korea at Chugye University of Arts, graduating dux of her class. After working for several years as an artist in her home country UB came to Melbourne with her Australian partner. Quietly determined to continue her work UB supported herself with a job at Fair Food and slowly built her practice.
Over many projects UB developed what she calls P-Art. Participatory, Political, Playful art that brings the public into the process, nurturing understanding around difficult issues. This year UB received Australia Council funding for Asylum Silk Roads, a project drawing together 200 people seeking asylum and five support organisations, including CERES Fair Food, to create a large stenciled fabric work – a literal silk road.
The project taught stencilling skills and encouraged the new artists to share something of themselves with their new community. Today at the Fair Food warehouse there are still traces of the stencilling workshops UB ran with the Fair Food crew – prints hanging on walls, familiar faces staring out from bags and safety vests.
It’s easy for us not to look beyond the jobs asylum seekers and new migrants must do to survive in their new country; packing veggie boxes, picking fruit, driving taxis, washing dishes. But when we widen our expectations and open our hearts to the talents, the skills and the stories migrants bring – suddenly there emerges surprising worlds, opportunities to learn and possibilities for friendship we may never have imagined.
Asylum Silk Roads runs until the 29th October
Gallery, Level 1, Library at The Dock
107 Victoria Harbour Promenade
Docklands
Delivering to the Dandenongs
Tell your friends, tell your loved ones – Fair Food is now delivering to the Dandenongs.
Deliveries are on Friday & Saturday with order cut-off midday Thursdays
Delivery Times are 12pm-8am (Friday night & Saturday morning)
Delivery Fee is $14.95
Suburbs include:
Belgrave 3160
Belgrave Heights 3160
Belgrave South 3160
Ferny Creek 3786
Kallista 3791
Menzies Creek 3159
Monbulk 3793
Olinda 3788
Sassafras 3787
Sassafras Gully 3787
Selby 3159
Sherbrooke 3789
Tecoma 3160
The Patch 3792
Tremont 3785
Upwey 3158
Have a great week
Chris