MAV has a profound commitment to arts and artists shaping the narratives that define who we are as a multicultural nation.
Meet the artists and communities
Artist and Producer
Jonathan Safari mostly known as Yungkily is an African Australian artist and Producer whose vigorous energy has caught the city of Shepparton, Yungkily began his journey after joining a collective of local artists "Heard Instinct" where he worked and collaborated with his fellow local artists and made their appearance at the Land Of Plenty Festival in Shepparton with their track ``De Quoi A Tu Peur'' which shared a massive energy with the crowd. Yungkily is a master of his craft with the music, sound design and production capability to match the long-time professionals, but it's his bold commitment to integrity that sets his work apart, now working hard with a goal to inspire his young ones to put his City on the musical map.
Social Justice Advocate and Recording Artist
Titan Debirioun is a South Sudanese social justice advocate and recording artist from Melbourne's outer western region, dedicated to continuing the exploration of art as a means of protest - he's become a champion for change, adamant on advancing the weight of minority voices by becoming a voice himself.
Singer-Songwriter
Chilean/Australian singer-songwriter Karina Lehman blends her smooth vocals and energetic guitar rhythms taking you on a trip to Latin America. Influenced by artists such as Gloria Stefan, Marissa Monte, Natalia Lafourcade and Kevin Johansen, her songs talk about love, life experiences, dreams, and nature. Karina debuted with her solo project last April 2020 with song ‘Son de la Luna Dormida’, followed by ‘Contigo’ and ‘Oh Eah’, and started last year 2021 releasing her first song in English “Sunset dreams” followed by a fresh bossa-samba “Vagabundeando”, a romantic ballad “Winter” and her latest experimental tune called “No seas malo”.
Lebanese Musician
Camille El Feghali is a Lebanese Musician who draws heavily from the traditions of the Middle East. The instruments he plays include the Qanun, the Nay, the Buzuq and the synthesizer. He founded “Tarabeat” in 2016, which is a music collective combining Arabic traditional music with electronic instruments.
Sitarist and Vocalist
Sarita Mcharg brings a unique classical and contemporary flavour to her music. A true devotional Sitarist and Vocalist, she is well known for her spiritual and heartrending playing and singing style, driven by her vast knowledge of classical ragas and traditional Indian folk songs.
Band
With their roots in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Melbourne-based band The New Monos combine inspiration from their South American heritage and diverse musical experience with the flavor of contemporary Buenos Aires, mixing Reggae, Folklore, Cumbia, Rock, Rumba, Hip-hop and Latin beats, all expressed with the passion of the Tango.
Explore the works
Sarita Mcharg
“I really enjoyed being able to perform at the market and introducing my instrument and culture to so many different kinds of people. It was really nice seeing people of all walks of life and ages just coming up to me and listening, asking me all sorts of questions about my musical journey. Being a local resident of Preston, I am always going to the Preston market for my daily needs. I think the market is such a great place to catch up with friends, and just to see how diverse and rich the community in the area is. It is such a vital place for the community to come together.”
The New Monos
“For us, being a part of UpClose 2022 is an honour; sharing music with our local audience and coworkers is what we have missed the most last couple of years. In addition, this allows us to break the stereotypes about Latin people only playing Salsa. We have lived in Darebin for 10 years, and we are happy to see live music events, especially in the Preston Market. We felt so welcome in the Preston Market, a lot of people stopped to listen to the band and watch the performance, asking questions about where we are from and about the instruments. The songs we played were super relaxed, acoustic-style fitting the market creating a nice atmosphere for us to play comfortably and feel welcome.”
Agoness Kuol
My table is special to me because when I make food this is the time I get to sit down with my family.
Eman Alabbassi
We have overcome many challenges to adapt to the Australian way of life and the way we eat here. In Iraq, we eat only breakfast and dinner but here we have adopted to the routine of three meals a day.
Le’aisa Pele
Food means a great deal in our family and plays a very important part in our culture and community. In Samoa, no one eats alone. We do not cook small meals, we cook for everyone and we all eat together.
Shakilla Naveed
Since moving to Australia, the way we cook and eat has changed a lot. In Australia. I have tried very hard to involve my husband and my children in cooking meals but back in my country, the mother or wife only would cook.
We make art as a visceral response to the forces of bigotry and intolerance, which seek to undermine the hard-fought battle for pluralism.
We make art to understand who we are as migrants on Indigenous land.
We make art to draw attention to the work that is still needed to future proof our identity as a society that deeply values its diversity.
Arts as diverse as our people.
We champion culturally diverse artists and communities to create systems of cultural production and participation that uphold equity and self-determination.
We champion culturally diverse artists and communities
We privilege non-western ways of doing, knowing and being, to tell stories that illuminate our humanity and improve intercultural understanding;
We strive for cultural democracy, sharing our knowledge and skills with partners across the arts and cultural sector to build platforms for engagement and visibility;
Diverse communities see themselves represented in and by us, in work that resonates with their truths, underpinned by shared values and dreams of new futures; and
We are outspoken in our support of cultural participation as a human right, from which we derive social, cultural and economic benefits for the development of individuals and society.