I have a Viennese, Jewish father and a Swedish, Australian mother. I was born in Melbourne and my father was a refugee so I’ve always had empathy for people from minority and persecuted groups. Most Viennese Jews were highly educated, they knew about classical music and European art so I grew up with that.
I grew up in Box Hill North in Melbourne. My father came to Australia with almost nothing on a boat. The Dunera boys are well known in Melbourne and it was the biggest influx of intellectual capital Australia had ever seen in one hit. They were German, Austrian, Czech, Jewish refugees who the British thought might be German spies so they sent them on a boat to Australia.
We were very poor. I went to a Central school which goes up to Year 8 and it was almost 3 kms away so for a year, rather than catch the bus, I saved my bus fare money so I could buy a bike. I think that was my greatest achievement in my early teens.
I was in love with Beethoven in my mid teens. I did music and art in matriculation and if I missed a day at school i would stay home and dance to Beethoven. I had a love for fine art as well. I love those memories. I had a very progressive art teacher, so occasionally we had a life model. Some parents complained about the naked life model we had in matriculation. I loved music and sometimes when the windows were open, the birds would come in, sit on the desk and when the music was over they would fly out.
I left home at 19 and went to Carlton, which was the centre of student life in Melbourne. I went to the theatres and concerts. I was on the ABC’s Youth Concert committee. I have one son. I wanted more but it didn’t happen. He’s 35 now. His father and his step father have both died. He is a fine young man.
I love beauty! In the human world my first love is Beethoven and my second love is Papua New Guinea. I first went to PNG as an exchange student and fell in love with the country. As soon as the aeroplane door opened this humid heat hit and outside waiting were all these beautiful, smiling kids behind the wire fence.
I went to the Trobriand Islands which are very significant in the Anthropology discipline because a very famous early Anthropologist Malinowski was in exile on these islands during WW1. I’m not afraid of places that don’t have running water or electricity. I like to be in very primitive surroundings where people only have themselves to rely on. I fitted in and was comfortable in those villages. I wouldn’t call a house in remote PNG a hut, I would call it a home. I’m not scared of going into the bush to have a wee or whatever, I know the pigs will clean it up.
When I first went to these places they were very quiet. There was this magnificent stillness because there were no machines, no cars, no turning on taps, and I was surrounded by beautiful children. While I was there I got supplies from the hospital and did a lot of first aid. People would come daily and I’d see the kids I treated growing up. I spent 6 years there. I have three adopted daughters, Bokalabida was only two when I met her and now she’s a grandmother. I pay school fees for two of her children.
I was privileged to become a Godmother. I was doing some research and my Goddaughter had shifted to this remote village. I told her I wanted to meet the Omie people. She showed me the track that led to them. I introduced myself and they invited me to their villages. Silly me said I’ll help you if I can. They were being badly exploited and still are. It has been a massive challenge and very dispiriting a lot of the time because there is no understanding of money, I’ve raised well over $100,000 for them but some of that has been embezzled. Now I’m very tired.
I also set up a museum and now I am the International partner for the Omie Tapa Artists in a remote part of PNG. In PNG things don’t normally travel outside a language/cultural group. This provence in PNG is known for Tapa, which is beaten bark artwork using all native materials…plant, ash, ochres, seeds, fruit, leaves, the committee who actually ran the Tapa festival didn’t know about these people.
We didn’t fit into any funding criteria and I was so tired of raising money for exhibitions so I just did it as in independent curator who wasn’t being paid, because by then I was on the aged pension. I have several publications, one which sold out and I’ve done a lot of travel over the years.
I’m a Curator. I did have a commercial gallery for three years but mostly I’ve shown in public galleries. I had a couple of exhibitions in Brisbane and then I set up a touring exhibition which went to public regional galleries. It did come to Lismore Regional about five years ago. The reason I did the tour was that regional galleries pay an exhibition fee so that meant artists that didn’t sell would still get an exhibition fee.
I bought a house Lismore only 6 weeks ago and I’ve set my home up as a Gallery. I arrived on a Thursday night and two weeks later I opened the exhibition. Seven neighbours came to the launch and my 75th birthday party. I’ve met some lovely neighbours. I do have disabilities, my right arm from my shoulder to my fingertips so that can make things difficult and painful.
I love people from other cultures because I like to learn about their cultures. I have supported refugees all my life. In my old house I had a self-contained flat underneath which was always inhabited by refugees or single mums with little ones at much lower rent. I’ve worked with a lot of our Indigenous people and I think our country is weeping still for the injustices that continue to happen. If one group of people think they are superior to another group of people, we are lost.”
( I was lucky enough to do this interview at Joan’s home/gallery called Baboa Gallery. Her walls are filled with the most beautiful Tapa. Do yourself a favour and visit at – 188 Dawson St Girards Hill. Open Thursdays 5 -7pm, Saturdays and Sundays 11am – 3 pm or by appointment 0401309694)