“MEMORIES from Fire” is an unusual exhibition at the Huw Davies Gallery during the 2012 National Multicultural Festival.

In it, still images by veteran photographer, filmmaker and photography teacher Belinda Pratten are on show, with a short film by newcomer Lucas Yuwaganit Li in the Huw Davies Gallery Multimedia Room.

PhotoAccess’ David Chalker says in 2010 he wrote “Belinda Pratten’s work as a photographer and filmmaker has taken her to many places, physically and emotionally—managing the pictures bureau for the Australian Financial Review, documenting the release of rehabilitated orangutans inBorneo’s Meratus forests, assignments for Greenpeace, teaching in Brewarrina and at the Canberra Institute of Technology. The face we most often see is through the multitude of always intriguing and beautifully made entries in PhotoAccess group exhibitions and Belinda’s memorable 1994 ‘The Surfer’ in the PhotoAccess 25th Anniversary Print Portfolio”.

The “Memories from Fire” project was the brainchild of Multicultural Arts Officer Jorge Bagnini, who describes the project as “a heritage project that encouraged grandmothers and grandfathers to explore their unique family oral histories, stories and memories. The project enabled and encouraged them to pass their stories on to their grandchildren and other children from their same communities in their own traditional languages”.

The project was developed in Spanish, English and Chinese.

In addition, Bagnini explains, Lucas Yuwaganit Li and the “Memories from Fire” short film brings to the audience “the other side of the migrants’ cultural diversity life through the arts”.

Pratten says her images and film stills that accompany “Memories from Fire”, were made around a fire at Lake Ginninderra. The storytellers are Adriana Alvarez, born in the Desert of Atacama, Chile, Wai Lee, born in China, and Brian Hungerford, born in Australia.

The storytellers tell their histories in their own language… “I simply had to observe their emotion and movements as they told their tales. It made me think about what it would have been like for them when they first arrived in Australia,” Pratten says.

Li says: “I look back with a lot of pride on this project. It was a beautiful concept, simple and intimate. The execution however was surprisingly challenging, from the language barrier to the technical challenges of shooting outside at night…despite not always being able to understand the words, I could sense the spell the storytellers were weaving across the campfire.”

“Memories from Fire”, at the Huw Davies Gallery, Manuka Arts Centre, until February 19. Opening hours 10 am to 4 pm Tuesday to Friday and 12 to 4 pm weekends.