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Kez van Oudheusden

© Jo Murphy

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I would like to introduce you to Kez van Oudheusden. She is an artist with strong community ties. Her work has been about communication with and the development and strengthening of community groups, passing on skills and knowledge.

Her cultural background is an international blend. She was a baby boomer born in Melbourne to a father who was the Dutch Announcer for Radio Australia. He was born and raised in Java, Indonesia. Her mother was born and grew up in Tonga, in Ha'apai.

As a second generation Australian I think the reason I felt at home in my work for so long is due to my 'multicultural' genes.

She worked as the arts officer for the Ethnic Communities Council Of Queensland for eight years. The artist writes about her experience.

The Mission of the Council is to work at enriching the Queensland community through the participation and involvement of people from diverse backgrounds. Much of Kez's work revolved around...

• promoting joint action and cooperation between ethnic groups/organisations on issues of common concern;
• ensuring effective participation of ethnic communities in matters which affect them;
• negotiating with government and community agencies to ensure that ethnic people have equitable access to community resources;
• promoting research into the social conditions of ethnic communities in Queensland;
• advising government and other organisations of the needs and priorities of ethnic communities; and
• encouraging the development of ethnic communities to provide services which meet the social, cultural and economic needs of their members.

Through this work and her achievements you can see where Kez's sympathies and energies lie.

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Before this Kez worked in Alice Springs as a part of the Artists In Schools Program for the Australia Council For The Arts. Kez's role was to

• stimulate interest in and an understanding of the arts through personal contact with the students;
• contribute to existing school activities or projects (e.g. performing arts presentations, art exhibitions, school magazines, etc);
• stimulate communication, aesthetic awareness and perception through practical involvement and encouraging the students to observe her at work;
• enable students to get to know her as an artist and as a person and become aware of his/her attitudes (e.g. concentration, creativity, ingenuity, respect for skills and materials etc);

The copyright of the article Kez van Oudheusden in Murals is owned by Jo Murphy. Permission to republish Kez van Oudheusden in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.