By Tanya Steele
Underneath my Umbrella has launched ‘Black and White’ an exhibition series bringing family violence, the lived experiences of survivors and the journey they go on to heal themselves into the spotlight.
Sitting quietly in Coonara Community House in Upper Ferntree Gully, the exhibition features ten stories of hope and encouragement from woman who have been through both intense trauma and recovery.
“This is a real woman, this is her and her truth,” said founder of Underneath my Umbrella, artist and exhibit curator Julie.
“The artworks have balanced out and brought elements of beauty, of hope and healing – it’s an interpretation of what recovery does look like and how recovery is actually possible,” she said.
Bringing together women with lived experience of family violence, Julie said she began the project last July in 2024.
“Women who were ready and willing to share their story of family violence recovery, and so they’ve come from all around Melbourne,” she said.
Julie brought them together with a few photographers and artists from around Melbourne and interstate.
“The idea was to draw out the narrated, handwritten stories from the women with lived experience and partner them with an artist that could capture and reflect what recovery looked and sounded like from an artist’s perspective,” said Julie.
“So the stories were always going to be de-identified, to protect the identity of the women and to personalize the story,” she said.
Coming into the realm of art and trauma recovery also began with community art for Julie, who is a survivor with lived experience and an artist herself. She participated in a government-funded art project around six years ago.
“It helped me to tell my story digitally through visual communication,” she said.
“The impact that it made a difference that it made for me to express my story in my voice, with my creativity.”
“It was a really, really powerful tool.”
Julie went on to found Underneath my Umbrella, which started off doing creative arts drop-in spaces in Rowville and Monbulk.
Coming down into the Foothills more recently in the last 18 months, Julie has been working with Knox Council and Volunteer for Knox and said she has established a couple of drop-in spaces in the area.
“Women can just come they’re safe spaces – we’re a free service, although non-funded.” Julie said.
“The recovery space is where the passion is,” she said.
People can attend the free sessions at the Church hall at Uniting Church Ferntree Gully on the first Wednesday of each month and every second Monday at The Knox Library to participate in a variety of creative activities that assist women to restore value, find their voice and share their stories.
“Creative arts help to express things to help navigate the mental health journey and the heart health journey,” said Julie.
“It seems to work, not for everyone, but there are women that just find it so encouraging and so helpful,” she said.
“The drop-in spaces themselves are a framework for women to determine their own recovery journey – so being able to sit there with people who understand you is a big thing.”
Julie will continue her work with Underneath my Umbrella, launching for the second year running a ‘Share your story project that is taking registrations
“I’m doing that again this year in a different context. So I’m going through the process of looking at locations and getting funding for that,” she said.
“I’m trying to build more awareness.”
“The exhibition itself is encouragement and empowerment and awareness, but also it will. It provides information that can help with prevention policies for local governments.”
Julie hopes to feature this current Black and White exhibit throughout Melbourne with plans already underway for it to show at Forest Hill in May and Miller’s Homestead at the Basin later in the year.
“Getting someone else within the greater region of Melbourne to host the exhibition, to take it on – that would be awesome,” she said.
Black and White opened on 17 February and will be at Coonara Community House in Upper Ferntree Gully at 22 Willow Rd, Upper Ferntree Gully until 4 April and is a free exhibit.
