The patio bench at the Kulungah Myah entrance has had a colourful and very cosmopolitan makeover.

After organising the bench to be painted in a bright sky blue, Center Coordinator, Rose Alden put a call out for local artists to step forward to decorate it.

The brief :  to showcase the many cultural and linguistic groups which make up the Kulungah Myah community with the word ‘welcome’ communicated in different languages.

Local artist, 13 year old Ash Stewart put up her hand…(or should I say paint brush?).

“I stepped forward to do this project because I attended a playgroup at Kulungah Myah from the age of 6 weeks with my older brother when my family had only recently moved to Australia.  I also attended 3-year-old Kindy at First Steps. I have many fond memories of Kulungah Myah, the friendships forged and my teachers so wanted to give something back to the community.

Ash soon set to work on a design layout for the bench using computer software.

“I designed the “welcome” bench digitally, playing with interesting fonts and colours and researched the word “welcome” in numerous languages.  I enjoyed immersing myself in the creative process of transferring the digital image onto the bench using paint pens and working on a project that will bring the community together for years to come.

Ash worked on the project over several days during our very hot summer, with the support of Rose and her mother, Andy.

The outcome is a beautiful bench which provides a very eye catching and warm welcome to all members of our diverse community.

Thank you Ash!