Myron Chetty
No matter how different we all are, we all aspire to be better and that is why no matter how different we are in colour, religion or any other aspect we are all the same in that we all have dreams, hopes and aspirations.
Paul Chen
I wanted to capture the essence of one of the purest universal aspirations shared by humankind – to fly. Hot air balloons were chosen as the central theme for its playfulness and festive nature. Trying not to confine the audience, silhouettes were used to show individuals (everyone’s)’ desire for their aspirations - a hint of convergence and unity within each and every one of us. Regardless of interpretation, I aimed for an overall feeling of celebration, playfulness and an appealing piece of work to the eye to glance or dwell on.
Louise O’Neil
The inspiration for my entry was the power of humanity and our ability to join as one to face hardship and struggle, but also to share common goals and aspirations. I believe the power of diversity is in all of us, not just individually, but inside humanity as a whole.
Sara de Vries
Colours are the representational premise of the painting, complimented in some sections by symbols. The six thick black lines that partially section off each branch of the painting represent the boundaries, which we must over come to fully embrace diversity. Each line becomes enveloped by the colours of the painting until, in the middle where the colours meet and become blurred and overlapped. The coming together in the middle represents the uniting of people in the spirit of diversity; that is embracing all individuals of the human race regardless of class, gender, code of beliefs (moral or political), ethnicity, culture, language and ability. Each section of the piece respectively corresponds to the particular divisions within society.
Zoey Jurss
Togetherness is the Universal Aspiration I focused on in this piece. Whether it is friends or loved ones everyone needs someone. I included some of the cultures that populate this great land and put them together giving the sense of a family portrait. Each of these cultures brings something unique and different to our country and it is these cultures together that are “The spirit of diversity.”
Michelle Simpson
Acceptance, peace and unity is the theme of my piece. Each class, gender and culture around the world displays their personalities and believes in some way and in most, it’s through what they wear. Jewellery can be worn by anyone but can also tell a lot about someone. Who they are, and what they believe, what they like, how much money they have and where they come from. In this piece all types of jewellery from around the world, some expensive some simple are worn on the same hand which is doing a peace sign. The outline of the hand is not gender specific nor does it depict a certain race. The theory behind this drawing is that everyone has different tastes, beliefs, living situations, cultures and basically different ways of life, but they can all represent these differences in the same way. United on one hand, indicating peace between everyone from different boundaries around the world.
Sherron Irwin
I took this photo of small children in Vietnam. We were mobbed by these children from a small kindergarten in a village outside Hue. At first we thought they were keen to interact with foreigners, but it came to light that we were mobbed so the children could see pictures of themselves on our camera screens, in full colour. For me, diversity isn’t about black or white or any other colour of the spectrum used to identify a group or race. For too long people have promoted inclusion by using colour reference to categorise groups, then used this as a basis to demand acceptance. Yet it’s by this act of colour filtering that discrimination occurs. Therefore, in my eyes, the spirit of diversity, the new global inclusion, is about the simple fact that everyone is to be viewed in full colour.
Veronica Toohey
The image in my entry represents wholeness, interrelationship and the environment.It is androgenous, accommodating both male and female.The different coloured skin tones share the same face to represent different ethnicities in the one image.The loose style captures the essence of ‘spirit’- openness and connection to others, flexibility and a relaxedappreciation of life’s diversity, rather than rigidity.The leaf in the person’s hair honours the environment in which diversity arises and on which it depends.
Derek Lai
Boys and girls coming from diversified places with diversified cultures studying diversified subjects, speaking in diversified languages, wearing diversified clothing are united together in a particular venue, particular time and a particular event by their spirit.
Miriam Taylor
We forget that in the natural world, diversity is essential to existence! My photo of a pathway reminds me always of how even the smallest thing is beautifully different.
Priyanka Kulur Nayak
We are born into this world with different identities. Each one of us in born into a family that has its own unique culture and ethnicity. Each one of us belongs to a different class and we have our own unique abilities. Though we find there exists so much of diversity among us we SMILE in the same language. All of us express our joy and happiness in the same language. And this is how we can celebrate the spirit of diversity. It’s a hearty smile that can make us forget differences, sorrows and forgive mistakes & we smile to achieve a new beginning.
Ms Margaret Brownjohn
The setting is a relaxed picnic where people share a diversity of food and stories.
Some of our happiest memories and events involve food. Food brings people together. The inspiration comes from cultural exchange evenings in which I my self have participated.
In the spirit of diversity and in a relaxed environment we learnt about each others backgrounds. The delicious home cooked food from each person’s home was always a highlight.
Gordon Fisher
Wedge-tailed Eagle symbolises the soaring spirit of cooperation and interaction. The eagle’s plumage represents three primary skin colours – white, brown and black and all shades between. The brush strokes represent the colours of the Australian earth below and the shades of blue sky above. The eagle is made majestic and beautiful by its colourful feathers, without which it would fall from the sky – a metaphor for the importance of diversity in society today.
Genevieve Staines
Different architectures – places where people live and work around the world – fascinate me. On a backpacking trip last year, I took over 2,500 photos of buildings and suburban houses that I walked past in Japan China, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Germany, Slovakia, England, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Bosnia & Hercigovina. (I would like to put an exhibition of these images together.)This poster is comprised of 66 photos I took of beach huts. I chose to use these architectures as they are colourful examples of how people around the world are at the same time both similar and slightly different from one another.I then scanned in some pen and paint marks, and used different coloured patches to add basics element of the human or ‘the hand-made’. Diversity amongst people should be celebrated much more - Life would taste so bland without it!!!
Kong Ho Yee
People from all boundaries of class, gender, ethnicity, language culture and ability are linked together by a line. They are no different. They live together on the same earth and helping each other friendly.
Phong Yiqing
This entry is a representation of how people all over the world can overcome differences and work together hand in hand. The different coloured stick figures symbolise that we might not look the same physically. or have the same culture and language. Regardless, we have found ways and means to unite people from diverse
backgrounds all over the world with improvements in communication and technology.
Sophie Georgeson
The young diarist Anne Frank wrote, ‘We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same’. The spirit of diversity teaches us to acknowledge and move beyond individual differences so that we may find what is common among us; we all aspire to grow positively and to work towards a shared future that sees us healthier and happier. The image of the tree is a universal symbol of common aspirations of growth, expansion and knowledge. Thinking and acting in the spirit of diversity means that not only will our society become more harmonious, but that we will create the unity needed to overcome the problems we face as a national and global community. As we come to realise the interconnectedness of economies, governmental spheres, and physical environments, we realise that what affects one affects us all. In this way celebrating our diversity brings us not only closer to eachother, but closer to achieving our goals.
Laura Wippell
This poster depicts “The Spirit of Diversity” in a simple and powerful way. It is showing that in essence, all human beings are the same, and on the same road together as we all strive towards shared dreams of fulfilled goals, success, greater harmony and a brighter future. While we all come from different countries, religions, backgrounds, behaviours and walks of life, “The Spirit of Diversity” needs to be remembered and celebrated because it means that despite our differences there is no such thing as an ‘Ugly Duckling’. By embracing diversity and our differences we are ensuring that no one is left out or gets left behind.
Merran Neilsen
The figure represents the spirit of all people extending their arms as if in welcome. The sun-like rays from the Earth represent its centrality. Around it all are the words, “The Spirit of Diversity” in many different languages. The figure is also presenting this to the observer.
Anushree Agarwalla
The central theme of this picture is that “Religions are many and diverse, but reason and goodness are one. For those who have seen the Earth from space, and for the hundreds and perhaps thousands more who will, the experience most certainly changes their perspective. The things that we share in our world are far more valuable than those which divide us”.
Thus the picture shows that though people may be divided from each other on the basis of religion, cultures and ethnicities yet they work cooperatively and constructively towards a common goal of preserving world peace and the other elements of earth like water, fire and nature.
Toni Holmes
My piece is a very symbolic digital artwork that expresses the true equality we have the right to share as human beings. The extreme contrast between the black and white used repetitively throughout the artwork describes how opposing colours (races) can work and live together harmoniously. The constant size of the two figures represents how males and females are as important as each other, and the encricling words around them describe the similarities all humans share. It also symbolises the earth on which they live; a world of peace, cooperation and understanding of each others differences.
Kathy Nguyen
Different people from all over influence who we are and who we become. Colour, accent and our origin decorate our souls and make us all the more interesting. I wanted to symbolise this – make it plain and simple so that everyone can understand that diversity is a wondrous thing that should not be taken for granted.
Nancy Ramya Irudaya Raj
The poster is painted with acrylic colours depicting the spirit of diversity.
It’s a rather simple concept. The outside is painted with several fresh hues and mixed colours. It demonstrates intricate and varying strokes. This is descriptive of cultural, language and all differences that make people unique. The Inner yellow border refers more to the individual. There are simple strokes painted in different colours. This denotes the human soul...varied by personality and talents.
The inner-most layer is descriptive of the depths of the human spirit. Where no matter who you are and where you come from, you desire to live! The sun and an exaggerated blue sky show the passion of the human spirit to dream, shine and stretch toward life itself! This desire to live and thrive unites us as individuals and communities, despite our differences.
Yvonne Ho
Dancing, vibrant and dynamic life is shared between peoples of different skin colours – but regardless of their superficial differences, they all originate from the same place, our green Earth. Undiscriminating, interlocking spirits of diversity join and embrace in one fraternity, watching over the place they call home.
Sithara De Costa
We all dance around the same fire. From the very beginning, humanity has been surrounded by a single wreath of peace, symbolised in this art by an olive branch around the three dancing figures, each painted in a colour reflective of its unique ethnicity. Despite stemming from different backgrounds, religions and cultures, we are all filled with dreams and passion, which is symbolised by the fire in this picture. This everlasting spirit is portrayed through dance, a uniting form of art that can be understood by all human beings on earth.
Rikki Faye March
The spirit of diversity is symbolized in this interpretation of the goodness from within. Surrounded by two diverse landscapes the representation of various people as silhouettes hopes not to draw attention to surface differences; rather focus on what spiritually comes from within. The aspiration of peace links the arms of one another whilst love transcends from the heart filling the atmosphere in bright cheerful colours highlighting the beauty of what each individual has to offer our society.
Ella Chau
Spirit of Diversity has this implication of liveliness and celebration of differences, thus I want to use different bright colours to represent this. Although human beings have different appearances, we all cast shadows under the same light, and this indicates the equality quality of different people.
Kiichi Aoyama
The drawing that I have completed represents many different ethnic groups that can be viewed as one, which helps promote the spirit of diversity. The lines around the faces suggests that although we might have a different background or attributes, we are still having the same perception and we all share a common goal which we are all seeking to be directed to. The flowers can be viewed as a sense of harmony and joy we all share as a part of life.
Laila Abbassy
A diverse Australia with a rainbow of cultures, our roots include all differences as class, gender, ethnicity, language, culture and ability, but are united as Australians.
Having our own aspirations and dreams we follow the rainbow to find our own individual treasure at the end of it.
Yi Pui, Poon
I think in UQ is a multicultural studying place. There are students around the world like Australia, New Zealand ,China ,Japan , South Africa , Malaysia , Singapore etc . As the diversity week is focus on to developing critical judgement, effective communication and ethical and social understanding. In my work, I just want people to think about we are coming from different parts of the world .We have different cultures by they may know how to use chopstick which it can bring out the idea of the diversity week 2008
Sarah Bull
This design shows the universal aspirations of diversity across many boundaries, with each photograph representing unity across class, gender, ethnicity, culture and ability. These photographs were taken in a remote village of Zimbabwe showing the unity between traditional African people and Australians, in a celebration of human
sameness, not difference, in a setting where neither culture understood the others’ spoken language but were able to unite through food, chores and fun and games. The two flags, the same size, represent the equality between the two very different, but very similar cultures.
Jing Shen
Diversity derives from connection and combination of different elements of the world, just as how our earth firstly came into existence by extensive merging of various natural elements and how human beings appear on the planet as every single individual thanks to numerous genetic links, even not to mention the way how some glorious human cultures in the history came into shape by adopting and absorbing nutrition from other cultural streams. My design was born based on the above thinking, delegating the idea of “connection and combination”. Different skin colours of those three people in the design indicate different human races on the globe. While they hand in hand strive to bring us a better homeland. The amplified shadow of their body figures imply the great power generated by cooperation, when wisdoms, spirits and strength gather, that’s the magic energy to create wonders - That’s what we should know better, the impact of “2’ is more than the arithmetic result of “1+1”.
Ying Yi
My artwork for diversity week is a calligraphy written by myself. The meaning of the characters comes from a Chinese poem which means ‘a bosom friend afar brings distance near, people treat each other like neighbors’. It emphasizes the friendship and harmony. I chose a lotus as the background since it indicates the peace and harmony in ancient society.
Rika Kojima
As an international student, I am very interested in this theme. My design concept is trying to use the simplest Way to present the idea of “We are different but we are all human-being living in the same space”. It forms a Beautiful picture even though there are such a lot of colours, doesn’t it?
Tianqin Sheng
The eyes capture the unique experience of every individual. Every eye is different, yet they all contribute to forming an universal eye. The central fire is the focus of the piece and is the spirit of diversity that is reflected in every eye. It reminds us we are united by our vision for the future.
Daniel Smartt
Every culture to ever exist has had some form of art, be it sculpture, painting, poetry, dance, architecture or something else. I have tried to include as many different forms of art as I could, from the various cultures of the earth. I encountered some difficulty in places where things like dance are preferred over painting, because it is difficult to portray dance the way it deserves in a 2D platform.
Alison Rae
This entry is founded in the symbolic use of the fingerprint. What makes the fingerprint such a unique and powerful symbolic tool is the fact that its presence does not represent a preconceived notion of race, religion or culture – since we don’t know who’s it is- but devoid of stereotypical boundaries, it instead is immediately identifiable to all who view it. For me it is a sign of unity. But what makes this icon so special is that within its ability to unite people, it recognises the importance and reality of our diversity. Every human being has a different print and correlating to these distinctive imprinted lines is different histories, different cultures, different identities and ultimately different paths we all will take in life. To aspire in life is to create a path within the open boundaries of our identity. We all create paths, yet this piece shows how there is no ‘one pathway’ that we all take.
Oleg Parenta
The oldest footprint found in Australia is over 20,000 years old. Since those ancient steps, countless others have been taken. The people who took those steps got us where we are now as a society. In abstract terms, the footprint of our society as a whole consists of steps taken by millions of individuals. And while most of them might forever remain unknown and faceless to us, we know that each of them was and is a unique and special person. We know this from the very complexity and uniqueness of our society, since such a creation must be the work of many special people. This, for me, is the essence of diversity. The footprint in my designs represents the Australian society as a whole and the direction it is taking, and different colours represent different people who take it there. As for the meaning of individual colours, I leave that to the eye of the beholder, for she is a unique person in her own right and might choose to attach meanings to colours that are different from mine or yours.
Varoon Shenoy
I desire the world to celebrate diversity by recognising and respecting differences in people. Diversity is not about discrimination. It’s about seeing differences in everyone and acknowledging them. The only way we can realise every person is equal, is by understanding what makes them different, see where they come from and what
makes them who they are. How much longer can we disrespect another person just because he does not look, think and speak like us. This yearn for a brotherhood across boundaries and races has been my inspiration and I hope this translates into
the work I submit.
Hannah Keegan
My entry presents diversity with child-like simplicity. The image displays the fact that we all live under the same sun, and we are all equally different. Understanding diversity and the varying cultures of the planet is a learning process. We should be constantly expanding our knowledge and tolerance of the people around us. This is why my entry incorporates aspects of study and learning (the image is on a piece of exercise paper, the text has been drawn, the string of people have been cut out as a child would do in primary school). The emphasis of my entry is that we need to learn to accept and celebrate diversity.
Anne Duplouy
What count more than a kid, a coming baby? Nothing, except maybe two babies? Kids are the next generation, doesn’t matter the colour of their skin, they are and will always be the best image of the future. My inspiration might come from both my friend who is pregnant and my science background. I thought about painting a foetus, because at the stage we can’t tell the colour of his skin, and I think that we can not really define the colour I used for the foetus here: yellow, brown, white? I turned it turn to the right, to make it facing the future. I associated the round shape of the placenta with the form of the Globe (and as we are in Australia, added the map of Australia to the Globe design). The red for the warm belly of the mum, the love around this wanted kid, and the green and blue for the Earth colours.
Damien Yip
The design depicts a gathering of images around a spiritual hearth. It contains iconography, symbols of identity and culture, and the word ‘diversity’ in many languages. Although a variety of contrasting images and texts are used, they are unified by the common light. The image has a slight futuristic aesthetic so that the celebration of diversity is not just depicted as a contemporary idea, but can transcend into future times.
Karen Mundt
When people are in to the spirit of diversity, then they are truly open to it, supportive of it and their every action embraces all its principles- they don’t just talk about it. It is therefore an unstated feeling where they are connected to their environment and all of their fellow human beings. It is a feeling that comes from underneath and ‘bubbles’ up to the surface. The green curved pieces in this art quilt represent those swirling emotions and each piece embraces the next curve. There is room to open and expand and include everything and everyone In our world. The background represents all the different little tracks and routes that exist connecting our environment. Quilted work: cotton, cotton & rayon threads, rough edge appliqué, free motion quilting.
Marianne Brownjohn
There are a variety of shapes, colours and sized butterflys globally. They capture your attention and your imagination. They are ingredients in fairy tales and butterfly symbolism is tied with the idea of spirits and souls in many religions and cultures.
Manu Saunders
This image represents the Earth as a water drop. Water is essential to life and all living things are partly made of water. This is true regardless of taxon, race, age, nationality, religion or any other personal attribute. The design is symbolic of the Ocean of Life – every individual water drop has its own form and boundaries, yet when combined, they create the Ocean, an entity that is omnipresent and without distinct form. Thus, Water (the natural environment) inspires Unity. Text has been specifically omitted from the design, as language is a limitation to unity.
Elizabeth Leddy
I came across this picture of a woman in a magazine and was instantly inspired to paint her. I felt she encompassed all cultures not only in her appearance, but also in her expression and presence. She represents the soul of American Indian ancestry, the pouting lips of African lineage and the nose of European history. With Spanish skin and Indian locks, she reflects in her mesmerising eyes the multicultural characteristics of any person who views her. I had hoped by illustraing my ideas viewers would be inspired to understand how we are all equal and deserve to be counted and included in society.
Katherine Harkin
One is a gouache on paper work that has been digitally enhanced. This work simultaneously represents acceptance of diversity within the community (two heads and two arms support and nurture a child) and the individual (an abstract face consists of two eyes nose and cheekbones). The latter stylises Indigenous tribal face painting and is a mark of respect to the Jagera and Turrbal people – the traditional owners of the land on which UQ, St Lucia is built. One is an artwork that caters for difference – viewers may see one face; one community; or both. The faces of the shapes represent the faces of diversity that are similar yet different. While individual difference is celebrated in the UQ community and in broader communities – there also exists the need for people to find common understanding and support. Hence we must work as one – both at individual and community levels – to achieve not simply a tolerance of diversity but a celebration of it!
Guak-Kim Tan
The design is inspired by Milky Way – the galaxy where our solar system is located. The way how it holds the stars, dust and gases regardless their nature refers to the theme of “The spirit of diversity”. As we know, galaxies are distributed irregularly in space; some are far from each others while some occur in pairs. Nevertheless, each of them are orbiting the other --- just like us!
David Symons
I believe an undertanding of diversity can be achieved through unity and inclusiveness. The spirit of diversity is the common desire to come together to discover our similarities and celebrate our differences. My work “United in the Spirit of Diversity” shows two stretched human forms joined together in a common quest. While their like forms represent their similarities, the tapestry of flags represents their differences.
Teresa Leon
The boundaries of class, gender, ethnicity, language, culture and ability are non-existent in my eyes.
Paulette Irarrazaval
The chair represents a basic but fundamental element in our daily life. Just like the chair with 3 legs it has no support so without everyone hold up the same thing happens in society. If we don’t work at it together we can’t sustain the basic human rights to build a trust and strong culture.
We all count to respect.
We all count to listen.
We all count to help.
We all count to make the difference.
Foo Quek Yin
No matter short or tall, plump or slim, different skin colours, I think every people is unique, diversity makes the world more colourful and special. In the bigger picture, the “S” of spirit forms the hair, the “y” of diversity forms one eye, can u see there is a girl? The meaning of this pic is that the girl (me) can see that four different characters of people can easily get along together as a whole which conveys the message “the spirit of diversity”
Jime Lemoire
The original artwork and poster design interprets the spirit of diversity as “curiosity without boundaries”. It embodies the idea that diversity should not be interpreted as rules that govern acceptable behaviour, but rather diversity should be seen as an opportunity to learn about new ideas, expand normalised understandings of the world and appreciate the insights and contributions that stem from diverse life experiences. Academic institutions need visible, positive spaces free of discrimination in order to create an environment conducive to learning. Positive spaces not only acknowledge diverse peoples and ideas, but foster a continual pursuit of knowledge and the perpetual re-examination and questioning of “truths”. At the turn of the twenty first century, diverse cities are an incredibly valuable opportunity for students to learn what it means to have curiosity without boundaries.
Yvonne Lai
The six circles are themed according to the major boundaries described in the criteria: class, gender, culture, ability, ethnicity, and language. The pictures in each circle are simple representations of each theme. They surround the words “The Spirit of Diversity” to show the major diversities in the world. The word Spirit is coloured yellow to inspire thought, feeling, and action about the world’s diversities.
Ling Lei
Andrea Simpson
Kendall Moore
Design 1. I captured this picture at the Great Escape festival in Sydney. Primarily a music and arts festival and the array of different people it attracts is intoxicating. This photo represents just this but just in case I have made it a little more obvious by adding another choice to the menu, too good to resist.
The pizza was good too!
Design 2. This is a photo of two of my good friends waiting for their show to start. They were performing for and. teaching traditional aboriginal dance to children ranging from pre-school to Grade 12. It was a huge success and
it was hard to tell who enjoyed it more.
Lachlan McIntyre
Interconnections was created to show how people, despite their differences share many things in common. This sharing builds a web that holds a functioning society together. Faces were used because they are the primary way in which people identify each other and the fact that the faces share crucial elements; noses, eyes, and mouths signifies that the interconnections are crucial. I chose the primary colours because they blend easily to form secondary colours. I didn’t use the clichéd colours of brown, black and white as this would have limited the applicability of the underlying message. I wanted it to be able to refer to the myriad of differences across the whole human spectrum be it ethnicity, class, gender, language, religion, culture or simply whether you prefer Star Trek to Star Wars; drink coffee or tea; use Windows or Mac.
Theresa Fullerton
I am aware of the many different feet that tread this vast land of ours and colour its soil. After recently moving to the inner suburbs of Brisbane, I have experienced at face value and been pleasantly reminded of the great diversity that surrounds us – from my South African neighbours, to the Indian men walking home from the nearby train station past my house, the Arabic youth that I confront on my morning walk, the Vietnamese local grocers from whom I buy some fruit and vegetables, the Eritrean woman shrouded in her hijab living just down the street and local neighbourhood have opened my eyes to the spirit of diversity within Brisbane and I am pleased to say that the only differences between others and me, as a white Australian, are the slight idiosyncrasies that exist between any individuals, regardless of their background. The cultures that I have confronted in my short time in suburban Brisbane are represented in this hand painting. The figures are in happy communion with one another, giving and taking in a spirit of universal love an friendship. It is a privilege to have been able to submit this painting to the Diversity Week 2008 Design Competition.