ROOMIES @ THE HOUSE ART EXHIBITION

The Hon. PENNY SHARPE (Parliamentary Secretary) [5.19 p.m.]: For the month of February, I had the great pleasure of hosting an art exhibition in the fountain court space in Parliament House. As members are aware, the fountain court space is given over to groups of artists from around New South Wales. The diversity of the art that is shown here every year strongly reflects the diversity, passion and talent of our community. Roomies @ the House had all these elements. Roomies Artspace is a non-profit community art studio where boarding house residents and artists with mental illness or disabilities are able to attend workshops, work with volunteer mentors and develop as practicing artists. Roomies is part of the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre's boarding house project. It started as a series of art workshops in inner west boarding houses in 1996 and 1997, and by 1999 had developed into fortnightly art workshops.

Roomies now has its own space in which artists attend workshops, work on their art or just enjoy some respite. For many of these people there are few other opportunities for artistic expression, let alone funds to buy materials, or opportunities to work with artists as mentors. Roomies provides a space and support to let these artists flourish. It is also a chance for these artists to earn a few extra dollars. But in many ways this project is more than this. When I was thinking about what to say about this exhibition, I came across this quote from one of the Roomie's artists:

 I now introduce myself as an artist, not a person with a mental illness.

For me, this sums up the transformative power of art, and the transformative power of a project like this. Art is a tool of communication that lets artists tells us all something about their lives and their situations. It allows artists to express themselves-to tell their stories in a way they feel comfortable. Like the Choir of Hard Knocks, another project begun to help marginalised people, Roomies shows that developing the artistic abilities of this otherwise marginalised group is about more than just helping; it is also about producing great art. Roomies is producing artworks featured in collections including this Parliament's own private collection. It has become an award-winning art group. It has previously exhibited in a number of different locations and its annual exhibitions regularly sell out.

The exhibition here at Parliament was the culmination of over 12 months of work by the dedicated staff who work with the artist mentors and Roomies artists. It was also a chance for members of the public, who might have no other contact with this diverse and innovative group, to see the work of 18 talented artists from the Roomies Artspace. For the first time, work by the Roomies' artists was shown alongside their mentors-over 100 artworks, including drawings, paintings, prints, ceramics and textiles-works as diverse as the artists themselves. Each work is an expression of the individual artist and the world they find themselves in.

There was Mark Hood's colourful and compelling representational paintings. There was David Hanson and Clarrice Collien's fibre works that have simplicity and dexterity and are very beautiful and compelling. There was also Violet Minnet's explorations across a number of mediums. Violet likes to draw, she likes to paint and she likes to sew. There was also John Goldsmith's sketches, which cover everything from vehicles to dinosaurs. One of John's drawings now hangs in my office, and it seems that I am not the only person to be taken by John's work. I recently discovered that John's artworks have been popular at every Roomies exhibition.

I first became aware of Roomies when I was a councillor at Marrickville council. The volunteer artists and community members that support this program have helped to develop a welcoming and safe place for people to come and experience art. I know they have also had many laughs and some tears along the way. Having Roomies at Parliament meant that this art was brought to an audience not just of decision-makers and those who work here, but also the school groups and interstate and international visitors that come to visit this country's oldest Parliament. I thank and congratulate the Roomies artists, in particular Clarrice, David, Harry, Janet, Leon, Gail, Violet, Nancy, John, Tony, Bruce, Mark, Sue, Cheryl, Les, Normie and Phyllis, as well as the mentors, volunteers, and staff at Newtown Neighbourhood Centre for inviting me to be part of this event.

I also put on record that a book written by Mark Hood was for sale at the event and I recommend it to members. Mark was one of the artists many will remember. His art was the stark art along the far wall, four or five paintings looking very similar but all slightly different. Mark has suffered from severe schizophrenia all his life. Recently he spent five years telling his story to some health workers as part of the Roomies art project. I have copies of his book. I highly recommend it. It is called, So Why Is Your Boy Tired? I think we could all learn a lot from it.