Three extraordinary women share their stories during Refugee Week 2023.

Join Sophie Singh from the Refugee Action Campaign in conversation with artist Kathrin Longhurst, and Iranian refugee Nazanin Jebeli as they talk about current issues facing refugees in Australia. Learn about the mission of the Refugee Action Campaign and their work in Canberra, hear about the development of Kathrin Longhurst’s series of portrait paintings in the exhibition Settled/Unsettled and discover Nazanin’s personal story of becoming a refugee, seeking asylum and building a new life in Australia.

Sophie Singh is a Canberra based activist from the Refugee Action Campaign, a network of concerned citizens around Australia seeking the fair and humane treatment of refugees in this country. The RAC work actively within the Canberra community to raise public awareness about the government’s obligations to give refuge to asylum seekers and treat them with dignity and humanity.

Kathrin Longhurst conceived of the Settled/Unsettled exhibition. Longhurst migrated to Australia from Communist East-Germany and is now an established portrait painter, a three-times Archibald Prize Finalist and Winner of the 2021 Packing Room Prize; nine-time finalist of the Portia Geach Memorial Award and Winner of the 2017 People’s Choice.

Nazanin Jebeli is one of the sitters of Longhurst’s portrait series included in the exhibition Settled/ Unsettled. Nazanin is an Iranian refugee who spent time in off-shore detention on Nauru and Christmas Island and who has spent 10 years with an ‘undetermined Refugee status’.

Image: Kathrin Longhurst, Naz, 2021 oil on linen, Courtesy the artist.