An SGCH customer in Sydney’s north has brought his community together through art, running 10 weekly painting and sketching sessions that culminated in an exhibition held in May. Brushes with Bushlands featured artworks from five Lane Cove locals, all aged over 50, many of whom hadn’t picked up a paintbrush since their school days.

“I paint, it’s what I do, but I led this course as I wanted to do something to bring people together from these SGCH buildings,” said our customer, Adnan, who ran the art classes and whose goal was to help address social isolation in his community. “There are very few children here, people live with challenges, and we needed to do something to bring people out of their homes.”

This SGCH program was made possible through funding from Lane Cove Council. Its impact extended far beyond art tuition, too: it created some meaningful connections among participants. According to Caitlin from SGCH’s Connecting Communities team, some of the participants had lived through cancer (among other life challenges) and found the painting sessions provided a powerful way to connect and support each other.

Visitors to the exhibition were wowed by Adnan’s diverse talents, including his performance on the oud, a traditional Kurdish instrument. Despite only taking up the instrument at age 55, Adnan’s musical performance added another layer of cultural richness to the community celebration.

“Adnan made all this happen. He paints, he speaks five languages, he plays the oud. What skills doesn’t he have?” laughs Caitlin. “Above all else, he cares about his neighbours, so thank you Adnan for bringing everyone together.”