Vivid portraits of remarkable Australians explore racism and diversity

Holocaust survivor Ernie Friedlander recalled the moment that left him shaking when he was racially vilified in Sydney.

“More people like you should have been put in the oven,” he says, quoting the aggressor.

Ernie is one of the 33 incredible people who feature in a new exhibition that explores racism and diversity in Australia, We Bleed the Same. The exhibition is produced by journalist Liz Deep-Jones and brought to Canberra by the Herbert & Valmae Freilich Project for the Study of Bigotry, based at The Australian National University. The photographer behind the project is Tim Bauer.

“The exhibition is designed to show both the devastation that racism causes within the Australian community, but also the amazing resilience, strength and determination displayed by individuals who have experienced racism,” says Dr Melissa Lovell, convenor of the Freilich Project. 

“We look forward to this exhibition inspiring conversations about how to combat racism and intolerance in our community.”

We Bleed the Same features the portraits and stories of First Nations people, immigrants and refugees, including former Racial Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane, former child soldier Deng Adut, author and journalist Benjamin Law, former Socceroos captain and human rights activist Craig Foster AM, three-time World Boxing Champion/Lawyer Lovemore Ndou, and Midnight Oil’s Jim Moginie.

The exhibition launch is on 29 March, and will be on display in the foyer of the RSSS Building on the ANU campus for six months.