MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — THE journey of three Ethiopian refugees from their homeland to Melbourne is the inspiration behind a city art exhibition.

Flemington’s Sutueal Bekele is one of the artists contributing to The Journey: From Ancient Ethiopia to Contemporary Melbourne, an exhibition about migration and settlement.

“The paintings represent me and my journey,” Bekele said. “It’s about my journey from Ethiopia through a few African countries that I lived in, to arriving here in Melbourne.”

Bekele, 34, left Ethiopia when he was 16 and spent time in Kenya before arriving in Australia in 1999.

“It was a long journey and it’s hard to leave your home country and your family and travel all the way here,” Bekele said. “But it was a journey with a lot of experiences, meeting people from different backgrounds and learning a lot of things every day.”

Bekele said it was hard to paint in the refugee camps.

“It was very challenging moving to a new area and it takes time to adapt but it does give you a new artistic expression,” he said.

In the late ’90s at a Kenyan refugee camp, Bekele’s work was seen by United Nations delegates and Kenyan politicians.

“They visited my studio in the refugee camp and they were quite impressed with my work,” he said. The UN commissioned a painting from Bekele which now hangs at its Geneva headquarters.

Bekele said he was grateful to settle in Melbourne.

“I don’t even look back, this is my home. I’ve got a partner and two children and now it’s all about them, the next generation,” he said.

Bekele said his artwork was important to him and a way of sharing his experiences.

“As an artist I always try to express my culture and the environment that I grew up in and share it with people,” he said.

“I’m very emotionally attached to my artwork and so I try not to sell much of it.”

By Cathy Nilbett, Moonee Valley Leader