A unique show created by a Baha’i storyteller and musician, Clare Kuolga Meere, had its premiere in Redcliffe, Brisbane on 23 October.
In creating “2 Pela Island”, Ms Kuolga drew on her personal background which leads her to describe herself as a “child of two tribes but a woman of one world”.
Ms Kuolga, who uses the performance name Klare Kuolga, was born in the Papua New Guinea Highlands and then moved to Australia where she was adopted by Irish-Australian parents.
She involves her audience in a true story of cultural diversity that portrays the cultures of the Nebilyer Valley in the Western Highlands of PNG and of indigenous Australia, showing their similarities and differences.
The show employs storytelling, dance, music, theatre and multi-media. It is presented against a colourful backdrop in the dot-painting style of Aboriginal Australian artists.
Audience members are invited on to the stage to dance and to wear colourful PNG character masks that enable them to fully participate in the story, which explores the concept of personal identity.
Album
Described as “an innovative, captivating and uplifting musical journey presented in the dance, pop and ballad genres”, the show concludes with songs selected from Klare Kuolga’s debut album, Bend Down a Little, which recently was made available on iTunes.
Co-written with Colin Webber, the album covers such topics as the equality of men and women, spiritual search, the unity of mankind, prayer, happiness and meditation.
Ms Kuolga, who lives in Bellmere, Queensland, says she has been blessed to be part of two very distinctive and diverse cultures.
“This experience and a life long journey to find an understanding of myself led me to develop the production,” Ms Kuolga says.
“Being a part of two cultures has enriched my life experience in understanding diversity,” she says.
“At the same time it has also made me aware of the profound similarities that we all share as members of the human race.
“My big question was where did I belong and where did I come from. The man who answered that question was an Aboriginal elder, Uncle Ray Wymarra, a Baha’i who told me quite simply that I belonged to the human race and that my country was the world.
“Today I identify as a world citizen linking cultures through education and the arts”.