The Kinglake Project – a fundraising exhibition. In February 2009, the Victorian countryside was ablaze with firestorms, fuelled by incredible temperatures and winds that, together, forged a massive path of destruction for many communities and towns. Four years on, it is easy for those not directly affected to focus on other emergencies and disasters. However, for people still living in affected areas, it is not a memory but a daily reality as they continue to regroup and rebuild. The Victoria Police Museum’s latest exhibition, Things of Fire and Ash: Remembering Black Saturday looks back at that day through the eyes of young people from Kinglake. The curatorial team, headed up by the Public Programs Curator, Kate Spinks, went into the community at Kinglake and asked young people to select an object of importance to them during or after the Black Saturday fires and to write a small piece explaining its importance to them. The result is an incredibly moving photographic exhibition that offers a tiny glimpse into the resilience of the region’s young people, while bringing the horror of that day into sharp focus. It is, necessarily, emotive and a theme that runs strongly through the exhibition is that Kinglake still needs help. The young people featured in the exhibition are members of the Wominjeka Youth Group at Kinglake and, said Kate, “the group has been pivotal in helping young people navigate a path for themselves after the devastation of Black Saturday”.
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