Aspirational advocate

Multi-media artist and Launceston Grammar alumnae (2000) Ange Leech has been awarded one of the most prestigious scholarships available to Australian postgraduate students, the Fulbright Scholarship.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Ange is focusing on the role the arts can play in advocating for social justice and finding solutions to address the high incarceration rates amongst Indigenous and marginalised populations in both America and Australia. She is currently undertaking a Master of Arts in Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego’s Kroc School of Peace Studies in California.

News from Launceston Grammar caught on new line with Ange about the opportunity to study under human rights lawyers and international leaders in innovative education, socially engaged art and justice reform, and her journey since leaving school. Q. What led you to receiving a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship? A. After completing Grade 12 I moved to Melbourne having developed a passion for visual arts and was accepted into the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), majoring in sculpture. While there I performed in bands, exhibited with a private gallery, and participated in national art shows and competitions.

Around 2010, I started feeling a sense of urgency to travel to remote Australia,

Ange Leech moved to Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields to connect with likeminded people

To build more humane and just systems to serve populations disadvantaged by poverty.

having read so much about the rich First Nations cultures and art that is created in the Western Desert. I aspired to play a role in this country’s long overdue journey to reconciliation.

Profoundly naive but with good intention, I moved to the Eastern Goldfields in Western Australia where I connected with communities and likeminded people who shared a similar vision. Here I started working in remote communities collaborating with artists and local organisations to create art projects and creative responses to social needs.

In 2014 I started working on a contract basis in a regional prison, designing and facilitating artistic programs built upon the strengths of the students within the prison. This work led me to aspire to apply for the Fulbright in the pursuit of looking to our international peers to share and exchange knowledge and skills.

My ultimate goal? To obtain the knowledge to return home to build more humane and just systems to serve populations disadvantaged by poverty. Q. Tom Dougherty, Executive Director of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission is quoted as saying that you were chosen because of your ‘dedication to causes that uplift those at the margins of society’. What drives your passion for social justice? A. It is hard to say. I draw my ethics and morals from my family and positive upbringing. I believe everybody is great at something or has a longing to achieve something. I am inspired by people who use their artistic ability to pursue social justice. Growing up I listened to a lot of music that expressed political activism; Bob Dylan, Steve Earle, Midnight Oil and MC5. I also listened to a lot of music generated by people who were oppressed, such as the blues music generated in the deep south of the USA during the early 19th century.

I believe that no one is better than anyone else and everyone should have equal opportunity to follow their own aspirations and prosper.

Q. How did your time at Launceston Grammar help influence who you are today? A. My heart is filled with gratitude when I reflect on the lengths that our Music and Art teachers invested in our development. What I found most impressive was how they maintained their commitment and were so successful in their own practice. I was one of the students who learned under Barry Dungeon and was able to learn the ins and outs of a recording studio. We were also the seniors who made the transition from the Joffre Street art rooms to the Poimena Gallery. I can still remember standing with resident artist Rob Ikin who said to me I was good enough to go to RMIT. This was reaffirmed and with support of the Art teachers I achieved this. The camaraderie amongst friends and opportunities like school camps, concerts, music trips, sporting events are memories I will never forget.

Fulbright offers scholarships to students who are passionate about research that will improve the lives of Australians. If you have a project you would like to explore, find out about how you might apply here: www.fulbright.org.au