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The light of the stars
Sitara Tanglaw (Marikit Santiago and L-FRESH The LION)
Western Sydney Creative Artists Commission 2026
5 August – 12 November
Who guides us through life? For many of us, our first guides are family members, elders, teachers and community leaders. As we grow, those guides often expand to include heroes found in music, sport, art, faith and public life - figures whose stories help us imagine who we might become. Yet guidance is rarely straightforward. It is shaped by migration, culture, memory, belief and the communities that surround us.
This exhibition premiers the collaborative practice of Sitara Tanglaw (Marikit Santiago and L-FRESH The LION), two Western Sydney artists whose practices are grounded in the lived experiences of the Filipino and Punjabi diasporic communities. Through painting, sound, storytelling and installation, they explore how cultural inheritance, faith and resilience are carried across generations and reimagined in contemporary Australia.
Both artists understand the power of representation. As visible creative figures within their communities, they occupy a space between the guides they once looked to and the guides they have become for others. Their work asks us to reflect on the people, stories and values that illuminate our pathways, while recognising the responsibility that comes with being seen as a source of inspiration.
Moving between the personal and the collective, the sacred and the everyday, this exhibition offers a space for reflection on identity, belonging and aspiration. It celebrates the many lights that help shape our journeys and reminds us that guidance can emerge from unexpected places, transforming ordinary lives into extraordinary examples of possibility.
