The Rotary Club of Kerang Annual Easter Art Show coordinator, Jenny Kelly, together with Rotarians, is chuffed to be able to display an ‘Anh Do original’ painting at this year’s Art Show. We are very appreciative of Jan Lawler, ‘The Gallery’ at Balranald, and the owner of the artwork, for allowing us to have this piece by this amazing artist for patrons to see. We encourage everyone to come along and be inspired by the wonderful artwork that Anh Do and artists from near and far produce.
Opening night is Good Friday, April 2, 7pm – 10pm, with Easter Saturday, April 3, 10am – 6pm and Easter Sunday, April 4, 10am – 3pm as open door times. Entry charges apply.
Anh Do (born June 2, 1977) is a Vietnamese-born Australian author, actor, comedian and artist. He is married with three sons and one daughter.
He has appeared on Australian TV shows such as ‘Thank God You’re Here’, ‘Anh Does Vietnam’, ‘Good News Week’, ‘Rove Live’, ‘Spicks and Specks’, ‘The Footy Show’ and was runner-up on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in 2007. As an actor he has appeared in Aussie TV favourites such as ‘Seachange’, ‘All Saints’ and ‘Pizza’.
Anh Do and his family fled Vietnam to Australia as refugees in 1980 when Anh was three years old. In his 2010 autobiography, “The Happiest Refugee”, Anh tells of how his family survived five days in a leaky 9.5m long x 2m wide fishing boat with 47 other Vietnamese refugees. During this trip they were attacked by two different bands of pirates who stole both engines and they survived dehydration and internment in a Malaysian refugee camp. This book was named 2011 Australian Book of the Year, Biography of the Year and Newcomer of the Year as well as other awards. Anh has also written ‘Weir Do’ children’s book titles all of which have been national bestsellers.
Anh attended St Aloysius’ College in Milsons Point for his secondary education and when he was 14, he started a small business breeding tropical fish. While studying his first year of law at the University of Technology, Sydney, he owned a stall which sold American Indian artifacts, which he later expanded to four franchised stores. Just six months before finishing his combined business law degree, law firms offered him jobs which required 60 hours of work a week. He opted to take up stand-up comedy instead. He went on to bag every comedy award in town, including Sydney Comedian of the Year and played to sell-out crowds at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Sydney Opera House. Since 2013 Anh has cut back on comedy to focus on painting full-time.
As an artist, using oil on linen as his medium, Anh has won numerous awards including three times a finalist in The Archibald Prize – 2014, 2017 and 2019. Since 2016 he has hosted ‘Anh’s Brush with Fame’ on ABC TV in which he concurrently interviews and paints a portrait of prominent Australians.
Anh Do has come through adversity in his early years which has given him a determination to make the most out of life. No one had any idea, including Anh himself, that he would go on to become one of Australia’s best-loved and admired entertainers.
We invite everyone to come to our 18th Annual Easter Art Show with many additional displays to complement the great array of artworks and photography on show, featuring an ‘Anh Do’ painting. Slot this event into your Easter calendar to view many forms of art and maybe make a purchase in a relaxed environ while supporting Rotary, so we can give back to community with projects and programs.