An image of a campfire with a night sky in the background. The text over the image reads 'Deadly Dialogues with Michael Torres and Tamati Smith.'

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been postponed - we hope to reschedule it soon. Please look out for the new advertised date coming soon.

Join Michael Torres and Tamati Smith as they share their experiences in the field of photography and talk about their craft.

This event is free to attend, but bookings are essential.

For those unable to make it to Canberra for the event, it will be livestreamed online via the Library's Facebook page. No bookings are required to watch the online stream. 

About Deadly Dialogues

Deadly Dialogues is a series of in-conversation events.

This second iteration of the series has been sparked by the current Viewfinder: Photography from the 1970s to Now exhibition.

Deadly Dialogues is a platform to celebrate First Nations photographers, artists and creatives.

About Michael Torres

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An off-centre portrait of a man wearing a black t-shirt and a grey jacket. He is holding a bunch of red and green native Australian flowers in front of him.

Michael Torres is a Djugun-Yawuru man from Broome, Western Australia, with tribal connections to the Gooniyandi/Jabbir Jabbir/Ngarluma peoples. He is a fine art photographer, poet, creator of design and video art, and a media professional. Michael finds inspiration in the unique landscapes and people of the Kimberley region, which feature prominently in his work. His photography draws on his own stories and personal history, and explores contemporary social and political issues facing Indigenous people.

Much of Michael's work involves conceptual and innovative portraiture, and abstract landscape photography. He is a self-taught photographer and was drawn to photography as a visual medium because of its accessibility and the challenge of capturing stories in single images. Michael experiment regularly with different mediums, and is interested in expanding his photography into installations and motion work and pushing the boundaries of how conceptual photography can be used in virtual reality. His photography has appeared in exhibitions in China, Germany, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and regional Western Australia.

About Tamati Smith

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A portrait of a man in a white singlet top, with a black logo on the front. He has his arms crossed in front of him, and he has his head angles off to one side, and he is looking down to the right.

Tamati Smith is a Yamaji/Maori (Wajarri/Badimaya and Ngapuhi) man born in Port Hedland Western Australia. Spent his very early childhood in South Hedland before moving to Geraldton where he would spend a lot of my time closer to his mother’s country. Before entering the world of photography, Tamati went from the Geraldton Aboriginal Medical Service to the mining industry, and then into the Royal Australian Navy where he served for 7 years. It was during his time in the Navy that he began to make his culture and identity a priority.

Much like many others trying to find ways to occupy time during the pandemic, Tamati Smith picked up a camera for the first time. One of the first events that really kicked off his photographic journey was the 2020 Black Lives Matter rallies in Sydney. From that moment, Tamati Smith started attending as many events and rallies as he could in order to photograph them. With the support and encouragement of fellow photographer Michael Torres, Tamati Smith joined a photographic collective of like-minded black photographers, and since then he has been able to photograph many large events in Australia.

Type Special event