SMH: This doctor fled Iran 15 years ago. Now he’s using art to speak up
:quality(82)/media/news/zoom_0-e1673396284998.png)
SMH: This doctor fled Iran 15 years ago. Now he’s using art to speak up
By Angus Thomson
“I’m preparing for a show that I’ve been working towards for two years, but I’m carrying with me the grief and heartbreak and hurt of what I’m witnessing happening in my country,” he said. “I’m so supportive of [the protests] because I think it’s a movement of a minority – women. For the first time after 43 years [since the Iranian Revolution], we see these voices coming out of Iran.”
Tahayori fled persecution in Iran as a queer person and arrived in Australia in 2007 with degrees in medicine and photography.
He pursued a career in medicine first, and he still balances his work as a rehabilitation specialist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital while studying a Master of Fine Art. He abandoned photography after his camera was stolen not long after arriving in Australia, but a trip to Iran with his partner in 2014 helped him rediscover the cultural riches which fuelled his early creative endeavours.
Read the full article here.
Latest News
Thursday 09 July 2026
:quality(82)/media/100425_Dobell-Prize_Kristen-Sharpwinner_Rosemary-Lee_001_Peter-Morgan-2048x1477.jpg)
Thursday 09 July 2026
Applications are now open for The 25th Dobell Drawing Prize. The Dobell Drawing Prize is Australia’s leading prize for drawing, and an unparalleled celebration of technique, innovation and expanded practice. Presented at the National Art School in partnership with the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, this biennial exhibition continues to highlight the enduring relevance and changing role of dra…
Tuesday 30 June 2026
:quality(82)/media/news/Nick-Collerson-2026_Dithyramb_0384.jpg)
Tuesday 30 June 2026
Please see below for current and forthcoming exhibitions and events featuring our staff and alumni. Dr Carolyn McKenzie-Craig: Becoming Penguin (Act II) Head of Printmaking, Dr Carolyn McKenzie-Craig, presents Becoming Penguin (Act II) at PARKER Contemporary, Brisbane. The exhibition asks what it means to seek protection from a world that continues to decide who is seen, who is suspected, and w…
Thursday 25 June 2026
:quality(82)/media/Michael-Leslie-Image-Credit-James-Brickwood-AFR.jpg)
Thursday 25 June 2026
This NAIDOC Week, the theme Fifty Years of Deadly recognises the enduring strength, resilience and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Fifty Years of Deadly is a tribute to the people who built this movement. The Elders who stood firm, the organisers who made space, the artists who turned resistance into expression, and the communities who keep showing up, year after …