SMH: This doctor fled Iran 15 years ago. Now he’s using art to speak up

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.

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New scholarships will be available to students entering the BFA (Hons), with further details to be shared later this year.
Final weeks to visit The Neighbour at the Gate, closing Saturday 18 October. 

Across various mediums and perspectives, The Neighbour at the Gate charts the entangled legacies of exclusion and resilience, drawing vital parallels between the past and present, memory and nationhood.

Learn more about the exhibition and plan your visit at the link in bio. 

Please note: the gallery is closed for Labour Day Monday 6 October
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Don’t miss this exclusive 20% off flash sale on the National Art School Summer School Short Courses (link in bio). Flash Sale starts right now and ends midnight Monday 6 October.*

*Offer begins midday Friday 3 October and ends midnight Monday 6 October. Terms and conditions apply.
We are pleased to share the exciting news that we are introducing a new BFA (Hons) degree at the National Art School in 2026.

The Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) is an intensive one-year program designed for graduates of the BFA who are ready to deepen their studio practice and expand their academic and professional capabilities. This course is ideal for emerging artists who want to refine their practice, build industry connections, and prepare for postgraduate study or professional opportunities in the creative sector.

New scholarships will be available to students entering the BFA (Hons), with further details to be shared later this year. For more information and key dates, visit futurestudents.nas.edu.au (link in bio).
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