Head On Photo Festival talk, Bridging the Gap, First Nations photographers

Free event - donations appreciated

Bridging The Gap brings together three of Australia's foremost Indigenous photographers to discuss womanhood, gender, and race in a rapidly changing world.

Barbara Mcgrady, Tace Stevens, and Milly Hooper need little introduction. Barbara McGrady is Australia's first Aboriginal photojournalist. Her trailblazing career brought new representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to the fore, from the Koori Knockout to the vibrant sistagirls out to party.

Tace Stevens and Milly Hooper add a multi-generational aspect to the panel. Tace Stevens is a Noongar and Spinifex visual storyteller based in Perth, and she offers a powerful meditation on the Stolen Generations in this year's festival. Milly Hooper, a proud Ngiyampaa, Murrawarri, Kooma woman, delivers a deeply affecting exploration of Aboriginal adulthood and coming of age amidst racist and intolerant views towards Indigenous Australians.

The panel represents the culmination of their experiences, highlighting the joys and challenges of being an Indigenous woman in today's Australia. It is a conversation that shines a light on the barriers to closing the gap, and how the arts is still reconciling with colonisation and racism. The Bridging the Gap panel will be about lived realities and real human lives. You will not want to miss this one.

Join us for a social event 5-7pm.

Speakers:

Milly Hooper

Milly Hooper, a Proud Ngiyampaa, Murrawarri, Kooma woman, captures beauty and connection through visual storytelling. A self-taught photographer since 2016, she explores Aboriginal identity and culture while living on Arrernte Country. Milly aims to challenge stereotypes about her community and is a member of Blaklens. She contributed to the First Sight exhibition at Head On Photo Festival 2021.

Barbara McGrady

Barbara McGrady was born in 1950 in Mungindi, NSW. She is a Gomeroi (Gamilaraay) and Murri woman, from the north-west of NSW and southern Queensland. Her aunts were removed from the family and sent to Cootamundra Girls' Home, while the men were sent to work as indentured labourers.
McGrady started taking photos of her family and surroundings as a teenager with a camera her mother bought her. Her fascination with photo journalism was sparked by black and white photographs of black sportsmen and sportswomen in magazines like Time and Life, National Geographic, Esquire and Reader's Digest.

She trained as a sociologist, and is an athlete and sports lover.

Tace Stevens (video)

Tace Stevens is a Noongar and Spinifex visual storyteller from Western Australia. She uses photography and film to explore this world and better understand herself as an Aboriginal woman. Building strong relationships with those she photographs gives her work a sense of authenticity and truth.

Facilitator:

Dr Judith Nangala Crispin

Judith Nangala Crispin is an independent poet and visual artist living and working on Yuin/Walbunga country near Braidwood. She is a descendent of the Bpangerang people from the Murray River, and acknowledges Celtic, European and African family heritage. Judith claims no cultural authority and does not speak for any nation, tribe or clan. Her views are entirely her own. She is a proud member of FNAWN.

Please only book if you are genuinely planning to attend. This helps us ensure the event runs smoothly!

Image: Moshe Rosenzveig OAM