Guest Speaker: Anne Zahalka
This talk was presented on Sunday 29 March, 2026 from Sydney.
Some of us encounter difficult stories in our family history research. How do we tell these stories in a way that honours the memory of that person and teaches future generations something about their past?
Anne Zahalka is one of Australia’s leading media artists, known for reimagining iconic imagery to challenge ideas of identity, culture, and the environment. A graduate of Sydney College of the Arts and the University of New South Wales, she has exhibited internationally for more than four decades, with works held in major collections including the Sir Elton John Collection. Anne’s art blends wit, intelligence, and accessibility. She restages historic portraits and photographs to tell alternative narratives — from interrogating colonial imagery to weaving in her own family’s migrant history.
Anne’s grandmother, Margeurite, died in the holocaust. After her mother, Hedy, died, Anne found letters Margarete had written to Hedy, and her sister Lore. In 2017 Anne followed Margeurite’s footsteps across Europe, documenting her lost life in pictures of the places she had lived during that turbulent time. After that trip, Anne collaborated with writer Charlotte Wood to turn the story into a unique online project called Nobody Loves You More Than Me: Finding Margarete – with the support of SBS.
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