Dearly Departed: death in life thematic tour

Join us for a 30 minute thematic tour of Dearly Departed: death in life with special guests.

Thu 9 April 10–10:45 am - Navin Sam Regi 
Thu 7 May 10–10:45 am- Kellie O’Dempsey 
Thu 4 June 10–10:45 am - Navin Sam Regi 
Thu 2 July 10–10:45 am - Robyn Hamilton 
Thu 30 July 10–10:45 am - Merinda Davies 

Navin Sam Regi is an award‑winning documentary producer, multimedia journalist, and digital storytelling specialist whose work amplifies marginalised voices through community‑focused journalism and innovative oral‑history projects. He is the founder of Talking Stories, collaborating on major initiatives such as the Indian Diaspora Oral History Project with the National Library of Australia. Sam is also a Teaching Associate at the University of Queensland, coordinating courses in social justice storytelling and media strategy. 

Merinda Davies is a performance‑based artist whose practice spans movement, installation, conversation, and physical theatre. Merinda grew up on Bundjalung Country and now works on Yugambeh land in South East Queensland. Her work explores care, intimacy, ecological structures, and the emotional landscapes of human and more‑than‑human experience. Working across solo and collaborative formats, she has been commissioned by institutions including the Institute of Modern Art, Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, Outerspace, and The Walls. 

Kellie O’Dempsey is an Australian artist known for immersive, site‑generated installations and live performance drawing that integrate projection, video, collage, gestural line, digital drawing and collaborative improvisation. O’Dempsey has presented performances at major events including the 18th Biennale of Sydney, MONA FOMA, White Night Melbourne, and the National Gallery of Australia. A PhD graduate from Queensland College of Art, she has exhibited widely across Australia and internationally and is represented by Jan Manton Galleries in Brisbane.

Robyn Hamilton leads the Collection Building and Interpretation team of Queensland Memory at State Library. Robyn and her team select, acquire, commission or receive as donation content both old and new in order to grow the John Oxley Library collection, and ensure a diverse and representative documentary record of Queensland and its people. Robyn has a background in music librarianship, and a particular interest in State Library's WWI collections.

About the exhibition:

Death is a universal experience. It will come to us all. Yet the way we confront, discuss, experience and ultimately reckon with death, and the realities of dying, varies enormously. Culturally diverse traditions and practices around death offer unique insights into how communities around the world honour and mourn their loved ones, shaping vastly different experiences and understandings of life’s final chapter.

Throughout the 20th century, death became a quiet taboo; something rarely spoken of, despite touching every life. Positioned at the powerful intersection of history, art and emotion, Dearly Departed encourages audiences to reflect on what it means to live well, die well and honour those who came before us. It reframes death not as an ending, but as a profound and enduring part of Queensland’s living story.

Innovative, accessible, and deeply human, Dearly Departed: death in life invites visitors into a bold exploration of mortality across Queensland’s past, present and future. Through rich historical insight, evocative artistic interpretation and interactive design, the exhibition sparks meaningful conversation about life, death and the memories we hold.

The exhibition examines the social, cultural, spiritual, historical and political forces that have shaped Queenslanders’ experiences and attitudes toward death and dying – then and now.

Join us as we rediscover how confronting death helps us better understand life itself.

Where: Meet at the entrance to slq Gallery, level 2, State Library of Queensland.

Please note: There is no need to bring a printed ticket, instead when you arrive your name will be checked off on a registration list. The exhibition is accessible, but should you have any questions please contact exhibitions@slq.qld.gov.au

Dearly Departed: death in life and engages with themes of death, dying, memory and remembrance. Content may include personal stories, imagery, sound or discussion that some people may find emotionally affecting. You’re welcome to participate at your own pace and to step away or take a break at any time.

Some events may also include references to, or recordings of, people who have since passed, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Image: Ravenswood Cemetery, Ravenswood, 1966, Richard Stringer (b.1936–), 33218 Richard Stringer Architectural Photography Archive, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Image 0805.