BIO
Tom Goldner (b. 1984) is an Australian artist and curator residing on Wurundjeri Country in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria. He is the Creative Director of Photo Collective, an organisation dedicated to advocating for and creating opportunities for visual artists in Australia.
Goldner’s career spans art, commercial projects, education, gallery management, and community engagement initiatives. His creative practice is positioned within the expanded documentary genre of photography. Rather than considering photography as a ‘record of truth,’ his projects utilise experimental, collaborative, and multidisciplinary approaches to storytelling.
His photography has been exhibited regularly across Australia and recognised through leading award programs such as the Bowness Photography Prize and the National Photographic Portrait Prize. His work is held in private and public collections, including the Museum of Australian Photography and the National Library of Australia, and has been featured in publications such as The British Journal of Photography, L’Oeil de la Photographie, and The Royal Photographic Society Journal.
In 2014, Goldner founded The Fox Darkroom & Gallery (closed 2020). During its operation, Fox served as a platform for the public to engage with photographic art through exhibitions, talks, and workshops. Through the gallery, Goldner curated numerous exhibitions, book launches, and specialist workshops with leading Australian and international photographic artists.
In 2021, Goldner completed a Master of Arts in Photography at Photography Studies College in Melbourne, where he previously lectured. He has also taught at Swinburne University of Technology and the Australian College of the Arts (Collarts), where he continues to serve on the Course Advisory Committee for the Faculty of Photography.
Alongside co-directors Harriet Tarbuck and Angus Scott, Goldner leads Photo Collective, which facilitates major award programs including the Australian Photography Awards (APA), one of the largest celebrations of photography in the region. Photo Collective also delivers the Australian and New Zealand Photobook Award.
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2019 - 2020 -
Masters of Arts Photography - Photography Studies College, Melbourne
2003 - 2005 -
Advanced Diploma of Photography - Photography Studies College, Melbourne
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Museum of Australian Photography
National Gallery of Australia
National Library of Australia
State Library of Victoria
The Gippsland Art Gallery
State Library of New South Wales
Asia Pacific Photobook Archive
Snowy Monaro Regional Library
Goulburn Regional Art Gallery
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L’Oeil de la Photographie (The Eye of Photography)
British Journal of Photography
Royal Photographic Society Journal
Vogue Australia
C4 Journal
Arena Journal
Source Photographic Journal
Art Blart
The Guardian Australia
Urth Magazine
ETC Magazine
Tending to the Garden
Photo Review Magazine
This is Paper Magazine
Photographic Mercadillo
Geographical
Australian Photographers Journal
Black River
Life Framer
Euronews
Habitual Magazine
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2023 - Finalist - Galah Regional Photography Prize
2023- Semi Finalist - Head On Portrait Prize
2023- Finalist - Bowness Photographic Prize
2023- Finalist - Martin Kantor Portrait Prize
2022- Finalist - National Photographic Portrait Prize
2021 - Honourable Mention, The Face of the Earth, Life Framer
2021 - Finalist - Head On Prize
2021 - Nomination - Prix Pictet
2021 - Honourable Mention Book/Documentary - Tokyo International Foto Awards
2021 - Honourable Mention, Animal Kingdom, Life Framer
2021 - Selected Antipodean Photobooks
2020 - Honourable Mention, Book - Fine Art - International Photography Awards
2020 - Finalist - Bowness Photographic Prize
2016 - Finalist - Head On Portrait Prize
2013 - Finalist - Head On Portrait Prize
2012 - Documentary Photographer of the year, runner up - APPA
2012 - Finalist - Australia & New Zealand Photo Book Award
2011 - Silver with distinction, APPA
2011 - Winner, People and Planet Competition
2011 - Silver Award, International Loupe Awards
2011 - Bronze Award, International Loupe Awards
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2021 - Do Brumbies Dream in Red?, Meat Market Stables, North Melbourne, Victoria
2017 - Passage, Fox Gallery, Kensington, Victoria
2013 - Volta, Head On Photo Festival, Global Gallery, Paddington, NSW
2011 - Volta, Michaels Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
2011 - Volta, YGAP HQ, St Kilda, Victoria
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2024 - Heat Safe City, Kings Artist Run
2023 - Incinerator Art Prize, Incinerator Gallery, AUS 2023
2023 - Of Embers, ArtSpace at Realm, Victoria
2022 - Return to Nature, Monash Gallery of Art, Victoria
2022 - National Photographic Portrait Prize, ACT
2021 - Do Brumbies Dream in Red?, Head On Photo Festival, Bondi Beach Promenade
2020 - Bowness Photographic Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, Victoria
2019 - On Death, Manorisms Studios, Preston, Victoria
2018 - For the love of the dark, Colour Factory, Collingwood, Victoria
2017 - Window, Fox Gallery, Kensington, Victoria
2015 - Chiaroscuro, Fawn Gallery, Collingwood, Victoria
2012 - Small works, Brunswick St Gallery, Brunswick, Victoria
2011 - New North Gallery, Fairfield, Victoria
2011 - Small Works, Brunswick Street Gallery
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2023 - Australian Photography Awards - Exhibition & Event Program
2022 - Australian Photography Awards - Exhibition & Event Program
2022 - A New Burma, Group Exhibition
2022 - Stories Event, Photo Collective
2019 - Death of an Alchemist, Michael Prior
2019 - Australian Photography Awards - Exhibition
2018 - What She Sees, She Shoots Film
2018 - The Space In Between, Nick Hinch
2018 - The Fall, David Rosendale
2018 - Chittagong Steel and Mambo, Kip Scott and Craig Adams
2018 - Australians, Paul Blackmore
2018 - Polaroids 1998 - 2018, Tobias Titz
2018 - Inside Manus Detention Centre, Brian Cassey
2017 - Project Street 7:30, Group Exhibition
2017 - The Film Project, MAP Group
2016 - All I Had I Gave, Edward Goldner
2016 - Outliers, John Umina
2016 - The Land Where The Crow Flies Backwards, Matthew Abbott
Initiatives
For the past decade I’ve been a highly engaged advocate, business owner and supporter of the creative sector in Australia. Building and facilitating exciting and unique spaces has been significant part of my career and something which I remain deeply passionate about. At the heart of all my work is the belief that photography has the ability to bring people together and promote understanding. For me, photography shouldn’t just be made for photographers. My initiatives are designed to engage diverse communities which might not traditionally engage with the arts.
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Photo Collective
Active - Ongoing
Together with my collaborators Harriet Tarbuck and Angus Scott, I’m one of the Creative Directors at Photo Collective - an independent photographic organisation dedicated to sharing meaning and finding knowledge through photography.
Unlike traditional collectives, Photo Collective represents an ever expanding network of photographers, advocates, educators and curators collectively working towards the goal of celebrating and contributing to the changing ecology of Australian photography. We do this through our award programs, our biannual magazine, exhibitions, community engagement initiatives and educational programs.
See more about Photo Collective here
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Fox Darkroom
2014 - 2020
In 2014 I built a beautiful artist run darkroom and workshop space. Situated on the bend of a bluestone laneway in the inner Melbourne suburb of Kensington, over the years we shared our passion for traditional process and darkroom printing with visitors far and wide.
Through a regular program of workshops, demonstrations and member meetings, Fox became a safe and welcoming space for many people to engage with photography.
As the ways in which I was passionate about teaching photography shifted (along with a move out of Melbourne to the Dandenong Ranges), in 2020 I decided to close the chapter on Fox and continue my work in this space at Photo Collective.
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Fox Gallery
2016 - 2020
In 2016 I expanded Fox to include a dedicated photographic gallery space. During its operation, Fox was an outpost for the public to engage in the photographic art through exhibitions, talks and workshops. Through Fox Gallery, I curated numerous exhibitions, book launches and specialty workshops with highly regarded Australian and international photographic artists.
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Photo for Freedom
2011 - 2013
Between 2011 - 2013 I ran an initiative which was designed to raise funds and awareness for organisations working to abolish child labour practices in Ghana’s Lake Volta region. The images I collected from two trips were exhibited and sold in both Melbourne and Sydney. The project raised over $90,000 which funded the building of a school in Doryumu, Ghana.