Uncover banned books and explore free speech with Brigita Ozolins and the State Library and Archives of Tasmania.
Books, history, art and conversation collide in Revolution & Silence, an exhibition and series of talks at the State Library and Archives of Tasmania. Explore free speech in Brigita Ozolins’ installation Revolution & Silence, uncover banned books and their stories and hear diverse perspectives and challenging ideas after dark with free talks during Dark Mofo.
Revolution & Silence exhibition
Revolution & Silence includes an installation by Tasmanian artist Brigita Ozolins in the gallery of the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition considers George Orwell’s 1984, exploring the forces that try to silence free speech and the revolutions that rise in response. These works contextualise Orwell’s novel amongst contemporary political upheaval, AI, fake news, and the unchecked power of social media.
The State Library and Archives of Tasmania has curated and displayed a collection of books that have been challenged throughout history, and today. This exhibition represents and interprets diverse points of view through a collection of banned, restricted and controversial books. Read some of these books and more during your visit in the ‘Silenced Reading’ library.
Free exhibition
5 June – 5 October 2025
State Library and Archives of Tasmania
Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts
91 Murray Street,
Hobart, Tasmania
Opening hours between 5–15 June inclusive:
- Thursday to Friday 9:30 am – 8:00 pm (extended hours)
- Saturday 9:30 am – 2:00 pm and 3:30 pm – 8:00 pm (extended hours)
- Sunday 9:30 am – 12:30 pm (normal hours)
- Monday to Wednesday 9:30 am – 5:00 pm (normal hours)
Regular hours
Closed public holidays
- Monday to Friday 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
- Saturday 9:30 am to 2:00 pm
- Sunday 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
- Closed public holidays
Free entry, no bookings required
Silenced: Free talks on banned books and censorship
Join writers, activists and free speech advocates at the State Library and Archives of Tasmania this June. Explore censorship, book bans, cultural appropriation and resistance through reading in six free talks from Thursday 5 to Saturday 14 June 2025. Book free tickets for Silenced: Free talks on banned books and censorship on Eventbrite.
Banned and defiant in small-town America
With guest speaker Amanda Jones.
Date and time: Thursday 5 June, 6:00 pm.
Book: Book free tickets for Banned and defiant in small-town America on Eventbrite.
Amanda Jones is a librarian, anti-censorship advocate and author of That Librarian (2024) based in Louisiana USA. She has been aggressively targeted by extremists for fighting to keep diverse voices on her hometown library’s shelves.
Banned and defiant in small-town America is a pre-recorded video interview with Amanda, discussing her frontline experience in the culture wars, the evolution of her personal politics, and the impact of the current US government on the book-banning crisis.
Who’s afraid of our books?
With guest speaker Professor Nicole Moore.
Date and time: Friday 6 June, 6:00 pm.
Nicole Moore is a professor in English and Media Studies at UNSW Canberra. She is an international expert on literary censorship and author of The Censor’s Library: Uncovering the Lost History of Australia’s Banned Books (2012).
Book: Book free tickets for Who’s afraid of our books? on Eventbrite.
Who’s afraid of our books? will explore the history of book censorship in Australia and consider how international developments affect our free access to books locally.
Has literature been weaponised?
With guest speaker Dr Kaz Ross.
Date and time: Saturday 7 June, 4:00 pm.
Book: Book free tickets for Has literature been weaponised? on Eventbrite.
Dr Kaz Ross is a sought-after commentator on extremism in Australia and around the world.
Has literature been weaponised? will discuss Tasmanian examples of literature being used to further the ideology of extremist hate groups.
An artist’s response to banned books
With guest speaker Brigita Ozolins.
Date and time: Thursday 12 June, 6:00 pm.
Book: Book free tickets for An artist’s response to banned books on Eventbrite.
Brigita Ozolins is best known for her large-scale installations about our relationship to language, history and culture, such as Kryptos (2011) at MONA. Inspired by a love of books, libraries and literature, her work is based on the idea that language is a powerful cultural tool that both shapes and restricts who and what we are and how we think.
In An artist’s response to banned books, Brigita will discuss her art practice, its connection to language and her installation Revolution & Silence.
Writing under threat
With guest speaker Shokoofeh Azar.
Date and time: Friday 13 June 6:00 pm.
Book: Book free tickets for Writing under threat on Eventbrite.
Shokoofeh Azar is an Iranian-Australian journalist and novelist now based in Victoria. She was arrested and placed in solitary confinement for her journalism in Iran, where her internationally-acclaimed first novel The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree (2017) is banned yet published underground.
In Writing under threat Shokoofeh will discuss the themes her writing explores, literature in translation and her new novel The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen.
Stealing stories, silencing voices
With guest speaker Maggie Blanden.
Date and time: Saturday 14 June, 4:00 pm.
Book: Book free tickets for Stealing stories, silencing voices on Eventbrite.
Maggie Blanden is a Palawa woman, lawyer, writer and activist. She turned down a nomination for Young Australian of the Year 2025 in protest of January 26 as a day of celebration.
In Stealing stories, silencing voices, Maggie will speak about the impacts of cultural appropriation in silencing and othering community voices.