Maggie Diaz was born Margaret Eunice Reid on 25 February 1925, in Kansas City Missouri, USA "out of wedlock" and spent her early childhood years in New York.
She arrived in Melbourne in 1961, on a one way ticket (a divorce gift from her Australian husband), and soon established herself has one of the city's leading commercial photographers. She contributed to Group M's Photovision in 1964 exhibiting at John Reed's Museum of Modern Art, with well-known contemporaries Wolfgang Sievers and Mark Strizic. An award-winning photographer in Chicago and resident photographer of the famous Tavern Club, Diaz became known for her use of available light. She went on to capture the essence of Melbourne's arts and wider community over four decades.
Diaz's photographic oeuvre dates back to 1950s Chicago, and includes haunting images of the housing project known as Lower North Center. She depicted Melbourne 'battlers' in a yearbook for The Brotherhood of St Laurence, and was commissioned to produce night shots of the city for promotional purposes. An article in The Age Newspaper of 1964 notes that 'A series of photographs which form part of the interior design of the new 3AW studios in the Southern Cross Plaza are the work of a woman.' The work of Diaz has always been marked by the contrast between the glamorous commercial world and those outside of society, with whom she felt a connection.
The extensive collection of Maggie Diaz was revealed at a slide show to celebrate her 80th birthday in 2005, held at La Mama Theatre's Courthouse. This led to her first retrospective exhibition - Into the Light, which opened at City Museum at Old Treasury in 2007. An Australian tour commenced and in 2008, Diaz featured on ABC Sunday Arts.
In 2010 The State Library of Victoria purchased Into the Light, the exhibition and the entire Diaz archive - spanning 50 years of photography. Diaz, along with her partner Gwendolen De Lacy, Curator of the Diaz Collection, will continue to work with the images in collaboration with The State Library.
Diaz has recently undergone extensive surgery for the removal of her left eye, which had been taken over by skin cancer. This involved skin grafts, but thankfully no chemotherapy. Diaz continues to be passionate about the work and looks forward to upcoming events in 2010 - 2011.
A copy of Maggie's CV can be downloaded here
