Those many in the Australian photographic community who knew him mourn Michael Silver, founder and president of MAGNET Galleries Melbourne, who died on the evening of 10 March 2026. He was a professional photographer of 58 years’ standing, and the gallery he ran with his wife Susanne in Docklands was, until the end, the project that absorbed most of his generosity, energy and passion.

Michael Silver — A Working Photographer

Michael attended Oakleigh and Caulfield High Schools, the latter at the same time as photographers Andrew Chapman, Dale Mann, and Ben Sztypel, whilst photographer Jim McFarlane was studying across the racecourse at Caulfield Technical School.

Silver’s first job at just 15 years of age, was at Alan Studios, 318 Smith Street, Collingwood, from 1967 until 1969. It was a major studio in Melbourne founded by Mark Allan around 1888, and subjects of its photos, many of which Michael printed from glass plates, included Prime Ministers, actors and other personalities, many now held in photographic collections.

Humanitarian photographer Jim McFarlane, who also lived in Caulfield remembers Michael as teenager had built in his back yard an observatory, for which he had made both the telescope and dome to house it, and a darkroom. Celebrated photojournalist Andrew Chapman knew Michael from high school and was a lifelong and constant friend.

From the 1970s, Michael worked in newspapers both in Victoria, and Western Australia where he met his wife Susanne in 1979,  then in London over 1983-85 he freelanced for all of the Fleet Street national newspapers. Returning home to Melbourne in 1985, he won Press Photographer of the Year, Special Merit and News the following year, being on staff at the Sun newspaper. After the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall he documented the plight of the Jews leaving Russia.

Commercial career and Photonet

After leaving press work, Michael had a long commercial photography career spanning politics, business, industry, education, and several charities. He started his commercial photography business, Photonet, in 1985 in High Street St Kilda, then Wellington Street St Kilda before settling at George Street Fitzroy with photographers Ponch Hawkes and David Johns. After that he moved to a home studio in Newport where he apprenticed Photographer Peter Casamento, now a well established Melbourne photographer himself, who remembers:

“Michael was kind, always generous with sharing his knowledge, an enthusiastic early adopter of new technology, and a very talented photographer. He took me under his wing and taught me a lot, including how to see from multiple perspectives, tell stories with a camera, and translate abstract ideas into concrete visuals. For this and much more, I remain deeply appreciative of everything Michael gave.

“I also admired his desire to bring people together and create a community at Magnet Galleries. Whenever I attended, I appreciated the spirit of what he, Susanne and Daniel created. My last interaction with him was especially moving, something I will always remember.”

Among the most sustained of Michael’s institutional relationships was with the University of Melbourne. Photonet/Michael Silver photographs are held in the University of Melbourne Archives, reflecting years of work as a contracted photographer for the university. In 2019, for Science Week, MAGNET held an exhibition of science photographs taken by Silver over 25 years for the University of Melbourne. The event was attended by 120 guests from the science community, including academics, politicians, councillors and senior public servants, and a major national photographic prize for science photography was launched during the event.

Other clients included State and Federal Government departments, Victorian Economic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI), Vice-Regal offices, Melbourne Zoo, Transfield ship building at Williamstown, and other industries including Toyota, BAE Systems and engineering group SKM. He worked for hospitals and health organisations, not-for-profit groups, and charities— he regularly photographed a calendar for the Blind Dogs Association each year featuring adorable Labrador puppies.

Michael was acknowledged as a master printer. His son Daniel Silver joined the business, and together they supported photographers and artists for more than 40 years, and Daniel’s fine art printing work — including work in high-quality archiving — produced numerous photographic exhibitions for Australian photographers and artists, with some now part of the State Library of Victoria’s collection. Embracing colour when it was in higher demand Michael purchased a Jobo film processing unit so as to be able to develop colour transparency film at any hour of the day. He predicted the advent of digital photography and was ready for it, at first buying a digital scanner and later the first model Canon digital camera, immediately using it commercially. He was not afraid to embrace new technology and adapted quickly, but was also fond of building a significant collection of vintage gear.

From NewNorth Gallery to MAGNET

Michael started New North Gallery in about 2010 with fellow Photographer David Johns until Johns’ departure when it was renamed Photonet Gallery, a photographic gallery and fine art printing business in Fairfield, Victoria.

The operation later relocated, first to Level 2 in the 2015 redevelopment of 640 Bourke Street near Southern Cross Station, where it was renamed MAGNET, before moving to Docklands in 2017, in the Docklands Arts Collective, an initiative of Renew Australia. It later converted to an ongoing lease agreement with the property owner, its address being SC G19 Wharf Street, Docklands.

MAGNET (MAGNET Galleries Melbourne Inc.) declares its mission is to preserve and celebrate the best of Australian photography and encourage excellence among established and emerging photographers. MAGNET exists to further the practice and appreciation of photography, particularly documentary work, and to support photographers and students in their practice. Gallery 1 houses Photonet Fine Art Printing, while the larger Gallery 2 serves as the main event space and both areas are clean ‘white cube’ exhibition venues lit artificially and through full-length windows from the mall. Art historian Gael Newton in 2024 write that “Magnet Galleries is a great not for profit space run on next to nothing by those passionate about the social and aesthetic role of the medium.”

The permanent collection

MAGNET’s collection includes the Neil McLeod Collection (over 20,000 images of Indigenous life over the last 50 years), the Albert Brown collection of the 1950s and 1960s (including Lake Tyers Mission), and rare historical glass plate negatives and stereo slides, including a Gallipoli series by Sir Charles Snodgrass Ryan.

Significant exhibitions

Several exhibitions stand out in MAGNET’s record:

• Wolfgang Sievers / Human Rights fundraiser: MAGNET exhibited and sold photographs by the late Wolfgang Sievers. This collaboration with Julian Burnside QC raised $10,000 for the Human Rights Law Centre.
• Photo Marathon (2017–2019): MAGNET hosted the Photo Marathon in 2017 and 2018, with 250 participants taking nine photos on nine topics across Melbourne in nine hours. In 2019, in collaboration with Fuji, the event drew over 700 participants — far more than the 200 originally expected.
• Science Week exhibition (2019): Silver’s own 25 years of science photography for the University of Melbourne, shown in conjunction with the Royal Society of Victoria and the launch of a national science photography prize.
• Kuwarddewardde, The Stone Country (2019): A book launch and exhibition of work by Darwin photographer David Hancock documenting one of Australia’s most remote and undisturbed Aboriginal environments, with rock shelter art spanning more than 60,000 years of continuous habitation.
• First Australian Prize for Conceptual Photography (2019): Organised and hosted in collaboration with the Australian Photographic Society, MAGNET ran the first Australian Prize for Conceptual Photography in July 2019.
• 50 Years in Retrospect: A retrospective of Silver’s 50 years of photography ran at MAGNET from December 7 through to late January 2026 — a mix of portraits, landscapes and everyday stills.
• Prahran Legacy exhibitions: In 2014, Silver and Susanne, alongside alumnus Colin Abbott, curated a 40th anniversary show for Prahran College’s 1974–1976 photography cohort. In May 2025, MAGNET hosted Beyond the Basement, a tribute to students of Prahran College’s photography program who studied under Athol Shmith, John Cato and Paul Cox during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s — running concurrently with an exhibition at the Museum of Australian Photography.
• HUMANKIND – Encounters and Portraits (2024): In August–September 2024, MAGNET hosted Humankind, a selection of Silver’s own photography from across his career — portraits of notable figures alongside street photography — while fundraising for Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, where he was then being treated for prostate cancer and participating in an international clinical trial.

Networks and connections

As a senior photographer, Silver was involved in mentoring students and emerging photographers and was also sought after as a judge in photographic competitions. MAGNET sought to forge links with educational institutions, and the gallery’s sustained engagement with Prahran College alumni. Association with RMIT made MAGNET a de facto meeting point between the documentary tradition and that institution’s photographic history. Silver’s own work, and MAGNET’s programming, maintained a consistent orientation toward documentary and socially engaged photography rather than purely gallery-oriented art. The Gallery also hosted a significant women’s photography exhibition every year.

Michael’s charitable photography work took him regularly to Europe, South-East Asia and the USA, and he photographed for the Emergency Medicine Foundation. He was also associated with Manning Clark House in Canberra, where a fine art photography exhibition of his work opened in December 2012.

Silver leaves his wife Susanne and son Daniel, as the driving force of the gallery along with a dedicated community that gathered around them over four decades.

The documentary instinct — the photograph as record and witness — was the thread that ran through his press years, his commercial work, and the institution he chose to spend his later life sustaining.

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The following chronological list, partial at this point, will serve to indicate the scope and value of the exhibitions which Michael and Susanne assembled and presented over this quarter of a century. Where exact opening and closing dates are known they are given.

NewNorth Gallery 15a Railway Place, Fairfield Victoria 3078

• 2010, 7-30 October GROUP M: Photographs from the 1950’s and 1960’s of Melbourne life and more by this significant group. George Bell, Albert Brown, John Crook, Roy McDonald, Richard Woldendorp, Harry Youlden, 7th to 30th October 2010

Photonet Gallery (pre-MAGNET, city premises) 15a Railway Place, Fairfield Victoria 3078

• 2009— Colin Abbott, Enigma. Abbott’s first exhibition with Photonet Gallery, Melbourne.
• 2014 40th anniversary show for Prahran College’s 1974–1976 photography cohort

Photonet at Melbourne CBD premises at Level 2, 640 Bourke Street (2015-2017)

• September–October 2016 — Dr Michael Coyne, The Weather Is Different a Few Miles Away: Yi People, China. Coyne, a photographer published by Life, Time, and National Geographic. Coyne was also an Adjunct Professor of Photography at RMIT University and Senior Fellow at PSC Melbourne.
• 18 August–4 September 2016 eCLICKtic Northern College of the Arts & Technology group show

MAGNET Galleries — Docklands (2017–2026)

MAGNET opened at The District Docklands in 2017 as part of the Renew Australia / Docklands Arts Collective initiative, initially at Level 1, 1 Wharf Street, later moving to SC G19, 15 Wharf Street.

• April–May 2017 (from Eventfinda: 29 April, 4 May 2017) — Opening events and inaugural programming at the Docklands premises.
• 2014 / 2017 — Colin Abbott, 70’s Melbourne. Abbott worked with Michael Silver for Magnet Galleries for two exhibitions: 70’s Melbourne (2017) and 80’s Melbourne (2018). Note: the Prahran alumni 1974–1976 cohort show at Photonet was documented in 2014; the 70’s Melbourne show at MAGNET followed in 2017.
• July 2017 (5–29 July) — Exhibition (title not confirmed in available sources).
• September–October 2017 (21 September–14 October) — Exhibition (title not confirmed).
• October–November 2017 (28 October–12 November) — Exhibition (title not confirmed).
• December 2017–January 2018 — Wilin Celebrate 2016 and associated programming. In conjunction with the Wilin Celebrate exhibition, there was a night of celebration featuring the launch of the Wilin Warriors documentary film.
• December 2017–January 2018 (8 December 2017–27 January 2018) — Exhibition (title not confirmed in available sources; dates from Eventfinda).
• 2018 — Colin Abbott, 80’s Melbourne. The companion to the 2017 show.
• March 2018 (4 March–7 April) — Concepta: 8th annual women photographers’ exhibition for International Women’s Day, fundraiser for UN Women. Exhibiting works from Barbara Oehring, Carmel Riordan, Christine Gibbs, Deborah Horner, Deborah Nerurkar, Ilana Rose, Ivana Maric, Jacinta Maude, Jill Frawley, Joanna Harris, Loren Mitchell, Marilyn Jeanette, Margot Sharman, Pam Davidson, Pam Kleeman, Silvi Glattauer, Sue Jackson, Susan Henderson, Susanne Silver, Tammy Boyce, and Yzabela Dior. Opened by the Director of the Italian Institute of Culture, Melbourne.
• June 2018 (14 June–7 July) — Exhibition (title not confirmed).
• July–August 2018 (14 July–4 August) — Exhibition (title not confirmed).
• August 2018 (9 August) — Event (single day).
• August–September 2018 (23 August–15 September) — Exhibition (title not confirmed).
• 2018 — Excessive 80’s Melbourne. Max Gillies opened MAGNET’s Excessive 80’s exhibition, which showcased the streets, places, people and events of Melbourne in the 1980s as photographed by some of the prominent photographers of the day.
• 2018 — Women of Samba: 100 Years of Samba. This exhibition opened with a Samba concert. Related programming included screenings of Damas Do Samba (Samba Ladies), a documentary by Susanna Lira, and a Capoeira performance with screening of Pedra que Samba by Camila Agustini.
• 2018 — Desivolution. The launch of Sonia Sarangi’s Desivolution exhibition.
• 2018 — 10th anniversary event for Bicycles for Humanity. Over 150 people attended.
• November–December 2018 (15 November–8 December) — Exhibition (title not confirmed).
• Photo Marathon 2017, 2018, 2019. MAGNET hosted the Photo Marathon in 2017 and 2018, when 250 participants took nine photos of nine topics all over Melbourne over the course of nine hours. In collaboration with Fujifilm, the 2019 event drew over 700 participants.
• January–February 2019 (31 January–16 February) — Exhibition (title not confirmed from Eventfinda dates).
• February 2019 — David Hancock, Kuwarddewardde, The Stone Country (book launch and exhibition). Photographed and written by Darwin photographer David Hancock, documenting one of Australia’s most inaccessible environments, with Aboriginal rock shelter art spanning more than 60,000 years.
• March 2019 — Victor Pugatschew, wine photography exhibition, timed to Wine and Food Week. Pugatschew won the world’s top photography prize two years in a row.
• May 2019 — Sponsored prize for women photographers over 40 (first prize $5,000).
• July 2019 — First Australian Prize for Conceptual Photography. Organised and hosted in collaboration with the Australian Photographic Society.
• August 2019 — Michael Silver, science photography exhibition (Royal Society of Victoria / Science Week). A large-format exhibition of science photographs taken over 25 years for the University of Melbourne, attended by 120 eminent guests. A major national prize for science photography was also launched.
• 2019 — Songs of Innocence and Experience (collective exhibition). Themed on William Blake’s poem collections, interpreted by the exhibiting photographers in many ways — philosophy, symbolism, abstract, documentary, polemic. Susanne Silver recited Blake’s poems on opening night.
• November–December 2019 — Andrew Follows (mentored by Dishan Marikar), Elements of Focus. A project combining Follows’ two passions — motor cars and photography. Follows had tunnel vision from Retinitis Pigmentosa; the works offered viewers a different perspective through his lens. A book accompanied the exhibition. Follows died on 11 December 2019.
• 2019 — Colin Abbott, Waiting Under Southern Skies (book launch). Launched by photographer Andrew Chapman OAM.
• October 2020 — Documenting the 2020 Melbourne Lockdown (virtual, Gallery Five @ Magnet). An online exhibition in MAGNET’s virtual 3D gallery — the first in a series of photojournalism and documentary virtual exhibitions — inviting photographers to submit images taken within the 5km radius of their home under lockdown rules, telling stories of life in that reality. The Melbourne Camera Club circulated the invitation to its members; the exhibition was also an important fundraiser for the gallery to survive the lockdown period.
• 2021, May: Soldier Settler in an online exhibition of the work of Les Chandler (1888-1980),
• 2021 — Still Living (virtual/online exhibition). A fundraising exhibition for MAGNET due to Melbourne’s continued lockdowns in 2021.
• June 2022 (10–30 June) — World Press Photo Exhibition 2022. For the first time in its 67-year history, the World Press Photo Foundation chose Melbourne — and MAGNET — to present its renowned exhibition. Australian photojournalist Matthew Abbott’s winning series Saving Forests with Fire, photographed in Arnhem Land, was among the works shown. The exhibition was accompanied by a Talking Photography events series featuring Ilana Rose, Dean Sewell, James McArdle, and Michael Silver, with a special curated tour by World Press Photo curator Julia Kowakiewicz from Amsterdam.
• July 2022 — Street Photography in Japan. Scheduled immediately following the World Press Photo exhibition.
• February 2026 (ongoing annual series) — Likeness: women photographers’ exhibition for International Women’s Day, fundraiser for UN Women. Now in its 16th year, opened by art curator Merle Hathaway in February 2026, with 18 photographers exhibiting on the theme of portraiture. This places the series’ beginning at approximately 2011.
• April–May 2024 — Colin Abbott, ANZAC Days. Photography of ANZAC Day commemorations in Melbourne in 1974, 1977, 1979 and 1981, exhibited 25 April–25 May 2024.
• August–September 2024 — Michael Silver, HUMANKIND — Encounters and Portraits. A retrospective of Silver’s portrait and street work across his career, run concurrently as a fundraiser for Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre during his treatment.
• November 2024 — Nicholas Walton-Healey, Tarntipi. A photographic exhibition at MAGNET arising from Walton-Healey’s nine-year collaboration with Tiwi Elder Teddy (Edward) Portaminni on Bathurst Island. Teddy and his wife Teresia attended the opening through the support of Tarntipi Homelands Aboriginal Corporation. The exhibition extended to a maquette of a co-authored publication and a workshop on cross-cultural communication strategies.
• April–May 2025 — Beyond the Basement. A tribute to students of Prahran College’s photography program who studied under Athol Shmith, John Cato, and Paul Cox during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s — photographers now in their 60s to 80s but still practising. Run concurrently with The Basement at the Museum of Australian Photography.
• June–July 2025 — Rudiger Wasser, Junkspace & Embraced by Light (two simultaneous exhibitions). Opening night 13 June 2025.
• September 2025 — Bill McAuley, Last Light on Victoria Dock 1999. A photographic record of the Docklands area at the turn of the 21st century, before its development.
• October–November 2025 — Mark Misic, Rain Shadow. Images described as illusory and mundane, provoking the imagination.
• November 2025 — Paul J Ryan, Spirit and Place. Photographs from the 1980s and 1990s — life along the old Route 66 through outback Queensland.
• January–February 2026 — 10 Years of MAGNET. A full-gallery display of exhibition posters celebrating the first ten years of MAGNET Galleries, 6 January–7 February 2026.
• February–March 2026 — Likeness (16th annual women photographers’ IWD exhibition).