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Carolyn Laffan

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Carolyn Laffan
Born(1967-10-26)26 October 1967
Died9 April 2024(2024-04-09) (aged 56)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
OccupationCurator
Years active1990 (1990)–2024 (2024)
Known forAustralian Music Vault

Carolyn Anne Laffan (26 October 1967-9 April 2024) was an Australian curator at Arts Centre Melbourne and became Senior Curator of the Australian Music Vault from 2017.

Personal life

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Carolyn Anne Laffan was born in 1967 and grew up with two siblings.[1] With her partner Tom, she had two children.[1] While doing museum studies in 1990 she undertook a work placement at Arts Centre Melbourne.[2] In 1997 Laffan completed her Master of Arts thesis "When a boy from Alabama meets a girl from Gundagai : social dancing in Melbourne, 1942-1943" at University of Melbourne, which deals with social dancing in that city in mid-World War 2.[3] She died in 2024.[1]

Career

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Laffan began working for the Australian Performing Arts Collection at Arts Centre Melbourne in 1990.[4] Through her work as researcher and exhibition curator,[5] she presented the work of women and Australian First Nations artists,[2] such as exhibitions at the Arts Centre Corroboree: Sights and Sound of the First Australians (1994) and Hidden Desires: One Hundred Years of Victoria's Women Playwrights (1996).

Laffan also curated exhibitions on The Beatles' Australian tour,[6] The Australian Ballet,[7] and Barry Humphries.[8] She was Senior Curator of the Australian Music Vault when it opened in 2017.[4][9] Laffan was recognised for her efforts preserving Australian cultural artefacts through her work at the Australian Music Vault until her death in April 2024.[2]

Bibliography

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  • Laffan, Carolyn, "Drawn to the stage: two centuries of Australian stage design" in The Arts Centre Presents 'Drawn to the Stage' (2007). Victorian Arts Centre Trust. ISBN 978-0-9757406-8-2[10]
  • Laffan, Carolyn (curator); Marshall, Margaret (curator); Theatres of war: wartime entertainment & the Australian experience (2015). Arts Centre Melbourne.[11]
  • Tonkin, Steven; Barrand, Janine; Anderson, Margot; Laffan, Carolyn; et al. Show time: the art collection of Arts Centre Melbourne (2014). Arts Centre Melbourne. ISBN 978-0-9924935-0-9.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Carolyn Anne Laffan Death Notice – Melbourne, Victoria". The Age. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Giuffre, Liz. "Aus Music Industry Legend Carolyn Laffan Passes Away". The Music. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  3. ^ Laffan, Carolyn (1997). "When a boy from Alabama meets a girl from Gundagai: social dancing in Melbourne, 1942-1943". University of Melbourne. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Carolyn Laffan Talks About Her Time At The Australian Performing Arts Collection". 3 Kool n Deadly. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  5. ^ "On the Couch with Carolyn Laffan". Australian Arts Review. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  6. ^ Snoekstra, Anna (28 February 2014). "22 Aug 2014 - The Melbourne Review - Archived Website". Trove. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  7. ^ Lawson, Valerie (12 December 1998). "Dressing the parts". The Age. p. 5.
  8. ^ Harford, Sonia, ed. (30 October 1993). "Dragged out of the closet". The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend. p. 8.
  9. ^ Dwyer, Michael (21 August 2017). "Melbourne's Music Vault to offer a peek inside the rock'n'roll wardrobe". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  10. ^ Laffan, Carolyn; Tonkin, Steven; Marshall, Margaret; Anderson, Margot; Fisher, Tim; O'Donoghue, Catherine; Arts Centre Melbourne (2007), The Arts Centre Presents 'Drawn to the Stage', Victorian Arts Centre Trust, ISBN 978-0-9757406-8-2
  11. ^ Laffan, Carolyn; Marshall, Margaret; Arts Centre Melbourne (2015), Theatres of war: wartime entertainment & the Australian experience, Arts Centre Melbourne, retrieved 14 April 2024
  12. ^ Tonkin, Steven; Barrand, Janine; Anderson, Margot; Laffan, Carolyn; Marshall, Margaret; Williams, Megan; Arts Centre Melbourne; Victorian Arts Centre. Trust (2014), Show time: the art collection of Arts Centre Melbourne (Edition: 1,000 ed.), Arts Centre Melbourne, ISBN 978-0-9924935-0-9
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