Carolyn Laffan

Last updated

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 for Australian 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.

Contents

Personal life

Carolyn Ann 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

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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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Carolyn Anne Laffan Death Notice – Melbourne, Victoria" . The Age . Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 "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