Lee Darroch – Kangaroo skin armbands © The Artist – Photo courtesy The Artist
As part of exhibition “Scratching the surface” the Alliance Française de Sydney is hosting a very special event: a possum skin armband workshop with renowned Aboriginal artist and cultural revival leader Lee Darroch.
Learn from Lee Darroch how to make your own wristband using possum skin and traditional techniques.
Possum skin is an essential material in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander craft. Possum skin armbands, like the more well-known possum skin cloaks, hold deep cultural significance for Aboriginal people.
Lee Darroch is a Yorta Yorta, Mutti Mutti, Boon Wurrong woman. She is a renowned visual artist and leader of the cultural revival of traditional cultural practices across South-eastern Australia in particular possum skin cloak making, feather work and coiled basketry. Lee has worked for the past 28 years in Aboriginal community based organisations and is currently Program Coordinator of Banmirra Arts, where she delivers possum cloak workshops across the South-east of Australia.
This workshop is suitable for adults and children, with children under 12 accompanied by an adult.
Venue: Alliance Francaise de Sydney
Date: Tuesday 27 September
Time: (12pm for) 12.30 pm – 13.30 pm
Prices:
Charges apply
10% discount AF members and students
Free for children accompanying their parents
All materials supplied.
To register: click here
Lee Darroch wearing possum cloak with Lyrebird songline painting – Photo Courtesy ABC – Photographer Clare Rawlinson 2016
SOURCES: Lee Darroch, Alliance Française de Sydney
Possum skin disclaimer
Possums were traditionally used by Aboriginal people as a natural resource for a number of purposes, including material for clothing. In Australia today possum species are protected under the provision of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. The possum skins used for this program were ethically sourced from New Zealand where the culling of possums and overall treatment of the animal are regulated by the New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals.
Indigenous design disclaimer
We respect that styles of Aboriginal art and design are part of Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP). ICIP refers to all the rights that Indigenous people have to protect their traditional arts and culture against cultural and copyright infringement. Our facilitators will guide participants in design if they feel participants are encroaching on this ICIP. More information on ICIP can be found online on the Artists in the Black website (founded by the Arts Law Centre of Australia). More information on Protocols Specific to Indigenous Visual Arts can be found online on the National Association for the Visual Arts website.