Janet McGaw Janet McGaw i(6642127 works by)
Gender: Female
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1 Mapping ‘Place’ in Southeast Australia : Crafting a Possum Skin Cloak Janet McGaw , 2014 single work criticism
— Appears in: Craft Research , April vol. 5 no. 1 2014; 'Prior to European colonization, Aboriginal people from the southeast of Australia made cloaks from the skins of possums, a small furry marsupial. The place-stories of their country were inscribed on the back of the skins identifying their personal connection to clan and tribe. By the late twentieth century, it was thought that both the skills of making them and the knowledge of country they held had been lost. However, since the turn of this century, there has been a revival of this craft practice led by Aboriginal artists. This article will present work in progress of a creative research project with Indigenous people from southeast Australian tribal groups led by the author of this article. Each Aboriginal language group in the southeastern state of Victoria has been asked to contribute one possum skin, etched with images that represent their particular ‘country’, or clan’s lands. The ambition is to stitch them together to create a new state map. The article will consider the complex relationship between knowing and making that is evident in the practice of inscribing stories of country on possum skins and will suggest that it provides a timely critique on western mapping traditions. The article will also reflect on the nature of intercultural craft collaborations between non-Indigenous academics and traditional owners and draw connections with a larger project of decolonizing settler place-making practices.' (Publication abstract)
1 Discovering Lost Voices : The British Drama League Archive and Amateur Dramatic Societies in New South Wales Regional Communities Janet McGaw , 2013 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , April no. 62 2013; (p. 100-112, 223.)

'Amateur dramatic societies have existed in Australian country towns since the 1850s, making a valuable contribution to the social and cultural life of the communities they serve. Two of their most important functions are to provide live theatre where there would otherwise be none and to create opportunities for ordinary people to be involved in the many aspects of theatre. However, their collective significance has not been fully recognised, possibly because the difficulties of accessing primary sources scattered over vast distances are considerable. In this article, I show how it has been possible to create a framework for research into amateur dramatic societies in New South Wales regional communities between 1945 and 1970 by referring to the archive of the British Drama League, a semi-voluntary organisation established in Sydney in 1937 that acted as a coordinating body for amateur theatre until its demise in 1976. The League has faded into obscurity, but its remnants tell us a great deal about amateur theatre locally, nationally and internationally during the period of its existence.' (Author's introduction)
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