Waratah Lahy awarded Australia Council grant

Dr Waratah Lahy, of the ANU School of Art, has been awarded an Australia Council grant to undertake a residency in Paris.

Waratah will research in museums, galleries, libraries and popular tourist sites to explore the history of souvenirs and souvenir paraphernalia in Paris. This research will focus on souvenirs that idealise physical and emotional aspects of popular culture as well as those that incorporate the use of materials which contributes to their symbolic and sentimental value.

I am particularly interested in the way in which the construction of the Eiffel Tower heralded a fascination with ‘big things’ which has continued through the decades and has resonance throughout many countries including our own, says Waratah.

"The primary souvenir that I will research is the snowdome which appears to have orginated in France in the 1870’s," she says.

"My fascination with snowdomes relates to the way in which they function as a space of imagining: looking into a snowdome requires the viewer to imagine themselves within the confines of that space – an imagined world, silent and separate from our own."

The outcome of this research for Waratah will be to create drawings, paintings and other objects.

The Australia Council offers a range of grants to assist Australian artists and arts organisations, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts, community partnerships, dance, inter-arts, literature, music, theatre and visual arts.

Find out more about the Australia Council grants.