Roving Curator, Indigenous Cultures Department, Museum Victoria
Lorraine Coutts has worked for the past 16 years in cultural heritage for cultural institutions, in particular the National Museum of Australia and Museum Victoria. Coutts's past professional practise has been in the curatorial field; developing exhibitions, public programs, acquiring and researching new acquisitions. She was part of a team of professionals who developed and delivered indoor and outdoor exhibitions at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Centre at Melbourne Museum.
Coutts currently works as the Roving Curator at Museum Victoria and has been working in this role for the past 5 years. As Roving Curator, Coutts curates community collections and her work entails travelling to Aboriginal communities throughout Victoria, assisting them with their collection and exhibition needs. She develops and conducts professional development training for Aboriginal people working in cultural centres and keeping places. Coutts draws upon her own expertise and the expertise of museum staff to assist her with the professional development workshops.
The most rewarding aspect of her work has been the development and delivery of cultural workshops, in a number of cultural practices for interested indigenous people. Coutts achievements include the development and delivery of workshops in south-eastern jewellery, etchings/prints; making possum skin cloaks and weaving.
Lorraine Coutts draws upon the Museum Victoria collection which provides inspiration for Aboriginal participants at the workshops. The workshops also provide established artists or emerging artists an opportunity to develop their skills and more importantly reconnect with their own culturally significant objects.
See also: Abstract of Lorraine Coutts's paper:
Reclaiming culture (in south-eastern Australia)
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