Parragirls

Parragirls profiles the transformative artwork 'Parragirls', realised in collaboration with contemporary artists and communities since the Parragirls Memory Project began in 2012. This vividly illustrated book reveals how art can change places and perceptions in this case, the long-neglected site of Parramatta Girls Home in Western Sydney, located on the lands of the Burramattagal people of the Darug nation. Centred on the art and activism of its former residents, this is the first publication of its kind to use images and creative writing to open up the difficult spaces of an Australian former child welfare institution, one where significant abuse took place right up until its closure in 1974, as evidenced in the royal commission into child sexual abuse. The book provides a powerful insight into the legacies of forced child removal practices in Australia and is an important resource for people working with Forgotten Australians and Stolen Generations. In the wake of the royal commission into child sexual abuse, the book profiles how art can generate new ways of engaging with childhood abuse.