National Tertiary Education Union (Victoria)

"[Dean of the Faculty of the V.C.A. and Music] Professor Pretty responded by pointing out the V.C.A. no longer existed." -- "Staff, students at former V.C.A. in crisis meetings" By Robin Usher The Age May 21, 2009 The Victorian College of Arts (V.C.A.) was established in 1972, with its foundation school, the National... Gallery of Victoria Art School, accepting its first students in 1867. Now incorporating schools of Dance, Drama, Film and Television, Music and Music Theatre, Production and Puppetry, and the Visual Arts, it is Australia’s only multi-discipline practical arts school. It is a cultural institution of national importance with a prestige and reputation that is recognised across the globe. The College offers young Australian artists the chance to study in world-class facilities under the tutelage of Australia's leading arts professionals, many of whom have international reputations and represent Australian arts practice to a high degree. Together the V.C.A.'s schools have trained and nurtured the talents of several successful, world-class artist alumni (a list of but a few can be found at the bottom of this page) and each year the College receives thousands of applications both nationally and internationally. As one of the few Australian educational institutions still admitting students solely on the basis of their talent and potential as working artists, the V.C.A. offers a unique and important training ground for specialised, practical education in a wide range of the arts. Sadly now the V.C.A. is in the process of being reduced to a colonised annex of the University of Melbourne and without immediate action the V.C.A. as we know it will cease to exist. WHAT IS HAPPENING As part of the University of Melbourne’s 2010 Business Plan, the Schools of Dance, Drama and Production will be merged into the "School of Performing Arts" while the School of Film and Television has been downgraded to merely "a series of programs" with its future as yet undecided by the University. The School of Music has already been amalgamated with the University's music department as reflected in the College's recent rebranding as the V.C.A.M. while the Schools of Music Theatre and Puppetry (the only school of its kind in Australia) have seen their courses suspended from future student intake. The University of Melbourne has begun this process by retrenching many of the V.C.A.’s invaluable sessional, technical and administrative staff, all of whom have been integral to the function, curriculum and success of the school for decades. These staffing cuts, in combination with the re-allocation of resources, will dramatically increase the workload of remaining staff and seriously reduce the quality of education at the V.C.A. Without immediate action the further implementation of the “Melbourne Model” will see the remaining V.C.A. schools eventually dissolved into a narrower, academically-conventional undergraduate Fine Arts degree. Limited specialisation will exist only for post-graduate students, in much larger numbers and in expensive courses of reduced quality and length. What the V.C.A. currently offers is invaluable and unique, and its schools should be preserved, not discontinued or debased to compete with academic arts degrees already available at other Australian universities. HOW DID THIS START? In 2003, under the Higher Education Support Act 2003, the Federal Government’s reforms to higher education introduced a new model of ‘consistent’ funding for academic clusters. This reform was inclusive only of institutions of a certain number of students and above, excluding many quality, specialised colleges such as the V.C.A. who did not qualify due to their relatively small intake. Financially vulnerable, the V.C.A. aligned itself with the larger University of Melbourne, who in return promised to preserve the integrity and structure of the college. This has since proven to be a falsehood. In its desperate attempt to recapture a declining market and to fill in the black hole of its own economic mismanagement, the University of Melbourne has now become the piranha fish of tertiary institutions. Only last year (2008) it attempted to absorb the similarly structured Australian National Academy of Music (A.N.A.M.) and now it is seemingly the turn of the V.C.A. whose unique combination of academic standards and practical arts workshops evidently disturbs and challenge the University’s limited economic rationalist horizon. THE V.C.A. SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A PUBLICLY-FUNDED INVESTMENT IN OUR CULTURAL FUTURE The Victorian College of the Arts should function as a non-profit public arts education and training institution and not be held accountable to the desperate economic rationalism of a multi-national business-cum-university. It is an investment in our country’s cultural future, not a fundraising arm for the University of Melbourne. The unique schools, curriculum and standards of quality are central to this investment and should not be bastardised or streamlined to fit into a broader academic syllabus or business model that satisfies only the University of Melbourne’s bottom line. The V.C.A. stands for excellence in the world of arts. In dissolving the College for its own means the University of Melbourne is not only limiting opportunities for future students, but it is also destroying the V.C.A. legacy for students past. WHAT CAN WE DO? We would like to alert all artists and cultural organizations around the country who have drawn on bright young talent from V.C.A. graduate alumni for decades to the imminent destruction of Australia's premiere arts education institute. WE IMPLORE THE FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS TO ADEQUATELY FUND THE V.C.A. Sign the online petition In opposition, the Hon. Peter Garrett A.M. M.P. and now Federal Minister for the Arts deplored sky-rocketing HECS debts for V.C.A. students. In highlighting the importance of the V.C.A. as "a world-class institution" he declared that making students and their families pay for university cuts was "culturally and economically irresponsible" (Joint media release: VCA HECS Hikes Hit Australian Arts Hard July 6, 2005). You can help save the V.C.A. by contacting Mr. Garrett, the people listed below, as well as your local member of State and Federal parliament. Due to demand we have drafted a template letter for you to download, copy and paste (with a great many thanks to Gareth Hart, V.C.A. Post. Grad. Dance, for his contribution and assistance). But equally if not more valuable to send are your own personal stories about your experience with the V.C.A. and how the school has positively influenced either your own life and career or the lives and careers of those close to you. The Hon. Peter Garrett A.M. M.P. Federal Minister for the Arts Contact via website form PO Box 6022 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 The Hon. Julia Gillard M.P. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au PO Locked Bag 14 Werribee VIC 3030 The Hon. Lynne Kosky, M.L.A. Victorian Minister for the Arts lynne.kosky@parliament.vic.gov.au PO Box 6519 Point Cook Town Centre, Point Cook VIC 3030 The Hon. Bronwyn Pike M.L.A. Victorian Minister for Education Contact via website form 146-148 Peel Street North Melbourne VIC 3051 The Hon. Steven Ciobo M.P. Federal Liberal Shadow Minister for the Arts Contact via website form PO Box 4922 Gold Coast Mail Centre Qld 9726 The Hon. Christopher Pyne M.P. Federal Liberal Shadow Minister for Education C.Pyne.MP@aph.gov.au 429 Magill Road St Morris SA 5068 The Hon. Ted Bailleau, M.L.A. Victorian Leader of the Opposition Liberal Party and Shadow Minister for the Arts ted.baillieu@parliament.vic.gov.au 325 Camberwell Road Camberwell VIC 3124 The Hon. Peter Hall, M.L.C. Victorian Liberal Shadow Minister for Tertiary Education peter.hall@parliament.vic.gov.au PO Box 1506 Traralgon VIC 3844 Senator the Hon. Christine Milne Federal Greens Shadow Portfolio of the Arts and Education senator.milne@aph.gov.au GPO Box 896 Hobart TAS 7001 The Hon. Sue Pennicuik M.L.C. Victorian Greens Shadow Portfolio of the Arts and Education sue.pennicuik@parliament.vic.gov.au 206 Bay Street North Brighton VIC 3186 We have also drafted a letter for submission to newspapers. The Age letters@theage.com.au The Australian letters@theaustralian.com.au The Herald Sun Contact via web form The Canberra Times Contact via web form FURTHER READING Former minister fears for art college By Miki Perkins The Age May 28, 2009 V.C.A. gone in a puff of smoke By David Tiley, editor Screen Hub Barista May 26, 2009 Uni 'ripped heart out of V.C.A.' By Robin Usher The Age May 23, 2009 Staff, students at former V.C.A. in crisis meetings By Robin Usher The Age May 21, 2009 V.C.A.'s Puppetry course on the chopping block By Ben Eltham Crikey May 21, 2009 (also posted on Ben Eltham's Cultural Policy Blog) Down by the dozen Arts Bites The Age May 19, 2009 Pretty well rehearsed in reshaping the arts An interview with newly appointed Dean of "the Faculty of V.C.A. and Music" outlining the University of Melbourne's plans for the College By Robin Usher The Age April 12, 2009 We can and will save the V.C.A.! savevca@savevca.org Become a fan on Facebook for up-to-the-minute updates Join the Save V.C.A. mailing list. Enter your email address: Alumni of the V.C.A. School of Dance * Phillip Adams - Artistic Director of Balletlab * Derrick Amanatidis * Kate Denborough - Co-Artistic Director of Kage Physical Theatre * Holly Durant * Jenny Featherstone – Dance Teacher * Luke George * Rebecca Hilton - choreographer * Stephanie Lake * Prue Lang - dancer with Ballet Frankfurt * Jo Lloyd - dancer and choreographer * Carlee Mellow - Dancer/Choreogragher * Elissa Meyer-Thomas - choreographer * Sandra Parker - former Dance Works Artistic Director * Byron Perry – Dancer/Choreogragher * Harriet Ritchie * Megan Rowland * Hellen Sky - choreographer * Brooke Stamp * David Tyndall – CEO Dance House * Sol Ulbrich – Dancer / Choreographer * Gerard van Dyck - Co-Artistic Director of Kage Physical Theatre School of Drama: * Cazerine Barry * Melanie Beddie - director * Alison Bell * Sibylla Budd * Jason Clarke * Justine Clarke * Vince Colosimo * Adriano Cortese - director - Ranters Theatre * Raimondo Cortese - writer – Ranters theatre * Kim Durban - director * Marta Dusseldorp * Jack Finsterer * Angus Grant * Tom Healey * Chris Kohn - director * Isabel Lucas * Alice McConnell * Rhys Muldoon * Luke Mullins * Jonny Pasvolsky * Stephen Phillips * Hannie Rayson, actor and playwright * Damien Richardson * Simon Stone * Andrew Upton - Sydney Theatre Company co-artistic director * Julie Waddington - artistic director - Riverland Youth Theatre * Alison Whyte * Julia Zemiro * Ashley Zuckerman School of Film and Television Including graduates of the former Swinburne Film and Television School * Gillian Armstrong (director My Brilliant Career, Oscar and Lucinda, Charlotte Gray) * Julius Avery (writer/director Jerrycan Jury Prize for Short Film Winner Cannes Film Festival 2008) * Ian Baker (cinematographer Evil Angels, Queen of the Damned, Japanese Story, Evan Almighty) * Jamie Blanks (director Urban Legend, Storm Warning) * Jill Bilcock (editor Strictly Ballroom, Muriel's Wedding, Romeo + Juliet, Elizabeth, Moulin Rouge!) * Niki Caro (writer/director Sundance Film Festival Audience Award Winner 2003 Whale Rider) * Ann Darrouzet (executive producer International Emmy Award Winner for Blabber Mouth and Sticky Beak) * Andrew Dominik (director/writer Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) * Adam Elliot (Academy Award for Best Short Film (Animated) 2004 Winner for Harvie Krumpet, director/writer Mary and Max) * Paul Goldman (director Suburban Encounters, The Night We Called It a Day, Australian Rules) * John Hillcoat (director The Proposition, The Road, Ghosts of the Civil Dead) * Mark Hartley (director Not Quite Hollywood) * Glendyn Ivin (writer/director Cracker Bag Palme d'Or for Short Film Winner Cannes Film Festival 2003) * Clayton Jacobson (writer/director/editor Kenny, Kenny's World) * Richard Lowenstein (writer/director Dogs In Space, He Died With a Felafel in His Hand) * Anthony Lucas (writer/director Academy Award for Best Short Film (Animated) 2006 Nominee for The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello) * Robert Luketic (director Legally Blonde, Monster-in-law, 21) * Stuart McDonald (director Summer Heights High) * Matthew Saville (writer/director Noise, We Could Be Heroes) * Jonathan M. Shiff (producer/writer British Academy Award for Best International Children's Series Winner 1998, 1999 for Ocean Girl and Thunderstone) * Sarah Watt (director/writer Look Both Ways, My Year Without Sex) * Geoffrey Wright (director/writer Romper Stomper) School of Music Incuding graduates of the School of Music Theatre * Caroline Almonte - pianist * Cheryl Barker - opera singer * Michael Barker * Shannon Burchell * Peter Brundle - Interactive Designer * Members of The Cat Empire * Natalie Christie - opera singer * Peter Coleman-Wright - opera singer * Erin Cornell – Lead role Wicked Japan Universal Studios production * Steve Davislim - opera singer * Diana Doherty - Oboe soloist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra * Caity Fowler – Lead Role – High School Musical Australia production * Julian Gavin - opera singer * John Haddock - opera composer * Ross Hannaford – Featured Role in Wicked Australia production * Winston Hillyer – Lead role The Lion King German production * Members of the John Butler Trio * Liza Lim - composer * Christopher Lincoln - opera singer * Laura McCulloch – Lead role Cats Asian tour * Patrick Savage - Principal First Violin with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and film composer * True Live - Australian Hip-Hop/Jazz collective, performers at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games * John Wegner - opera singer * Angus Woods - opera singer * Teagan Wouters - Lead Role – High School Musical Australia production * Nicole Youl - opera singer School of Production Incuding graduates of the School of Puppetry * Penelope Bartlau - Puppeteer - Barking Spider Visual Theatre * Andrew Bell Chambers - Costume/Set Designer - Melbourne Theatre Company * Ben Cobham - Lighting Designer - Bluebottle * Kat Chan – Set+Costume Designer/Design Assistant – The Australian Ballet * Adam Gardinir - Designer - The Australian Ballet, Malthouse Theatre, OzOpera * Chloe Gestier - Stage and Production Manager - Bluebottle, Melbourne Festival * Belinda Green - Production Manager - Polyglot Puppet Theatre * Esther Hayes – Costume Designer – Melbourne Theatre Company * Darren Kowacki - Stage Manager - Malthouse Theatre * Christina Logan Bell - Costume Designer/Dresser - Opera Australia * Whitney McNamara - Assistant Stage Manager The 39 Steps Australasian Tour/Melbourne Theatre Company * Niklas Pajanti - Lighting Designer - Balletlab, Chunky Move, Company B * Wesley Portelli – Stage Manager, The 39 Steps Australasian Tour/Melbourne Theatre Company * Govin Ruben - Directorial Assistant - Colours of Malaysia * Victoria Wooley - Stage Manager - The Australian Ballet School of Visual Arts Incuding graduates of the National Gallery of Victoria Art School and Prahran College * Aby Altson * Rick Amor * John Brack * Arthur Boyd * Yvette Coppersmith - Winner Inaugural Metro 5 Art Prize 2003 * Steve Cox - painter and watercolourist * Noel Counihan * Greg Creek - Winner, Doug Moran National Portrait Prize 1996 * Kate Durham - Member of various advisory boards * Mila Faranov * Sam Fullbrook * Portia Geach * Martin Grant - fashion designer * Charles Green - artist and critic * Douglas Hall - Australian commissioner for 2009 Venice Biennale, Gallery director (Bendigo, Qld) * Kristin Headlam - Winner, Doug Moran National Portrait Prize 2000 * Louise Hearman * Bill Henson - photographer and artist * Joy Hester * Philip Hunter * Pamela Irving - artist and educator * Robert Jacks * Nicholas Jones - book sculptor * Roger Kemp - Officer of the Order of Australia * Paul Knight - 2007 Samstag scholarship recipient * Nick Managan - 2007 Samstag scholarship recipient * Fred McCubbin * Alan McCulloch - gallery director; writer; critic * Azlan McLennan - artist and activist * Lewis Miller - painter, Archibald Prize winner * Callum Morton - 2007 Venice Biennale representative * John Nixon * Sidney Nolan * Susan Norrie - 2007 Venice Biennale representative * Louise Paramor * E. Phillips Fox * Patricia Piccinini - 2003 Venice Biennale representative * Margaret Preston * Clifton Pugh * Hugh Ramsay * Tom Roberts * Sally Smart - Artist; Trustee, National Gallery of Victoria * Mark Strizic - Photographer; winner many awards * Ricky Swallow - 2005 Venice Biennale representative * Fred Williams * Marcus Wills - painter, Archibald Prize winner This is but a small and by no means complete list of V.C.A. alumni. Please email us to contribute other names or corrections to this list. savevca@savevca.org Read More