ACUADS Newsletter

April – May 2003

The ACUADS newsletter is an ad hoc publication from the Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools. It aims to communicate information about activities of the Council Executive, research interests, and events and activities related to the visual art and design sector. Items for inclusion in the ACUADS newsletter can be sent to Alison Munro, the Executive Officer, at ACUADS@anu.edu.au.

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1. ACUADS Executive Meeting

The ACUADS Executive met at the ANU School of Art, Canberra, on Thu 13 March 2003.

Agenda items included:

• A report from Prof Sue Rowley of the ARC regarding the ARC Stocktake of Humanities and Creative Arts Research (see next item)
• AVCC Audit Report
• Foundation Studies Benchmarking project
• ACUADS – 2003 Annual conference and Seminar program
• Awarding of 2003 ACUADS Fellowship to Betty Churcher
• ACUADS Distinguished Teaching Awards
• The next meeting of the Executive will be held at the VCA, Melbourne, on 30 June 2003.

2. ARC Stocktake of Humanities and Creative Arts Research

Professor Sue Rowley, Director of the ARC Humanities and Creative Arts Program, attended the March meeting of the ACUADS Executive and commented on the following:

• The ARC Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA) stocktake announced late last year will review research performance at the national level, benchmarked against international best practice. The result of the stocktake will be a better understanding of research outcomes and impacts on the economic, social and cultural benefits for Australian research in the HCA disciplines. The objectives of the stocktake are to:

• Establish appropriate performance indicators for the Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA) discipline cluster;
• Identify strengths and opportunities for HCA research in Australia;
• Develop appropriate benchmarks for HCA research in Australia; and
• Assess the strengths of international linkages and participation in international research networks.

• Key academics, research leaders and institutions had been contacted inviting submissions. The Committee agreed that ACUADS would prepare a submission.

• The Committee again noted the Federal Government’s research priorities for 2003/2004, which are:

• An Environmentally Sustainable Australia;
• Promoting and Maintaining Good Health;
• Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries;
• Safeguarding Australia.

• The Committee observed that the priorities provided no real avenue for humanities and creative arts, except that digital media would be included in the Frontier technologies category, a welcome ARC initiative.

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3. ACUADS 2003 Annual Conference – Call for Papers

Survey: Current art and design research and practice within Australian tertiary art and design schools
Venue: Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasmania, Centre for the Arts, Hunter Street, Sullivans Cove, Hobart
Dates: 1 – 4 October 2003
Professional Convocation: 1 October 2003
Conference: 2 – 4 October 2003
ACUADS AGM: 4 October 2003

NB: The week selected for the conference is the 2003 AVCC University "Common Week".

Call for Papers Key Dates:

30 April 2003 Closing Date for Abstracts (non-refereed)
Abstracts can be submitted by this date by those who don’t wish to have their paper refereed.
Please note that the deadline was 31 March for those requiring their papers to be formally refereed. Enquiries to Noel.Frankham@utas.edu.au
31 May 2003 Closing Date for receipt of papers for refereeing
31 July 2003 Final Closing Date for receipt of completed papers
Includes papers revised following referee reports and for those papers that do not require refereeing.

Introduction
Rather than set a theme for the 2003 conference, the 2002 AGM agreed to let the conference content be set by the current interests of Australia’s art, craft and design practitioners, historians and theorists. We also acknowledged that not all art/design school-based art, craft and design practice meets the criteria of formal academic research, and that our recent conferences have tended to privilege traditional academic research over traditional creative practice. The 2003 conference aims to include the full range of practices.

Abstracts
Therefore, this call for papers is an open invitation, we just want to know what you’re working on. Please send abstracts of no more than 500 words. These will be considered by the conference committee to determine their place within the conference program. Proposers should indicate within the covering email whether they would like to have their paper formally refereed. The conference program and sessions will be developed accordingly.
We are hoping that this process will open up the conference more effectively to artists, craftspeople and designers working within tertiary institutions as well as to other academic researchers who often find that ‘themed’ conferences tend to be exclusive.

Refereeing
Following acceptance of abstracts, people who indicated that they’d like their paper to be refereed will be invited to prepare their full papers for formal double blind refereeing by peers. Referees will advise the committee on how best to accommodate the proposed papers within the conference: by either approving them for presentation and publication, or just for presentation, depending on the nature and intent of the paper.

Convocation 1 October 2003
The 2000 ACUADS conference initiative of informal meetings and workshops has been continued at each subsequent conference, becoming an established and valued component of the event. The 2003 pre-conference day will focus on three areas of interest: research, teaching and learning and art and design school management. The research component will be an opportunity for academics to discuss proposals under development, e.g., where funding has not yet been secured but where there may be opportunities to strengthen applications by workshopping ideas and perhaps drawing together collaborative teams from other schools. The teaching and learning sessions will provide opportunities for sharing information about new courses and subjects, administration and policy and for discussing issues of concern. The management sessions will provide opportunities for school administrators and heads of school to discuss issues and opportunities of mutual concern.

Students
Research Higher Degree student participation (papers and attendance) in our 2003 conference is encouraged. Please ensure that this invitation is extended to RHD students within your institution.

Exhibitions
We have paved the way for a limited number of exhibitions of work, discussed within the conference program, to be presented in a range of galleries and spaces within the school and city during the period of the conference. There is no funding available to support exhibitions, however, if the artists and designers concerned are able to get work to Hobart, exhibitions are possible. The intention here is to make stronger connections between the ideas discussed at the conference and the art and design work created around them – something of a return to the actual practice, to the core business of making and presenting art and design work. More details will follow about this opportunity, however, if you’re interested and want to find out more, call Noel Frankham or Yvette Watt on 03 6226 4300.

Registration
Details of how to register will be provided in the next conference update.
Please note that the viability of our conference depends on your participation. Please try and break the pattern of late registrations by taking advantage of the early bird rate. It is very difficult for our conference organisers if registrations are left to the last minute. Recent ACUADS conference programs have suffered unnecessary deletions (particularly of social events and special functions) due to apparent lack of numbers, only to find that actual attendances were sufficient to have included the activity. Your timely registration will improve the quality of your conference experience.

Travel and Accommodation
We will advise of our conference accommodation options in the next update. We will endeavour to secure good rates with airlines and the ferry, and to provide accommodation opportunities from billets to five star hotels and apartments.

Web Page
We will attempt to repeat the 2000 conference arrangements by facilitating on-line registration, or at least providing the registration form electronically.

Noel Frankham, Conference Committee Chair and Yvette Watt, Conference Co-ordinator,
(ph) 03 6226 4300.

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4. Foundation Studies Benchmarking Project

At the recent Executive meeting Kay Lawrence (UniSA) reported that she has begun development of the questionnaire to be used in the survey of current practice in relation to ‘foundation’ studies or those units within their program aiming to introduce students to a degree course. Kay will be assisted by Noel Frankham (University of Tasmania, Hobart), and the questionnaire will be circulated to Heads of School as soon as possible.

Issues to be addressed will include:

• whether a School includes an introductory unit/s in its degree program;
• name of unit/s;
• duration;
• course structure;
• staffing levels, including details of coordinator’s position;
• progression issues e.g. mandatory completion;
• arrangements for advanced standing (status) or articulation from other courses;
• inclusion of extra-curricular components/enrichment activities;
• resourcing;
• nomination of contact person within school for follow-up.

The Executive is planning to report on the project at the Hobart Conference.

5. ACUADS Distinguished Teaching Awards

Plans are underway for the ACUADS Distinguished Teaching Awards to be included as part of this year’s program of activities. The Executive recently agreed on criteria for the awards which will recognize sustained excellence in teaching in the visual arts, craft and design tertiary education sector. Heads of School will be contacted shortly to discuss the implementation of the scheme, and nominations will be called for following the June 30 Executive meeting. It is planned that the deadline for nominations will be mid-August, and awards presented at the AGM/Annual conference in October. For more details contact Ted Snell at t.snell@curtin.edu.au.

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6. ACUADS 2004 Seminar program

Conferences and seminars are now being considered for inclusion and funding within the 2004 ACUADS Seminar Program. Funding of up to $500 per seminar is available at the discretion of the Executive Committee. Projects which do not receive funding are still eligible for publicity via the ACUADS newsletter.

Heads of Schools should send details of their Seminar/Conference proposal to the Executive Officer ACUADS@anu.edu.au, outlining theme of seminar, name of contact person, proposed dates etc. Proposals received before 20 June 2003 will be considered for funding by the Executive at the meeting of 30 June 2003 and notified shortly afterwards. Please note that funding for projects may be limited and Heads of School are encouraged to submit proposals as soon as possible.

7. ACUADS Publicity: Feature in The Australian

At the recent meeting of the ACUADS Executive, Chair David Williams reported that he had been in communication with the Features Editor of The Australian, and the Committee decided to again pursue a feature section in The Australian in July 2003.

As with previous issues of this feature, participation will be dependent upon adequate support from members via advertising. Rates for advertisements will be circulated to members in late April. Members will also be encouraged to contribute articles for consideration as editorial noting that the final editorial decisions lay with the staff at The Australian. It was agreed that any articles contributed by members should focus on ‘human interest’ stories, and images should be high-resolution digital files or transparencies, featuring staff/students with their art works rather than just documentation of art works.

ACUADS was recently featured in an article in Study Asia, a UK publication focusing on tertiary study opportunities in the Asia/Pacific region.

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8. What's On?

ACUADS Seminar Program for 2003

ANU School of Art: On-line& Off-campus

When: 9 May 2003

Registrations are being taken for a one-day seminar surveying current practice and future directions in distance and on-line delivery of tertiary art and design education. An opportunity to explore potential for undergraduate and graduate level study, professional development for practicing artists, approaches to outreach activities and new student markets. Technology, methodology, credibility, assessment, accreditation, supervision, and internationalisation are all issues to be discussed. For registrations or more information please contact Alison.Munro (e) alison.munro@anu.edu.au.

Ballarat Arts Academy: TAFE and Higher Education Interface in Visual/Creative Arts

When: October 2003

Hosted by the Arts Academy, University of Ballarat.

For more information contact Allan Mann on (ph) 03 5327 8603, or (e) a.mann@ballarat.edu.au.

Griffith University QCA: The Memorial

When: 22 and 23 August 2003

The seminar addressing the contemporary roles of public memorial sculpture and architecture. Topics for discussion will include artistic and theoretical issues, public policy and commissioning/construction considerations. Speakers and participants will include - some yet to be confirmed - Janet Laurence (Artist - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Canberra & Australian War Memorial, London), Sam Di Mauro (Artist - Childers Backpackers Memorial, Queensland), Tim Hill (Architect - Donovan Hill, Brisbane), John Stafford (Director, Public Art Agency, Arts Queensland) and numerous others.

Further details in due course - information is available from Paul Jolly at QCA (e) p.jolly@gu.edu.au.

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Opening Pandora’s Paint box: Research into design history and theory in Australia

Prof. Penny Sparke Seminars

Renowned design historian Professor Penny Sparke, Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and Music at Kingston University, Surrey, U.K., will visit Australia in November 2003 to address forums in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Prof. Sparke’s visit is part of Opening Pandora’s Paint box: Research into design History and Theory in Australia, the national benchmarking research project undertaken by the South Australian School of Art at the University of South Australia.

The forums aim to investigate the role of the design historian in the context of public design and to position design history in Australia within an international context. Issues of interest in both papers and panel discussions will include: the design historian as public commentator; gender and design; design history in the academies; design history for practitioners; issues of heritage and identity. The forums will be attended and addressed by representatives of the design industry as well as academics in the field of design history and theory. Case studies will be presented at the beginning of the afternoon panel discussions.

Precise dates and venues are to be confirmed but preliminary dates for the forums are between 18th and 29th of November. More detailed information can be obtained in October from Kathleen Connellan: Kathleen.Connellan@unisa.edu.au or (ph) 08 8302 0355.

The Pandora Prize
A national design history and theory essay prize of $500.00 will be awarded for an undergraduate student essay submitted in Semester 2 of 2003. Each university may submit one essay; this should be done via the course co-ordinator and addressed to:

Kathleen.Connellan@unisa.edu.au for SA, NT and ACT;
Denise Whitehouse: dwhitehouse@groupwise.swin.edu.au for VIC;
Peter.McNeil@unsw.edu.au for NSW;
Suzette.Worden: S.Worden@curtin.edu.au for WA.

Entries should not exceed 2000 words and must be submitted by 30 October 2003. The topic must fall within the auspices of design.

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Art in Conflict: Tensions in Art Theory and Practice

A National Postgraduate Conference convened by students in the School of Art History and Theory, College of Fine Arts, UNSW in association with the Centre for Contemporary Arts and Politics. The conference will take place on 25 July, at the College of Fine Arts. There will be 2 panel sessions and opportunities to present longer papers.

Call for Papers
With an eye to current conflict at both the national and international levels, we have chosen the broad theme of 'Art in Conflict' as a space to address a range of artistic and theoretical tensions. Abstracts are now being considered for short panel position statements and for longer papers (approximately 2500 word length). Your abstract should address the broad theme of the conference and could include, but is not limited to: tensions between art theory/practice, global/local, centre/periphery, memory/history, virtual/real, analog/digital, oral/written, art/craft etc. In your abstract you should clearly outline your position and what area you intend to focus on in your paper. We welcome submissions from both artists and theorists.

• Abstract length: 250 words with title, including contact details (telephone numbers, address, related institutions)
• Due date for abstract submission: May 16, 2003
• Acknowledgement of acceptance: May 31, 2003

Please send abstracts in the body of e-mail messages only to: Uros Cvoro, uroscvoro@iprimus.com.au.

Phone inquiries can be directed to: Anna Munster, Postgraduate Coordinator, School of Art History and Theory, (02) 9385 0741.

CREATE.ED 2003 Conference at RMIT

The Faculty of Art, Design and Communication at RMIT University is hosting CREATE.ED 2003, a major, refereed conference in Melbourne on 3 October 2003. The conference will focus on teaching and learning in creative industries, and will allow participants to network, debate and listen to conference sessions dealing with e-learning and the application of new technologies to the teaching of creative disciplines.

More information on the conference is available at the CREATE.ED web site: http://www.rmit.edu.au/adc/create-ed or by contacting Laurie Armstrong on (ph)03 9925 3923 or (e) laurie/Armstrong@rmit.edu.au.

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International Design Forum 2003

7–9 May 2003, Suntec Singapore

A comprehensive conference program of international designers and academics from product, interior, graphic and communication design disciplines. Speakers include Lee Green, Director, Corporate Identity and Design, IBM (USA) • Lars Engman, Design Director, Ikea (Sweden) • Ron Sim, Chairman & CEO, Osim International (Singapore) • Richard Buchanan, Professor, School of Design, Carnegie Mellon University (USA) • Laura Taylor, Innovation Manager, Philips Design (The Netherlands) • Sara Little Turnbull, Director-The Process of Change, Innovation & Design, Stanford University (USA) • John Sorrell, ex-Chairman, The UK Design Council; Founder, Sorrell Foundation (UK) • Terry Tyrrell, Chairman, Enterprise IG Europe.

The conference program will be supported by exhibitions and trade displays. For more information visit the IDF web site at www.intldesignforum.com or contact Kalai on (ph) +65 6780 46753 or e-mail kalai@reedexpo.com.sg.

9. News and Information

ACUADS Executive Office

The new e-mail address for the ACUADS executive office is ACUADS@anu.edu.au. The postal address is ACUADS C/- School of Art, The Australian National University, ACT, 0200.
Telephone enquiries can be directed to (02) 6125 3970 or (02) 6125 5805. Please note that the office is staffed for around 7 hours per week and e-mail enquiries may be the most efficient method of making contact with the Executive Officer.

Update of ACUADS Web Site

At the recent meeting of the Executive on 13 March, the Committee approved the Executive Officer’s designs and plans for an update to the ACUADS web site. The new site will be on-line as soon as possible.

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