ACUADS Newsletter

June – July 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 will meet at the VCA (Melbourne) on Mon 30 June 2003. Victorian members are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to ACUADS@anu.edu.au.

Agenda items will include:

• Foundation Studies Benchmarking project
• ACUADS – 2003 Annual conference and Seminar program
• Awarding of 2002 ACUADS Fellowship to Lenton Parr
• ACUADS Distinguished Teaching Awards.

A report on this meeting will be included in the next newsletter.

2. Welcome to New Members of ACUADS

Following the last meeting of the ACUADS Executive, the National Art School, Canberra Institute of Technology and Adelaide Institute of Technology have all joined ACUADS. The Chair extends a welcome to these new members.

3. ACUADS 2003 Annual Conference – Update

Survey: Current art & design research and practice within Australian tertiary art and design schools

Extended Deadlines:
Refereed papers – 30 June 2003
Non-refereed papers– 30 July 2003

Registrations are now open and a registration form is attached to the end of this newsletter. Early registrations receive an 'early bird' discount!

There has been an excellent response to the Call for Papers for this year’s conference and organisers have received some 55 abstracts representing a broad mix of staff and RHD students from a good cross-section of institutions. Organisers are currently in the process of appointing the peer review panels to referee the papers. So far only 19 colleagues have indicated that they are prepared to referee a potential 55 papers. This, along with the extended deadlines, means that organisers cannot accept papers for refereeing after 5pm Monday June 30th. Any papers received after this date can be included in the conference but will not be refereed. The closing date for non-refereed papers is Wednesday July 30. Organisers would appropriate assistance from members who may be asked to act as expert referees for conference papers.

The general themes that have become evident from the abstracts are: Art & Design Education; Museums, Galleries, Exhibitions and Curating: Public Art, Art Practice; Place and Nature; and Art History and Analysis. Organisers are currently finalising keynote speakers and will advise details in the next newsletter.

An excursion program is being organised to coincide with the conference and provide attendees with the opportunity to visit sites outside Hobart. Accommodation details, including billets, are also being finalised and will be advised shortly.

Submission of abstracts and papers
If sending an abstract and paper for consideration please use the following guidelines:

• Abstracts should be no longer than 200-250 words.
• When submitting your paper and abstract please include a 200-word summary of your professional background, including details of your current position, title, role, key responsibilities and institution.
• The length for final papers is 3000 words.
• Papers will be double blind refereed.
• Subject to costs and workload (and permission and copyright clearance), papers may be published on-line with images. Images can be included, sent as jpegs of no less than 250 dpi on CD-ROM. The copyright status of the images should also be noted.
• Abstracts and papers should be sent as Word documents to Conference Coordinator, Yvette Watt ywatt@utas.edu.au.

Timeline
Finished papers and abstracts should be returned by 30 June at the latest.
They will be circulated to referees by 4 July.
Referees will have their reports back by 4 August.
Revisions must be completed an papers resubmitted by 31 August.
Program to printer by 19 September.
Program printed and returned by 26 September.

2003 ACUADS Conference organising committee
Noel Frankham: Conference Convenor, Noel.Frankham@utas.edu.au
Yvette Watt: Conference Coordinator, Yvette.Watt@utas.edu.au
Lorraine Jenyns: Teaching & Learning Convocation, L.D.Jenyns@utas.edu.au
Jonathan Holmes: Research Convocation, Jon.Holmes@utas.edu.au

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4. Foundation Studies Benchmarking Project

Kay Lawrence has finished development of the questionnaire looking into Foundation/first year programs at university art and design schools. This has been sent to Heads of School for completion. If you have not received a copy please contact Sally Mathews on Ph 08 8302 0426 or e-mail Sally.Mathews@unisa.edu.au. Completed questionnaires can also be sent to Sally. The deadline for completion is 18 July 2003. Results of the questionnaire will be considered by the executive at its August meeting and presented at the AGM in October.

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.

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.

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7. ACUADS Publicity: Feature in The Australian

Organisation of the ACUADS feature in The Australian is well underway. While the response from members has been positive, the organisers are still slightly short of the advertising quota required to run the feature. The publication of this feature will offer an important chance to profile the sector a strong representation of the sector as well as providing individual schools the chance to publicise their research activities to a national audience. Schools who have booked advertisements are also able to contribute editorial and photographs to further promote their programs. Given that advertising targets are met, the feature will be published as a pull-out tabloid section in the Higher Education section of The Australian published on Wednesday 9 July.

NAVA Free Student Affiliate Membership and Professional Practice Units

NAVA have announced a free affiliate membership for students. This will allow students to receive the NAVA newsletter, which gives details of job and exhibition opportunities, prizes, grants awards as well providing an up to date source of information on current issues effecting the visual arts and craft sector. Students can join by visiting the NAVA web site at www.visualarts.net.au, going to Quick Links and then selecting Student Affiliation. A flyer is attached to this newsletter to distribute to all teaching staff to pass onto their students.

Also available for free from the NAVA web site is their newly developed Professional Practice Curriculum, a joint NAVA and ACUADS project. This covers topics such as business, taxation, marketing, money matters, OH&S, new technologes, where to be seen, public art and further study. A flyer is also attached to provide details of this valuable unit to teaching staff.

8. Call for Papers: 7th Annual Humanities Graduate Research Conference

When: 6 & 7 November 2003
Where: Curtin University of Technology, Perth

An invitation is extended to postgraduate researchers working across the disciplines of the Humanities to present work at the 7th Annual graduate research Conference. The conference focuses on community, conflict, crisis and change. Presentations may take the form of a delivered paper, poster or an exhibition or performance of creative work undertaken as a component of research. Applications should be presented as 250 word abstracts, detailing the form of the presentation, topic and proposition/argument. Guidelines for abstracts, exhibitions and performances available from Marian.Pearson@curtin.edu.au.

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9. What's On?

ACUADS Seminar Program for 2003

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

A very rewarding and instructive seminar focusing on current practice and future possibilities for on-line and distance delivery of visual arts and design courses was held at the ANU School of Art on Fri 9 May 2003. A small but very active group of participants from NSW, Qld, SA, WA and ACT listened to presentations and participated in discussions. As a result an informal e-mail group consisting of those interested in on-line and distance issues was developed. If you are interested in adding your name to the On-line/Off-Campus email group please contact the ACUADS Executive Officer at ACUADS@anu.edu.au.

Griffith University QCA: The Memorial

When: 16 August 2003  (please note amended date)

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

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.

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ART IN CONFLICT: Tensions in Art Theory and Practice

A National Postgraduate Conference will be 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. For more information please contact Uros Cvoro, uroscvoro@iprimus.com.au.

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

Prof. Penny Sparke Seminars

As 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, 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.

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.

FUSION : ANU National Institute of the Arts and Centre for Cross-Cultural Research

Symposium #3: Dif/fusions
When: 9–11 October
Where: NITA, ANU

FUSION is a year of activities at the Australian National University exploring the merging of creative practices and intellectual currents. NITA and the CCR will coordinate a series of events which will interrogate the concept of fusion. Fusion will present works that combine elements of different traditions, disciplines and world views, in literature, music, art, dance film and performance. Cultural producers and researchers will be involved in reflecting on the ramifications of fusion for both artistic practices and theoretical understandings.

For more information on FUSION events and to register for the symposium visit the web site at http://www.anu.edu.au/culture/n_activities/fusion/home.htm, e-mail fusion @anu.edu.au or phone 02 6125 2434.

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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.

10. News and Information

The Pandora Prize

All design, craft and art history and theory lecturers in Australia are invited to submit one of their undergraduate student essays for the Pandora Prize of $500. Please take note of the following:

1. The essay should be a historical or critical piece on Australian design.
2. Essays should be between 1000 to 2000 words in length.
3. Submitted essays should be written as part of course work in 2003.
4. Send as PDF or JPEG format
5. Submission date: Friday 28 November, 4pm.

Essays should be sent to your nearest contact: Kathleen.Connellan@unisa.edu.au; Denise Whitehouse: dwhitehouse@groupwise.swin.edu.au; Peter.McNeil@unsw.edu.au and Suzette Worden: S.Worden@curtin.edu.au.

ACUADS Executive Office

The 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.

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