ACUADS Newsletter

January – March 2005

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.

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1. ACUADS Executive Meeting

The ACUADS executive meeting held at the VCA on 17 December 2004 considered the following agenda items:

• Chair’s Report
• NAVA Research Project – Destination Survey
• Membership
• ACUADS newsletter and web site

Chair’s Report
The new Chairperson, Associate Professor Su Baker, spoke to her report, suggesting a number of key themes be addressed. Issues discussed included ACUADS role definition and a reflection of sector diversity, increasing support funding possibilities, and a greater focus on communication particularly through the web medium and a coordinated press campaign. Honours benchmarking was also addressed. As ACUADS wishes to foster and share benchmarking material, the chair is going to investigate the status of the Honours Benchmarking Project.

"In taking up the Chair I wish to acknowledge the leadership that ACUADS has received from David Williams. As I was unable to record my thanks in Canberra, I would like to affirm the Council’s strength and purpose as a testimony to his clear and generous leadership over the years of his tenure in the Chair. Over many of these years he has also acted as Treasurer and this has provided a secure framework for building the organization. I am also delighted that he is prepared to continue as Treasurer and management of membership."

Twin challenges
With the return of the Howard government in 2004, moving into 2005 sees the continuation of the Nelson program for the Higher Education sector. As the leadership group for art and design tertiary education, ACUADS faces the twin challenges of, firstly, the increasingly diverse Higher Education sector and secondly, the changing and expanding nature of the art and design discipline. The role of ACUADS is to support its membership and actively participate in shaping debate and influencing outcomes. Through being an active member of CHASS we will have the opportunity to significantly contribute to the strategic approach needed to influence the inevitable changes in our favour. With this in mind it might be timely to examine the current constitutional framework of ACUADS and in the face of a broader and more diverse membership, apply renewed definition to the mission and purpose of the Council.

ACUADS membership
The anticipated changes in the Higher Education sector over the next few years will require ACUADS to be clearer about its representative function. This can be achieved through the annual conference and seminar programs as these open up debates, such as where the increasingly porous boundaries of the discipline of art and design properly belong. Current definitions of the Creative Arts increasingly include forms of academic and artistic practice that are not traditionally part of the ACUADS brief, such as performing arts, film, digital technologies and others. In addition, the industry focus of the design discipline gives less purpose to identify with the mission of ACUADS.

New Zealand memberships
Approaches have been made to re-connect with our New Zealand colleagues and we should proactively encourage membership links. Several of us have recently been in discussion with a number of people and there is a commitment from Professor Sharman Pretty form University of Auckland to host the conference in Auckland in 2007. We will establish these membership links to enable active dialogue and full inclusion in ACUADS activities. The larger community will be of strategic advantage for ACUADS as well as collegial benefits for its own sake. The question may arise whether a change of name to "Australasian ACUADS" needs to be considered at the forthcoming AGM.

Advocacy
In the face of increasingly sophisticated communication cultures, we need to make increased use of public forums to advance our lobbying capacity, influence opinion and decisions that affect our members. It may be useful to select 2 or 3 issues that we can run as themes, as we have begun to do, and to continue with a coordinated and opportunistic approach to making our views more broadly known and understood.

Research activity database
Another important project to continue is the establishment of the research activity database. We need to be ready with a sound knowledge of our sector when the planned review of the RTS occurs. We could engage in conversations with our NZ colleagues on this matter as they have had a system in place for a number of years that has some benefits for our sector, as does the UK and Canadian systems. We have begun by establishing a mailing list of the post graduate and research co-ordinators in each member School or Faculty.

The Executive looks forward to working with the Western Australian colleagues in advance of the annual conference in September 2005.

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2. ACUADS 2005 Annual Conference

Theme: Art, Education and Communities
Dates: 28, 29, 30 September 2005
Where: Edith Cowan University, Perth

The School of Contemporary Arts at Edith Cowan University in Perth will be hosting the 2005 ACUADS Conference, with the collaboration of UWA, Curtin University and Central TAFE.

The theme for this year’s conference focuses on the relationship between artists and communities, and its impact on art education.

STOP PRESS: CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

This is the first call for abstracts and the guidelines for papers are described below. Referees for papers are also urgently required. The deadline for both referees and papers is June 30. Please respond generously!

Update for ACUADS 2005 Annual Conference, Perth. Conference enquiries can be directed to the Conference Convenor, Professor Domenico De Clario at d.declario@ecu.edu.au or see the ACUADS web site for details.

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3. CHASS

CHASS welcomes PMSEIC appointment (media release)
1 March 2005

CHASS today (Wednesday) welcomed the appointment of a humanities specialist to the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC).

Professor Iain McCalman, former President of the Academy of the Humanities, has been appointed to PMSEIC for three years.

Professor Malcolm Gillies, President of CHASS (the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences) hailed the appointment as historic. He said that Iain McCalman will make an outstanding member of PMSEIC.

"He's a world-class historian with a popular touch," he said. "Iain McCalman has written books and TV scripts, and took part in a televised re-enactment of Cook's voyages to Australia . "He will be a breath of fresh air in discussions at PMSEIC."

Professor McCalman will join the Prime Minister, eight other Cabinet Ministers, and 16 non-politicians on Council. Most of the non-politicians are appointed as Presidents of their organisations. Professor Gillies said the appointment was welcome recognition that people from the humanities had a role to play in the national innovation system.

"PMSEIC has been dominated by science and engineering until now, and perhaps this is understandable," Professor Gillies said.

"But the middle name of the Council is "Innovation". The role that other disciplines play in the innovation process has tended to be overlooked.

"There is a growing recognition that the humanities - in conjunction with the arts and social sciences - are important partners in this process," he said. "CHASS will continue to press for the ex officio appointments from non-science disciplines."

Iain McCalman has been appointed in a personal capacity.

Professor Gillies said that CHASS had nearly completed a report documenting the commercial experiences of researchers in the humanities, arts and social sciences, that shows the value of their work. The report will be released soon.

For more important news check the CHASS web site http://www.chass.org.au/.

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Measuring the quality and impact of research (media release)
12 January 2005

University researchers from across Australia are to be asked to help in a new national study to identify the best and most productive research in the humanities, arts and social sciences. The study is being conducted by CHASS (the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences), and funded by the Department of Education, Science and Training.

CHASS President Professor Malcolm Gillies expects the study to have major implications for the way research in the humanities, arts and social sciences (HASS) is funded. He said Australia needs a new mechanism to identify the quality of HASS research and the impact it has on Australian life.

"Our researchers do great work, but they get frustrated when it doesn't count under the existing formulas used by funding agencies," he said. “The problem is that until now, research work is measured using yardsticks not well attuned to what humanists, social scientists and artists actually produce as a result of their research. It's an issue all over the world, not just in Australia."

Typically a researcher's work is measured by counting their journal publication rate and the number of times their colleagues refer to (or "cite") an article in their own journal-based publications.

"The more publications and the more citations, the better," Professor Gillies said. "Research funds flow to those with a good track record. But it's a blunt instrument, not capable of sifting through the diverse outputs of the HASS sector and identifying the best and most influential research in the humanities, arts and social sciences." He said that different researchers produce different products. "Some write books and papers, others contribute ideas at conferences," he said. "There is also the largely unexplored world of researchers working in music, art and performance, and the equally unexplored area of contributions to public policy."

The aim of the project is to develop a new set of measures which will pick up a variety of different research outputs, and help funding agencies identify the best.

Submissions are being called for at http://www.chass.org.au/policy/docs/five.htm.

STOP PRESS: ACUADS IS MAKING A SUBMISSION

Consultation is being undertaken and the final draft will be posted on the web site when complete. This should form the basis for further discussion within the sector both at local School and Faculty level and as a national debate of importance to the profession.

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4. ACUADS Awards

ACUADS Distinguished Teaching Awards

Purpose of the Awards
The ACUADS Distinguished Teaching Awards were introduced in 2003. They recognize outstanding teaching careers in art and design education, and represent an opportunity for national publicity and promotion of the work with undergraduate and graduate students in Australia ’s Art & Design Schools.

The Process
Heads of Schools are invited to nominate an outstanding candidate from their School setting out a brief rationale for the nomination and supported by at least one referee from outside the School. The ACUADS Executive envisages up to three candidates might be successful in any one year. The Executive will assess all nominations against the stated criteria and also reserves the right to make a nomination(s). The nomination from the Head of School should comprise a statement addressing the criteria as to why the candidate should be acknowledged (no more than one page) a CV, and a short summary (100 words) which could be adapted as the citation.

Selection Criteria

• Consistent excellence in teaching and proven commitment to the visual arts, crafts or design over a sustained period
• Demonstrated ability to enthuse and mentor students to maintain a successful professional career as an artist, craft worker, designer, critic, writer etc.
• Innovative approach to teaching and communication
• Recognized successful professional artistic or scholarly achievement.

Applications Closing Date: July 31st 2005. Send to: acuads@vca.unimelb.edu.au.

Awards announced at the ACUADS AGM September 2005.

ACUADS Distinguished Research Awards

Purpose of the Awards
The ACUADS Distinguished Research Awards recognize a distinguished career in significant research achievements and in the co-ordination, supervision, mentoring and/or examination of higher degree art and design research students. The Distinguished Research Awards also represent an opportunity for national publicity and promotion of the work of Australia ’s Art & Design Schools in the University sector.

The Process
The Award will consist of a citation and presentation at the ACUADS AGM. Heads of Schools are invited to nominate candidates with at least one referee from outside the School (possibly a collaborator or a colleague from another university).

The Council envisages that up to three awards may be made in any one year for sustained and consistent contribution to research in the visual arts, crafts and design sector.

The ACUADS Executive will assess all nominations against the stated criteria, but also reserves the right to make an appropriate nomination for distinguished service.

The nomination should comprise the candidate’s CV, a statement as to why she/he should be acknowledged (no more than a page) and a draft citation with no more than 100 words explaining how the candidate has successfully met the criteria.

Criteria

1. Consistent excellence in research and recognized professional achievement, measured by internationally and nationally significant exhibitions, publications and/or grant success.
2. Ability to communicate with staff and mentor students within the university, fostering a research culture in visual arts, crafts and design.
3. Proven record of supervision of higher degree research students including successful completion.
4. Sustained involvement in research as program convenor, supervisor, advisor, and/or examine.
5. Exemplary record of successful leadership in and advocacy for visual arts, crafts and design research education in the University sector.

Applications Closing date: July 31st 2005. Send to: acuads@vca.unimelb.edu.au.

Awards announced at the ACUADS AGM September 2005.

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5. What’s On?

ACUADS Seminar Program

Conferences and seminars are now being considered for inclusion and funding within the 2005 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 at acuads@vca.unimelb.edu.au, outlining theme of seminar, name of contact person, proposed dates etc. Proposals received before 20 April 2005 will be considered for funding by the Executive at the meeting of 26 April 2005 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.

Hatched 05 : National Graduate Show

Where: Perth Institute of Contemporary Art
Opening: Thursday 19 May, 6-9pm
Exhibiting: 20 May – 3 July, 2005

Australia’s most recent batch of innovative and edgy visual artists goes on show for PICA’s annual Hatched exhibition. A wide range of work by sixty-one art graduates, representing twenty-one university art schools from every Australian state and territory, will converge on Perth for this national event - the largest and most prestigious survey of emerging artists in Australia.

The exhibition embraces the diversity of media and range of disciplines available to art students today, including painting, sculpture, print-making, ceramics and glass, jewellery, computer generated and electronic media, film and video as well as graphic, industrial and product design. There is a strong celebratory aspect to this exhibition, one that explores the symbiotic relationship between tertiary arts education and critical arts practice.

Hatched showcases the innovative, expressive and speculative, in tandem with practical, technical and critical skills from this new generation of Australian artists.

Hatched - Art & Education Symposium
As part of the Hatched program a symposium will be held at PICA on Saturday 21 May with national speakers discussing a range of topics impacting on the overlapping areas of contemporary arts education and practice. Registration is free.

For further information visit http://www.pica.org.au/art05/Hatched05.html

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SASA News, Events & Exhibitions

The South Australian School of Art (SASA), University of South Australia has moved into new purpose built facilities at the City West Campus. The School is now located in the City’s West End Arts Precinct consolidating its Visual Arts, Visual Communication and Post Graduate Programs on the one campus for the first time since 1995. The University will celebrate the opening of the 2 new buildings, Kaurna Building and Dorrit Black Building on Tuesday April 26, 2005.

Together, the Kaurna Building (named in honour of the traditional Indigenous owners of the land upon which this building stands) and the Dorrit Black Building (named in honour of one of our most celebrated artists and teachers) house UniSA’s South Australian School of Art and the Louis Laybourne Smith School of Architecture and Design.

To celebrate and promote SASA’s move to the new buildings the lecturing team in Visual Communication (BVC) ran a poster project in Semester 2 2004 with the theme 'The School of Art is moving'. The project involved all students from the second year of the BVC program, resulting in more than one hundred posters submitted. All the posters designed by BVC students for the project will be exhibited in the new SASA Gallery at City West from 18 February-2 April, to coincide with the start of the 2005 academic year.

This first major exhibition in the new SASA Gallery, ‘Art Year Zero’ asks thirteen artists (current & previous staff members of the School) to respond to the idea of an art history beginning anew and from scratch. Drawing references to twentieth century revolutionary groups, Roland Barthe's Writing Degree Zero, and the history of Modernism, these lecturers from the South Australian School of Art and Louis Laybourne Smith School of Architecture and Design also question the possibility of artists, architects, designers and teachers as agents of change.

Art Year Zero Exhibition

Opening: 5-7pm , Wednesday 6 April, 2005
Exhibition: 7–29 April, Tues-Fri 11am-5pm
Artists: John Barbour, Bridget Currie, Louise Haselton, Andrew Hill, Paul Hoban, Doreen Inhofer, Christian Lock, Katie Moore (see image), Jim Moss, Michael Newall, Toby Richardson, Olga Sankey, Linda Marie Walker
Curator: Andrew Best

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SASA Seminars, Symposia & Conferences

The International Glass Arts Society (GAS) will hold its 35th Annual Glass Conference in Adelaide from 7-9 May, 2005. The South Australian School of Art, Uni of SA will host the following workshops:

Harumi Yukutake workshop: Monday 25 - Friday 29 April 2005

Widely recognised for her exceptional ability to transform small and simple glass components into three-dimensional sculptures, Yukutake is renowned for her poetic and seemingly ethereal glass sculptures. A lecturer at the Toyoma City Institute of Glass, Japan , since 1997 and instructor at Pilchuck Glass School USA in 2004, Yukutake's work can be seen in public art commissions and museum collections around the world.

In this hands-on workshop students will be guided through the process of developing ideas to actualising sculptural works. Techniques such as stacking, wrapping, weaving, stitching and gluing of components will be explained. Hot, warm and cold glass facilities will be available for the development of glass components, but the workshop is open to participants from all mediums and will encourage a multimedia approach for a diverse and dynamic melding of ideas. This class will benefit participants who are looking for furthering their concept through a new approach for constructing and realising work. An inspiring and exciting opportunity not to be missed.

Along with industry partners, Jam Factory Craft & Design and numerous Galleries. Check the GAS web site today: http://www.glassart.org/Australia_2005.html.

Richard Marquis and Nick Mount: Granulare murrini workshop: Monday 2 - Friday 6 May 2005

Richard Marquis is internationally renowned for his diverse, eclectic witty glass works and compositions. In conjunction with esteemed South Australian glass artist and long time friend Nick Mount this workshop will focus on the fabrication and process of working with granulare murrini. The specialised technique of granulare murrini has been revived in contemporary glass art by the experimentation and exploration of Marquis who has utilised this technique over the last decade to produce his signature pieces. This demonstration workshop will offer a step-by-step insight over a five day period into the processes of making, preparing and fabricating works out of this ancient technique.

Adelaide-born artist Nick Mount is one of Australia's most renowned glassblower/designer. He is recognised for his charismatic teaching style and exceptional ability as a glass artist. His work reflects a strong formal approach to the execution of hot glass coupled with a non traditional approach to composition - resulting in work that is whimsical, humorous, serene and lyrical. He is widely recognised for his ‘Scent bottle’ series which capture the intrinsic qualities of glass as a medium for expression.

This workshop will benefit participants who wish to gain an intimate knowledge of murrini processes and to have the opportunity to observe close up the specialised techniques utilised by Richard Marquis and Nick Mount in the development of their work. This is a rare opportunity to be a participant in this closed workshop. Numbers are strictly limited.

Further details can be sourced via the GAS web site: http://www.glassart.org/default.html or the SA School of Art Glass Studio web site: http://www.unisa.edu.au/art/program/glass.asp#glassnews.

International Drawing Conference

The South Australian School of Art will host the International Drawing Conference: Drawing is Everything from September 21–23, 2005. Keynote speakers for the event will include: Eileen Adams and Jonathon Dady. A Call for Papers by the organising committee invites authors, researchers, practitioners, educators, students and others to submit proposals for presentations promoting aspects of the conference. Further details can be sourced via the Drawing is Everything web site: http://www.drawingiseverything.org/.

UniSA web site: http://www.unisa.edu.au/art/

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6. News and Information

Craft Australia announces Interact in hard copy

In 2004 Craft Australia created an online discussion forum on contemporary craft practice structured to function like a conference in cyberspace. Now Craft Australia has included the eight articles by leading artists and theoreticians originally presented on the Interact web site and samples from the online discussions in an exciting new publication. Interact: Contemporary craft in a digital future in hard copy will be useful to craftspeople, professionals working in the craft sector, collectors of contemporary craft, craft organisations and interested audiences. It is an essential resource for researchers, teachers and students.

The subjects explored in the papers and discussions include:

• The relationship between craft and digital technologies
• The issues faced by practitioners in regional areas and their capacity to access training and education
• How emerging crafts people establish themselves on completion of training
• The branding of contemporary craft practice and the possibilities for expanding contemporary craft audiences
• What’s in a name, how craft is identified and defined?
• Contemporary craft in relation to design and manufacture
• The future of education and skills development for craftspeople.

The Interact publication is an excellent teaching aid for students developing a profession in the crafts. It presents relevant issues that can be discussed in class and used as the basis for extensive research into the issues affecting contemporary craft practice. Educators may also request the teachers’ notes that Craft Australia has prepared to accompany the Interact publication.

The Interact publication is an essential resource for local, state and institutional libraries. It will be useful to craftspeople, professionals working in the craft sector, collectors of contemporary craft, craft organisations and interested craft audiences.

For more information on Interact contact Kate M Murphy, Interact Manager via e-mail: Kate.Murphy@craftaustralia.com.au or T: 02 6273 0088, F: 02 6273 6088.

To order a copy of Interact: Contemporary craft in a digital future visit www.craftaustralia.com.au.

Interact in hard copy is a free publication. Craft Australia is charging a small $5.00 fee for postage and handling.

To visit the Interact site go to http://www.craftaustralia.com.au/nationalForum/2004/

NAVA Update

Catch up on the latest developments with the Australia Council restructure and the new taxation news for artists on the NAVA web site. See http://www.visualarts.net.au/.

CONTACT

To contact the ACUADS Chair, Executive Officer or members of the Executive, please e-mail admin@acuads.com.au.

The postal address for the Executive Office is:

ACUADS Executive Office
c/- Victorian College of the Arts
234 St Kilda Road
Melbourne VIC 3006 Australia

Affiliate membership is available to overseas organisations and institutions with aims and objectives similar to ACUADS.

For more information about membership of ACUADS, please contact the Executive Officer via e-mail: admin@acuads.com.au.

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