VCA – What it’s all about

By Diana Simmonds

August 21 2009

FROM THE SOUTH comes news of a protest march down St Kilda Road fronted by the high profiles by Geoffrey Rush and Julia Zamiro. The fury is over plans to destroy the VCA in the name of, well who knows, but it seems to be called “the Melbourne model”.

A student at VCA sent stagenoise a media release recently and it’s published here in full to give you an idea of what’s going on.

It begins with a quote from the VCA’s long-time head, Andrea Hull, who resigned shortly after the new plans were unveiled. It goes like this:

”The Configuration of the VCA is a source of envy among international art schools.Nowhere else in the world are the six creative art forms taught together on the one campus, in the heart of the arts precinct of an appreciative and sophisticated city. The VCA configuration ensures that the College delivers remarkable and unique training programs unmatched anywhere.” Andrea Hull, Creating: the Victorian College of the Arts/ Compiled by Joseph Pascoe., Macmillan, 2000.

And the document goes on:

COURSE RESTRUCTURING & THE MELBOURNE MODEL

The introduction of “The Melbourne Model” will mean that as of 2011, all students from Theatre, Dance, Production, Art and Film & TV will undertake a 3 year generalised bachelor degree. Only then may they specialise intensively in their chosen field in a 2 year post-graduate degree.

University of Melbourne plans indicate that practical training in each of these schools will be reduced by up to 50%. For example, the draft for the new Theatre course (replacing the current Bachelor of Dramatic Art) is comprised of 62.5% academic subjects with practical acting/theatre-making subjects contributing only 12.5 credit points towards 100. Contact hours will be reduced from the current 40 to around 12 hrs per week.

The Puppetry Course, the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, has been suspended.The Music Theatre course, in its inaugural year, has also been suspended.

“I am astonished how siloed this campus has been. It’s siloed in its programs, it’s siloed in its narrow little degree programs… Producing elite dancers that only become ballet dancers, or actors that only act, is no longer appropriate in Australia.” Sharman Pretty, Dean of VCAM (VCA), The Australian, June 5th, 2009.

BACKGROUND TO THE AMALGAMATION

The Victorian Government, based on commitments contained in a Heads of Agreement, passed the Melbourne University (Victoria College of the Arts) Act 2006. The Heads of Agreement was originally formed to protect the identity and integrity of the VCA as a specialist, practical training institution. It has since then been amended by the “VCA Integration Committee” (a committee, to the point that the University of Melbourne can enforce whatever policies they see fit.

“At a state and federal level, arts ministers need to make it clear that the VCA is an asset not to be meddled with – specialisation was always what the VCA stood for.” Race Matthews, Former Victorian Arts Minister, The Age, May 28, 2009.

STAFF CUTS

On July 29, UoM announced that it will sack 220 full-time teaching and administration staff as part of a new “economic response program”.Many VCA staff have lost their jobs already and the faculty has been targeted for further redundancies with many internationally acclaimed staff unlikely to have their contracts renewed at the end of this year. Minimal or no practicing sessional staff will be employed at the VCAM from 2010.

Staff have been instructed to stay away from the media, to pacify students and to keep quiet about impending redundancies. Many staff have been told that they risk losing their jobs if they speak out against the University’s proposed changes.

“The global economic crisis and the downturn in the stock market returns isn’t part of how the university staff are paid.” Ted Clark, Local Branch President, National Tertiary Education Union, The Australian, July 29, 2009.

And that’s the extent of the document from the VCA students. Meanwhile, look north towards China and that country’s response to the global financial crisis has been to pour more money into education and the arts and culture, reasoning that it’s the only way to take the country forward. You need to to do more than just speak Mandarin to be truly wise – as Confucius should have said.

Image from The Age of the protest march August 21, 2009