From the Dean - Professor Sharman Pretty
August 2009
Many members of the arts community who are passionate about the heritage and the future of our new Faculty of the VCA and Music (VCAM) will have been involved in some of the discussions that are taking place at this important time of transition, both for the wider University of Melbourne, as well as for this Faculty. In particular, there is considerable concern that the new directions will mean that this Faculty no longer will deliver practice-based performance, visual arts and film and tv courses. This is categorically not the case, and I take the opportunity therefore to explain to you a little about what integration of our degree programs into the Melbourne Model will mean.
It was necessary for the former VCA to become a fully integrated Faculty of the University of Melbourne to maintain its funding base. We are now charged with ensuring that the pedagogy of VCAM aligns with our obligations to Federal and State regulations and legislation, which govern which activities can - and cannot - be properly considered the concern of a 'university.' The challenge is to strike the right balance between preserving the integrity of arts practicum programs while seizing every opportunity to enhance the student experience through a full integration with the University community. Ultimately, our responsibilities are to our students, and our commitment is to provide the skills and experiences to enable a lifetime in the arts, through a range of capacities; performer, director, choreographer, researcher, business leader, public advocate. Graduates of the creative arts disciplines can struggle to maintain their chosen profession as their primary income source, and it is only sensible to resource students with a range of high-level attributes to enable the professional adaptability required of a committed artist. Focusing on the example of Dance - a career as a dancer is inextricably linked to the age of the practitioner, meaning a significant cohort must join the workforce at the conclusion of undergraduate studies. A career as a choreographer, director, teacher or researcher, however, is not so constrained by the student's physical capacities and, on graduation, students may take an opportunity to specialise, refining skills adopted as an undergraduate through a graduate degree. Perhaps some could consider both avenues.
All New Generation (Melbourne Model) undergraduate programs at the University are designed so that graduates can go out directly into the workforce or further develop their skills with a graduate program. Under the Melbourne Model, VCAM students will have an opportunity to choose from a suite of ‘breadth subjects’ which can be aligned closely to the students’ chosen career destination and enhance their career opportunities. We have a responsibility to prepare our graduates for a full and lifelong career in the arts, and in that context, students need to understand their specialist discipline in the context of the broader contemporary agendas of society. A narrow world view is not the hallmark of a great artist. There will be an opportunity for commencing students to specialise from their first year, and the focus of specialisation will become increasingly intense so that, at the graduate level, students will be better prepared to be singularly focused on their art form from the perspective of a broader foundation of learning than they currently have had the opportunity to establish.
We remain dedicated to offering high-quality educational programs in the visual and performing arts. The intention is that the specialist skills of students will not be reduced with the introduction of the Melbourne Model - they will, in fact, be enhanced. Here I am prompted to quote Michael Oakeshott: "One may go to some sorts of art schools and be taught ten ways of drawing a cat or a dozen tricks to remember in painting an eye, but the scholar as teacher will teach, not [just] how to draw or paint, but how to see."
This is an exciting time as our valuable and valued heritage institutions, the VCA and the Faculty of Music, evolve into a new, forward-moving model. Our recently appointed Ormond Professor and Head of Music, Professor McPherson has joined us from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and brings a wealth of experience as a professional musician and music educator, keen to make our integrated music school Australia's finest.
Open Day 2009 will take place on Sunday 16 August. This is an important date on the University calendar and gives us an opportunity to welcome you, our community, into the studios, rehearsal rooms and performance spaces of the Faculty. Open Day is always a very popular event with many people taking the opportunity to access information about courses or just have a closer look at how artworks, films and performances are created. I commend Open Day to you, and hope to meet you there.
Professor Sharman Pretty
Dean
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