AUTONOMOUS

Image from performance protest "Sleeping With the Enemy" in response to the merger between NAS and COFA perfomed by Anna Belhalfaoui for more info check out http://artandmayhem.blogspot.com/

Everything has become a little bit quiet at this end as everyone rushes around finishing end of year deadlines in all capacities. Indeed it is a busy time of year, hardly the time to begin new projects – however – with the impending UWS grad show symbolising the end of an era, perhaps it is also the time to think of a new beginning. A time to reaffirm what we as a community of art students, artists, academics, and potential art students and artists want and demand to see in an art school in Western Sydney. The question has been posed at various meetings with the Head of School asking what students would like in the new Bachelor of Contemporary Arts course, now seems as appropriate time as any to pose this question to all interested parties because ultimately this affects the entire arts community.

We have set up a Myspace site (as this seems the current trend) to which we hope everyone contributes ideas, images, sound etcetera about what YOU believe is important in art education in Western Sydney, so check out Autonomous at: http://www.myspace.com/autonomousart
if you don't have a myspace page then please email us at saveuwsfinearts [at] hotmail. com with anything you might like to contribute.

Another Myspace site you might want to check out for the graduating year is: http://www.myspace.com/shinynoiseloudlights

Looking over comments on the petition it is encouraging to see the support, for example so many have commented about the importance of Electronic Arts and the high level of artists emerging from UWS into the electronic art and new media areas. Some great comments on the petition have included Helen Grace’s comments that: “Everywhere else in the world creative industry is expanding rather than contracting - and in Sydney for some time, the most energetic and innovative developments have been in Western Sydney, frequently initiated and certainly enabled by staff and students at UWS.”

While Jeremy Mortlake states that: “Over twenty years of cultural development has gone into the artschool at UWS which is one of the best in Australia.”

And Patricia Parish asserts: “It adds to the sense that we in Western Sydney are 'invisible', and not deserving of access to the same opportunities available to residents of other 'more elite' suburbs of Sydney.”

Thankyou all for making the effort to contribute to this discussion so far, one comment however has concerned us, Keely Windred states that “I also disagree with the cutting of the master of art therapy, a course which I have been aiming to do for years and have based my life around. It’s the only master of art therapy in the state. I'm going to have to study it in Melbourne or Perth, but will probably study overseas because the Australian government doesn’t place enough importance on the arts.” We’d like to take this opportunity to confirm that Art Therapy is not being cut and exists in a different school to Fine Arts and Electronic Arts (within the School of Social Sciences) and also exists at a postgraduate level only in the form of a Masters in Art Therapy and a Graduate Diploma in Expressive Therapies, both of which are interesting and dynamic degrees. However the future Grad Dip students who are expected to undertake two to three electives in Fine Arts may potentially be disappointed with less options open to them. Indeed Keely is correct that UWS is the only university in the state that offers a Masters of Art Therapy, and we sure hope that it continues to thrive for a long long long time to come.

On a separate issue Art and Mayhem has posted information about:

The Performance Protest: called "Sleeping with The Enemy" which will be re-enacted THIS SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 18^th from 6-8pm at "Glint Gallery", Level 1, 226 Union Street South Newtown.

She states that: “This is not just a chance to sip goon while gawking at a whacky art student in a wedding veil pretending to fuck a gorilla - but COULD actually be a good opportunity for a discussion and exchange of ideas about the current art school closures in Sydney that goes beyond the fatuous partisan name calling that has been occurring in the press of late.” Check out more info at http://artandmayhem.blogspot.com/