1November2011

VADEA EBULLETIN
VADEAFORUM

Vol.21

ONEYEARON:INANDBEYONDTHESCOPEOFTHESHAPE PAPERFORTHEARTS(AUSTRALIANCURRICULUM)
th When: ThursdayNovember10 Time: 4.306pm Where: GreenRoomMeeting:PTC.

DONT MISS!

ProfessionalTeachersCouncil101105NortonSt,Leichhardt Phone:95643322. SomeparkingavailableatthePTCOtherparkingavailablebehindLeichhardt TownHallinMarionStoratNortonPlazainNortonSt

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CURATINGCITIES:SYDNEYCOPENHAGENCONFERENCE
AconferenceorganizedbytheNationalInstituteof

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ExperimentalArts,COFA,UNSWinassociationwiththe CityofSydney,theDanishArtsAgencyandtheVisualArts andDesignEducatorsAssociationinconjunctionwiththe exhibition,CustomsHouse,17Nov18Dec. CuratingCitiesisa5yearresearchprojectthatexamineshow theartscangenerateenvironmentallybeneficialbehaviour changeandinfluencethedevelopmentofgreeninfrastructurein urbanenvironments.Foundedontheprincipleofusingartand designtocurateliterally,tocareforpublicspace,theproject placescreativedisciplinesattheheartofthesustainability agenda.Indoingsoitadvancesanambitiousresearchplanforaestheticpractice,proposingcuratingasa methodforworkingthroughthepracticalconcernsofsustainableliving. Drawingoncasestudiesfromaroundtheworld,CuratingCitiesassessestheongoingandpotentialcontribution ofpublicarttoecosustainabledevelopmentandthebenefitstoSydneyandcitiesingeneral. Theproject providesarubricforpublicartinrelationtothefundamentaldomainsofsustainableplanning:energy,water, foodandwaste. CuratingCitieswillunfoldthroughaseriesofpublicprograms,encompassingexhibitions,labs,workshopsand conferences.Itcommencesin2011withCuratingCities:SydneyCopenhagen,CustomsHouse,Sydneyand TryThisAtHomeatObject,Sydney. CuratingCitiesisanAustralianResearchCouncilARCfundedLinkageprojectledbyProfessorsJillBennettand RichardGoodwin,andChiefCuratorFelicityFenneroftheNationalInstituteforExperimentalArts(NIEA)atthe UniversityofNewSouthWalesCollegeofFineArts.LinkagePartners:CityofSydney,Object:AustralianCentre forDesign,CarbonArts,UniversityofCincinnati.ResearchTeam:JillBennett,FelicityFenner,Richard Goodwin,JodiNewcombe,AdrianParr,MargaretFarmerandKerryThomas. WHEN:22November2011,9:00am6:30pm WHERE:BarnetLongRoom,CustomsHouse,Sydney COST: $69(RegistrationFee)*

BOOKNOWOPEN
Forregistrationandfurtherinformation http://www.niea.unsw.edu.au/events/20111019/curatingcitiessydneycopenhagenconference or http://curatingcities.org/conferences/curatingcitiessydneycopenhagen/

THISCONFERENCEWILLFILLFAST
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VADEA EBULLETIN
CURATINGCITIES:SYDNEYCOPENHAGENCONFERENCE CONFERENCEPROGRAM

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9:009:30am 9:309.50am

9:5011.00am

Welcome LordMayorCloverMoore,Sydney LordMayorFrankJensen,Copenhagen CuratingCities:publicartandurbanecology ProfessorJillBennett(NIEA) SustainableCities:bigvisionsandmasterplansvs.tacticalinterventions ProfessorJanGehlandJeppeAagaardAndersen Chair:DrBlairFrench(ArtspaceSydney) Discussants:JenniferTurpin(TurpinCrawfordStudio),ProfessorDavidCross (MasseyUniversity) MorningTeaBreak TheCommons ProfessorAdrianParr(UniversityofCincinnati) Author:HijackingSustainability,MITPress LunchBreak(foodnotprovided) CultivatingUrbanEcologies:newartanddesignstrategiesforengagement ofschoolsandcommunities DrKerryThomas(NIEA)andMelindaHodges(IGS),KarenProfilio(NorthSydney GirlsHS),NicoledeLosa(HornsbyGirls'HS),MeganBooth(HornsbyGirls'HS) andAmyYongsiri(BurwoodGirls'HS) Urbanexperimentsandschool/communityEngagement SlowArtCollective(Melbourne)andRosanBosch(Copenhagen) Chair:MargaretFarmer(NIEA) Artistsactivatingurbansolutionsforagricultureandbiodiversity Paneldiscussion:ProfessorNatalieJeremijenko(NYU)andJodiNewcombe, (CarbonArts)withProfessorElspethProbyn(UniversityofSydney) AfternoonTeaBreak Co2penhagen:theworldsfirstCo2neutralfestival KatrineVejby(Co2penhagenFestival) Chair:CarliLeimbach(CarbonArts) Discussant:MarcusWestbury(festivaldirector) Atmosphere:carbonmonitoringvianetworkedpublicart TobiasEbsen(CenterforDigitalUrbanLiving,AarhusUniversity) Chair/discussant:ProfessorRossHarley(NIEA) Cross(x)SpeciesAdventureClubwithediblecocktailsandrecipes onthebalconywithartistNatalieJeremijenko,presentedbyCarbonArts

11:0011:30am 11:3012:30pm 12:301.30pm 1:302:00pm

Current VADEA Project

2:002:50pm

2:503:50pm 3:504:15pm 4:154:45pm

4:455:15pm 5:156:30pm

NSWINSTITUTEOFTEACHERS VADEANSW(throughtheProfessionalTeachersCouncil,NSW) NSWInstituteofTeachersendorsedproviderofprofessionaldevelopment forthemaintenanceofaccreditationatProfessionalCompetence ScopeofendorsementallElementsoftheProfessionalTeachingStandardsforCreativeArts TheNSWITCourseCodeforCuratingCities:SydneyCopenhagenis:C08996 Page3

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VADEA EBULLETIN
LONGWAITFORARTISTSWHOSITTHEHSC

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THESTGEORGEANDSUTHERLANDSHIRELEADER Thursday,October6,2011 ByEvaTejszerski Ithasbeenayearlongprocessofbrainstormingandcountless creationsperfectedthroughtrialanderror,butfinallytheworkis done. Year12studentsinSutherlandShirehavecompletedtheir HSCprojectsandmustnowwaitfortheresults. Theartworksarethemajorpracticalcomponentsofthevisual artsexam,whichtheywillsitnextmonth. OneofthestandoutsisbyWilliamLivingston,astudentatDe LaSalleSeniorCollege,Cronulla. Hiscreation,Fleetwing,wasinspiredbytherundownCoomes GarageatCronulla. "WhenIsawthecouncildemolitionsigngoup,IknewIhadto
Alifelessordinary:WilliamLivingstonchose apieceofSutherlandShirehistoryforhispiece. Picture:ChrisLane

"Picturesofordinarythingswillbegreatlyappreciatedonedaybecausetheywon'tbethereforever." TheAustralianCurriculum,AssessmentandReportingAuthorityannouncedtheartswouldbegivenacentral placeinthenewnationalcurriculumwhenitreleasedthefinalpaperinAugust,whichsetsouthowdrama, dance,music,visualartsandmediaartswillbestudiedinschools. Thepaperwasdevelopedfollowingaconsultationperiodearlierthisyear. Underthenewcurriculum,studentswillbeabletostartspecialisinginoneormoreoftheirfavouriteartsubjects whentheystarthighschool. ByronHurst,avisualartsteacheratDeLaSalle,saidallowingschoolstotailorteachinghourstosuitindividual needswasbetterthanmakingitcompulsoryforstudentstostudyallfiveareasofthearts. Buthesaiditstillhada"onesizefitsall"approach,ratherthanrespectingeachoneasadistinctdiscipline. "SomeofthefactoriesatTarenPointthatIdrewhavealreadybeenbulldozed. TheauthoritywillusetheshapingpapertoguidethewritingoftheAustralianArtsCurriculum,whichwillbe releasedforpublicconsultationnextyear. Onceitisendorsedbystatesandterritoriesitwillbeimplementedfrom2013. Page4

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VADEA EBULLETIN
TheShapeoftheAustralianCurriculum:TheArts

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Availableat: http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum_The_Arts_ _Compressed.pdf DrKerryThomas,CoPresident,StateandNationalIssuesandSpecialProjects ManyofyouwouldknowthattheShapePaperwasreleasedwithlittlefanfareorpubliccritiqueinAugustthis year.WhilethereissomeimprovementintheShapePaper,mostparticularlythattheStrandswereaborted, manyareasstillrequirereframing. ThisreportdetailssomeissuesthatmustbebetteraddressedinthedevelopmentoftheArtscurriculum. 1. Responding RespondingisapoorchoiceoftermintheoverarchingstructureoftheShapePaperfortheArts.Whileother statesacceptthistermwithlittleequivocation,largelybecauseitwasnormalisedintheNationalStatements andProfilesintheearlymid1990s,NSWresistedtheterminologyandsentimentsthenandthereislittle reasontoretractfromthispositionnow.OurVisualArtssyllabusesexplainthatthewaythatstudentsengage intheVisualArtsisthroughpractice,whichinvolvesmaking,criticismandhistory(variouslyexplainedinK 12).Thisisaverydeliberatechoiceofterm. Responding,ontheotherhand,isunderscoredbythebeliefthataccesstomeaningislargelypsychological 1 andintuitivewithinaestheticexperience.Brown discussedthispointatlengthinhis1996articlewhich signaledtheneedfortheFrames.Respondingisviewedasanelementofthinkingthatisdedicatedtothe representationofinternalbeliefsandideasortheinterrogationofpersonalbeliefs,ideasandexperiences. Ironically,muchofcontemporarypracticeintheVisualArtsandothersubjectsintheArtscannotbe understoodviathe'truth'ofthestudents'responding.Lookingatanartworkcanoftenbeopaquetostudents andrequiressomesortofinterpretiveframework,oftenprovidedbytheteacher,tofacilitatethenegotiation ofmeaning.Thatisnottosayrespondingshouldbetotallyexcludedstudentsdorespondwithexpressions suchasooooooohthatsgreatorNo!thatsnotart.Fromtheseexamplesitisclearthatrespondingasa conceptisalivebutitislimitedasadestinationandwithreferencetowhatcanbeunderstood.Learning requiresunderstandingandthenegotiationofdifferentframeworksofmeaning. Asmanyofyouwouldrecall,respondingwasalsoakeyprocesswordfromthelate1980sfortheVisual Arts(seeNSW1987VisualArtssyllabusreferencestoperceiving,responding,organising,manipulating,and evaluating)andsothishistoryneedstobetakenintoaccounthere.Respondinghasaparticularhistorical meaninginNSWassociatedwithmakingthatwassupersededinmorerecentsyllabusdevelopment.What valuewouldtherebeinaretreattoresponding? Wewouldrecommendthatpractice/sbethetermusedatthemetarepresentationallevelforfurther curriculumdevelopmentintheArts.'Practices'aresociallyconstructedandprovidestudentswithameansof understandingwhatisvaluedinVisualArts,beyondtheirownresponseincludinghowpracticesinvolve traditionsandconventionsandareresponsivetochangeovertime.Theseunderstandingsarecriticalto shapingstudentslearningandthedevelopmentoftheirautonomy. 2. Oneormoreartforms WritersofthedraftShapePapertooktheview(supportedbyACARAsBoard)thatstudentsshould experiencethefiveartformsfromK8.ToanextentACARAlistenedtothecriticismfromVisualArts teachersandothersthroughtheconsultation,astherewasanoverwhelmingresponsethatdidnotsupport thisarrangementinyears7and/or8. Page5

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However,itisalmostincomprehensiblethattheShapePapernowtakestheviewthatstudentsshouldhave theopportunitytoengageinoneormoreoftheartformsinyears7and/or8(for160hours).Giventhat ACARAhaspubliclycommittedtoequityitwouldbeunimaginablehowunjustdifferentstateandschool arrangementsmightbecome. WehavesomeassurancesinNSWinthattheMinisterandBoardofStudieshasindicatedthatthereisno intentiontochangethestatecurriculumrequirements(keylearningarearequirementsandhours)withthe AustralianCurriculum.However,ACARAspositionontheartformsneedstobeoverturnedinthefurther developmentofthecurriculum. 3. Making(p.6) Therepresentationofmakingremainspreoccupiedwithanelementsprocess/skillsbasedapproach.This approachtendstowardsthemechanisticanddeniestherelational.Itisalsoatoddswithwhatweknowof practice(seepointabove). 4. Aestheticknowledge Whiletherehasbeenanefforttoextendbeyond'aesthetic'knowledgeatsomepointsintheShapePaper,it remainsthecentralpreoccupation(egp.6,seethereferencetomakingandresponding).Thisshouldnotbe thecase.Inaddition,audiencesdontsimplyrespondtoworksthroughtheirsenses(p.6,p.22).Whatof theories,beliefs,anddesiresthataffectwaysofunderstandinghowmeaningismadeinmakingand interpretingart? 5. Theintroduction(p.4) Theintroductionprovidesnocompellingreasonsastowhystudentsshouldlearninthearts.Theintroduction shouldactasarationaleandrepresentthebigideasorothermattersdeemedsignificant(p.18,point63 ShapeoftheAustralianCurriculumv2.0). 6. Thecirculardiagram(p.7) Itisoddthatthisnewdiagramdoesnotincludereferencetotimeandplaceascriticalaspectsofpractice. Butitisalsofoolishtoimaginethat10ballscanaccountforpractice.Whatistheirrelationtooneanother? Practiceisbetterrepresentedasanetwork. 7. Considerations(p.21) Referencestotheartsandotherlearningareasneedstobereconsidered.Itistokenisticasitcurrently stands.Theplaceofdesigndoesnotappeartobewellconceivedandreadsasanaddon.Referenceto studentswithdisabilitiesneedsreview. Finalcomment: DespitesomeimprovementfromthedraftShapePaper,ifthetestof'equaltoorbetterthan'currentsyllabuses isapplied,thereislittlereasontobelievethattheShapePaperwillprovideaworldclassblueprintfor curriculumdevelopmentintheAustralianCurriculumintheVisualArts/theArts. Hopefully,inthedevelopmentofthecurriculumtherewillalsobethechancetoreframetheShapePaperitself. Withtimeitslackwillbecomemoreobvious.

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