Sessional Staff News

COFA SITE REDEVELOPMENT
Those of you who taught at COFA last year will know that we had planned to undertake a major redevelopment of the Paddington campus from early in 2009. Unfortunately a late change in funding meant that the project was put on hold. We have been working on a new funding proposal for the project through a Federal Government initiative. We should know by early May whether we were successful. If we are, and the project is back on, it is likely that demolition and building will start after the end of Session 2 this year. We will keep you well informed of developments.

IDG OPENING
A reminder that the first of the IDG's 2009 exhibitions, Bushwhacked opened last night, Wednesday 4th March. This is a great show and is open until Saturday 28th March.

PUBLIC LECTURE PROGRAM
The College is committed to providing a valuable and lively platform in Sydney to debate issues of interest and concern across art, design, and media cultures. Sessional Staff are warmly welcomed to attend what should be a stimulating series of discussions on lively and topical issues.  

2009 Tuesday Night Panel Sessions at COFA
EG02 6.00pm

31 March    George Gittoes and German artists of the New Objectivity (Die Neue Sachlichkeit)
Mayen Beckmann
 
Australian artist George Gittoes has for many years explored the interior and emotional consequences of war and conflict. He has himself become the scarred witness to the conflicts of our time. The artists whose work most closely relate to Gittoes are not found in contemporary Australia, but in Germany in the 1920s and 30s, artists such as Max Beckmann and Otto Dix.
The distinguished German curator, Mayen Beckmann, will talk on the importance of Gittoes’ work in this tradition.
 
We would like to thank the Goethe Institut for bringing Ms Beckmann to Australia.

7 April    Yes We Can – Artists Take The Initiative
Amy Griffiths, Penelope Benton, Jane Naylor

The difference between creative people and the rest of society is that for most of us there never has been much money, or indeed many resources. So a recession does not necessarily see opportunities drying up, but rather an opportunity to reconfigure, to work out creative solutions in finding opportunities to exhibit work.
 
Each of the three speakers has in different ways facilitated and encouraged artist run initiatives. Amy Griffiths has had a long association with Chalk Horse, Penelope Benton, while best known as the resident genius of COFA’s student activities is one of the founders of Red Rattler at Marrickville, and Jane Naylor is the creator of Snack Art and the ‘Pataphysical Pending Machine’, a vending machine that dispenses art.

21 April    The Arts and The Media
Elizabeth Fortescue, Lisa Corsi, Clare Morgan

Why do particular artists receive so much media coverage, and others none at all? How do editors choose which stories to run, and which to ignore? Why do journalists write about particular stories? Does anyone read ‘art criticism’ any more? Is a picture in a newspaper worth 1000 words?
Three distinguished figures in the arts reveal the secrets of their trade.
 
Clare Morgan is the arts editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, and has also written extensively on the arts. Elizabeth Fortescue is the arts writer for the Daily Telegraph, and Lisa Corsi is the director of Art Cell and former manager of Sherman Galleries.

28 April    Art and War: Commemoration or Glorification?
Professor Ian Howard, Wendy Sharpe, Meredith Burgmann, and Boitran Huynh-Beattie

There is a curious relationship between art and war. Historically governments commission artists to glorify their activites, but artists are not always so compliant. From the time of Goya at the very start of the romantic tradition artists have questioned the wisdom of military might. In Australia this has led to a more nuanced collecting policy in the Australian War Memorial. In Casula, in Sydney’s South-West, artists and curators are also considering the long term consequences of war and change.

The distinguished speakers are: Professor Ian Howard, Dean of COFA and an artist who has consistently interrogated military machinery. Wendy Sharpe, who travelled to East Timor to paint Australian soldiers and is on the Board of Directors of the Australian War Memorial. Meredith Burgmann is a former President of the Legislative Council, and was one of the leaders of the anti-war movement in the 1960s and 70s. Boitran Huynh-Beattie is curator of Nam Bang! An exhibition looking at the next generation of Vietnamese artists at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre.

5 May    Art and Music
Ken West, Reg Mombassa, George Washingmachine

Since the time of John Lennon and the Beatles there has been a well established connection between contemporary art, art schools  and music. This panel is a conversation about those connections. Ken West is the organiser of Big Day Out, the annual music fest that is a compulsory part of Australia’s summer scene, Reg Mombassa (aka Chris O’Doherty) is both a musician and an artist and George Washingmachine is a jazz  musician who also makes art,

12 May    The Survival of Aboriginal Art
Professor Vivienne Johnson, Djon Mundine, Kelli Ryan

While the making of Aboriginal art predates modern definitions of art, in recent years Aboriginal artists have adapted their visual culture to suit the contemporary art market. In this they have been spectacularly successful.  Now the world is in recession and artists are questioning the best ways of ensuring the continuity of the integrity of their culture.
Professor Vivien Johnson has for many years worked closely with Aboriginal cultures, especially the people of Papunya. Djon Mundine is the distinguished curator of  Indigenous Art at Campbelltown Arts Centre and Kelli Ryan is one of the founders of Boorlarng-Nangamai in Gerringong.

19 May     The State and the Arts
Frank Panucci, Pru Goward, Sylvia Hale

What is the connection between the state (governments) and the arts? Can government funding and policies have a positive impact on communities and encourage a creative life, or are arts institutions just an opportunity for politicians to dress up and look important?

A distinguished panel of three: Frank Panucci is Director of the Community Partnerships Section of the Australia Council for the Arts. He has worked in community based arts, as well as, community and cultural development for over 20 years and has held a range of senior positions both in the government and general arts sector.

Pru Goward (Liberal MLA) is a former ABC journalist, the former Australian Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Commissioner Responsible for Age Discrimination with the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity  Commision and current Shadow Minister for Community Services, Shadow Minister for Women

Sylvia Hale (Greens MLC) is a publisher with a long involvement in the arts and Australian culture. She is currently the Greens spokesperson on the Arts.

26 May    Biennale Futures
David Elliott, Nick Waterlow, Luca Belgiorno Nettis

   
VENICE BIENNALE
Some may know that the Australian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale has a strong COFA flavour: with Felicity Fenner curating an exhibition which will include COFA graduates Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro and the COFA graduate Shaun Gladwell being chosen to represent Australia in the Australian Pavilion.

COFA has organised accommodation over the period in a 3 bedroom apartment on Canale della Giudecca for COFA staff  (including Sessional) from 4th June to 4th July.  Bookings can be made through the Dean’s Assistant. Spaces remain - but be quick!