FAIRFAX: “VCA’s contribution to the Australian arts community cannot be understated”
Posted by savevca1 on June 29th, 2010
It’s going to cost dollars and its going to cost them nationally and locally. Melbourne Times journalist Bianca Hall gives a detailed account of how Australia’s only multidisciplinary elite tertiary arts College VCA, is being left to the hands of a mercenary Melbourne University, whilst the Federal & State Labor Governments are yet to reveal any action plan to stem the bleeding.
Read the story here (you have to register for free first with Fairfax)
OR read the story here in PDF (note the file is large – 7.3MB)
Send your support for VCA to The Melbourne Weekly Letters to the Editor (email yoursay@fairfax.com.au including your full name, address, phone number and keep it under 200 words).
Email our new Prime Minister Julia Gillard (Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au) and demand VCA become an arts ministry funded cultural institution like NIDA.
Email our Victorian Arts Minister Peter Batchelor (peter.batchelor@parliament.vic.gov.au) and ask him to publicly pressure the Federal Govt for action and for Vic State Labor to match the Victorian Liberal offer of $6m p/a in new state funding for VCA.
It’s a two election year – you have the power to pressure the State and Federal Governments to act.
And if you live in the Federal Electorate of Melbourne your vote is really going to count.
MAKE 2010 THE YEAR WE SAVE VCA!
Further reading:
- Noel Turnbull’s report on the SAVE VCA trip to Canberra. Noel is the former Chair of the VCA Advisory Board (who resigned in protest last year along with Lynne Landy). Noel is also the former President of the Melbourne International Arts Festival.
Will just have to lobby Julia Gillard and Simon Crean as hard as possible. Don’t think the latter is an arts aficionado but maybe you will get some attention if the appeal is focused on the necessity and national benefits of maintaining high quality Australian Art rather than importing more US soaps/docos/stuff. The spin-offs are much wider and deeper than most people realize – such as meeting people in very distant lands and them knowing your accent and your country from watching Australian film/TV/drama. Its happened to me many times. Better than any Tourism Australia adverts.