Travelling studio program creates global artists

“Bare feet on concrete, old Chevrolet engines rumbling and…wooden-soled shoes on marble floors…” 

First year Bachelor of Fine Arts student Hannes Lackmann is describing what the sound of Cuba is to him. Its appeal is difficult to resist. 

In 2014 students from the Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music travelled overseas as part of the Faculty’s Global Atelier program, which aimed to provide opportunities for students to place their education in an international context. 

Students took in the pulsing rhythms of Cuba, the unique streetscapes of Hiroshima and New York, a Texan Fourth of July barbecue and the sensory explosion of the art scene in New Delhi among other experiences.

Five Bachelor of Fine Arts (Contemporary Music) students travelled to Cuba to learn about the music scene from the greatest musicians, including the drummer from the Buena Vista Social Club. 

Upon arrival students immersed themselves in the local culture. In Cuba, music is an intrinsic and inescapable part of the national identity. Students overcame the language barrier by learning aurally about the history of Cuba’s aural identity and each neighbourhood’s different sounds by communicating through rhythms and transcribing the music that was played by Cuban locals. 

Mr Lackmann and his fellow students had the privilege of being taught the traditional techniques of playing Congas, Chekere and Bata drums by the members of the esteemed Buena Vista Social Club. 

“We had the best Conga players of Havana be our teachers for over a week… music became our only form of communication and we would learn simply by listening to them play.

“A highlight for me was arriving at our first Rymba at Patio de la Rumba. It was the most energetic, uplifting, euphoric musical experience I have been a part of to date. Words cannot describe what I heard, but when I left, I felt electric,” he says. 

The Global Atelier program has allowed over 73 students and 14 staff to gain new insights and experiences, thanks to support from the State Government of Victoria. 

Minister for the Arts Heidi Victoria says the Global Atelier program offered students and staff a unique opportunity to get hands-on experience from leading international artists and educators. 

“Through the Global Atelier program the students experience, share with and learn from a new culture, an invaluable opportunity that will enrich them both as artists and as community members,” she says. 

“The Victorian Government is a proud supporter of the program which builds on the VCA and MCM’s global connections, reputation and reach, and puts the Victorian arts and culture into an international context.” 

The cultural insights the program offers has also had a profound impact on the teaching strategies of Faculty staff too, with all learnings from each trip going directly back into the studio conversations with students. 

Artist and VCA Lecturer Dr Kate Daw accompanied a group of visual arts students to New Delhi. 

“We bring our experience back into our teaching,” she says. 

Dr Daw says the experience contributes to a deeper dialogue between students and teachers which is invaluable in the process of creating an artist. 

“I think that for each student, it has a profound effect on their understanding of their own work and their life experience. I think that conversations students had with artists in India fuelled incredible personal development and contributed to a greater understanding of self, as an artist.” 

Mr Lackmann says the experience has had a lasting impact on his learnings and encourages other students to jump at this opportunity. 

“If there were students provided with an opportunity to do what I did, I would say to them, do whatever it takes to get on that plane,” he says. 

“It has affected me very deeply as a musician and ultimately as a person… I was never so engaged in learning!” Mr Lackmann says. 

Global Atelier was made possible with the support of the Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music at the University of Melbourne by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria. 

Watch the videos of the students’ experiences: 

vca-mcm.unimelb.edu.au/globalatelier