Advancing by making mistakes

A curriculum redesign in 2011 has seen the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) consolidate its position as a leading arts training institution, situated in the heart of Melbourne’s Southbank Arts Precinct. 

The goals for the new Bachelor of Fine Arts curriculum were to represent the range of art forms that are current and that will be relevant for students now and into the future.

The result is an exciting, leading, and effective, internationally recognised professional level degree that gives a sense of unity but also recognises specific disciplinary strengths.

“We wanted the VCA to be understood as a place with many artistic specialisations, which honours the depth of study required to produce professional artists and performers,” says Director of the VCA Su Baker.

“From these considerations, we developed one undergraduate program, the Bachelor of Fine Arts, with its original seven specialisations,” Professor Baker says. 

“We expect a student to be ready to enter the profession in some disciplines direct from the undergraduate program, especially in areas which are highly dependent on physical skill and virtuosity. In other cases, undergraduate study is a precursor for graduate research degrees.”

Professor Baker says the curriculum changes have created a sense of cohesion. The student population has grown substantially across undergraduate and graduate levels and new specialisations including Screenwriting, Animation and Interactive Composition have been very successful. 

The VCA’s philosophy has always been to offer an educational experience focused on professional outcomes as well as being of a high academic standard, something graduating Film and Television student Stephanie Parsons has benefited from. 

Ms Parsons says her time at the VCA was often demanding but always rewarding and believes the staff support to allow each film student to be the writer and director of their own production is rare. 

“The staff are extraordinarily supportive in allowing you to develop a vision, pursue it and inevitably make your own mistakes. This way I’ve always felt supported, but also independent,” she says. 

“The benefit I’ve felt above all else is the support system at the VCA. We have countless hours of one-on-one tutelage with our lecturers and peers. I’ve learned very quickly how to take criticism, how to give it and how to work in crews under extreme pressure.”

Graduating Music Theatre student Alex Gibson-Giorgio is excited about the next chapter and aspires to be a professional working actor after graduating. 

“I want to explore my work in a variety of performance mediums including live theatre, film and television, and continue to refine my skillset,” Mr Gibson-Giorgio says. 

A highlight for him has been working on ‘A Little Touch of Chaos’, an original musical performed by the graduating class of 2014 earlier this year. 

“Under the direction of Iain Sinclair I was lucky enough to be given an often once-in-a-lifetime chance to create and originate a role,” he says. 

An integral component of the VCA experience is offering students enough artistic freedom to develop a strong and confident artistic voice, learning by trial and error along the way.

“You can make as many mistakes as you want in film school; everybody else is learning, and the films you’re making are experiments. I’ve done it all with a safety net. It’s been often testing, but more fun than I can describe,” Ms Parsons says. 

Another key shift in the program was the opportunity for students in the BFA to enrol in electives in other specialisations at the VCA and make the most of the breadth of subjects offered at the University. 

“This was something that we knew students wanted and it has been very successful opening up new collaboration opportunities across the VCA,” Professor Baker says. 

She lists the much-anticipated achievement of securing the Victorian Mounted Police Stables as teaching studios for the future use by VCA staff and students as a highlight of 2014. 

“The exhibiting of student works and performances at the end of each year is a busy but rewarding time, where everyone’s hard work is realised,” she says. 

In 2015, the Faculty will work hard to continue to strengthen their relationships with affiliates in the Melbourne Arts community.

“The Faculty employs up to 1,000 sessional staff each year who are drawn from the arts professions and so the bonds are naturally very close. This relationship-building is an ongoing process and ever-expanding as we enter an exciting new phase with new capital development on the campus,” Professor Baker says.

As for advice for any parting words of wisdom, Mr Gibson-Giorgio encourages students to make the most of their time at the VCA. 

“Take risks, be hungry and tenacious, and have fun! Time flies and before you know it you’re done!” 

www.vca-mcm.unimelb.edu.au