Culture of Contempt

What do we gain from being an accreditied BA?

Is it worth it compared to what we stand to loose, what we can see ourselves loosing right now?

The ability to question, react, reflect and adapt is vital to the teaching of art since the definition of art is constantly being debatted.

As Universities start to treat students as consumers and education as a business, art within universities is becoming art within corporations.

"Corporatism cries out for compliance and expression management not experimentation and risk" – Rob Gawthrop (Art Monthly 318)

So where are we heading with this compliance to the grand budgets and over-arching formulas that lump Art with Law, English Literature, Engineering, Economics and Veterinary Science. A healthy society needs all the courses and more but the same treatment does not benefit all organs equally. What strengthens the lungs kills the heart.

If we loose the nature of art, if we are no longer sure what we teach is art and have no power to influence the content of the lessons, if we are forced to be artists in secret while balancing the extraneous workload (students and tutors alike) then what is the point?

How is a degree worth it if we are no longer certain what we are studeing?