Police close Oxford Street as 500 supporters engage in an ongoing battle for the future of Sydney’s premier art schools.

Students from one of Sydney’s premier art schools, the National Art School (NAS), took to the streets yesterday in protest against a flagged merger with the University of NSW. “NAS staff, students and Friends of the National Art School are deeply concerned that a proposed merger with UNSW will threaten the school’s unique educational offering, which boasts a much higher than average number of face-to-face teaching hours, studio access and professional training and equipment,” the NAS said in a statement published by news.com.au. Supporters of the NAS are hoping long-term funding can be secured from the Federal Government in the same way that NIDA is funded.

Footage of the protest uploaded by ArtsHub

Protests began in June when the University of Sydney announced that it had been exploring opportunities to merge the Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) at Callan Park in Rozelle, with the University of New South Wales School of Art and Design – with the intention of eventually bringing the National Art School into that fold. After a public outcry, this plan was scrapped, with Sydney University Vice-Chancellor Dr Michael Spence announcing that the agreement had been terminated and that the SCA would be moved onto his university’s Camperdown/Darlington Campus. He also announced that the SCA would not be accepting new applications into their Bachelor programme in 2017, but were aspiring to create a re-imagined Bachelor of Visual Arts, which would begin in 2018.

In a statement released in August, Dr Spence announced, “The location of SCA at Rozelle is constraining choice and options for our students. The large Rozelle campus is not only costly to run, but flawed as a model for providing the best education to our SCA students.”

He also foreshadowed staff cuts, saying “The vision for SCA will see a reduction in the number of staff because of the proposed focus on particular disciplines… SCA staff will be given the chance to express their interest in a voluntary redundancy, which will be considered based on the staff expertise needed for the visual arts school on Camperdown campus and the transition phase.”

Students began occupying the SCA’s administration building on Monday, staging a sit in to protest the university’s management of the school. Artist Mike Parr addressed the SCA protest on Wednesday.

Throughout this, the NAS’s future has remained in limbo. Protesters from the NAS – which is primarily funded by the NSW Government who own the heritage-listed former jail in Darlinghurst where the school is based – have secured a petition of over 14,000 signatures requesting the school retain its independence and security through a long-term lease. NSW Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich and Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore joined the protest yesterday, braving the rain to address the crowd in front of NSW State Parliament House.

The NAS has been operating in various forms at its current site since 1922 and boasts such high-profile alumni as Margaret Olley, Tim Storrier and Reg Mombassa, who attended the protest on Oxford Street.

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