DEAN ANNOUNCES CLOSURE OF VCA’S CENTRE FOR CULTURAL PARTNERSHIPS

#SaveCCP #WeAreVCA

On Thursday 22 September, the Dean of the VCA and MCM, Barry Conyngham, announced via email to faculty staff and affected students of his decision to close the Centre for Cultural Partnerships (CCP), effective December 31, 2016.

YOU CAN HELP SAVE CCP BY SIGNING THIS PETITION

CCP is Australia's only dedicated graduate teaching and research centre for community and socially-engaged arts practice. It offers specialised graduate programs that attract both local and international students and researchers. CCP trains artists to make work with a social conscience.

The centre is currently comprised of 40 Masters student, 35 MFA and PhD candidates, 5 core staff and up to 10 casual staff. It has graduated hundreds of exceptional postgraduate students since opening in 2005.

This unforeseen move by the Dean will do considerable damage to students, to the VCA, to the arts and broader community.

• Cutting CCP guts the arts
• The Dean is erasing the future of socially engaged art
• VCA is losing Australia’s only centre for community and socially engaged art
• We lose an institutional home for transdisciplinary artists
• Cutting CCP severs ties between artist/researchers and the wider community    

We, the Friends of CCP, are a concerned group of students, casual staff, alumni and supporters, working in solidarity with the broader community at the Faculty of the VCA and MCM. We have decided to take action against the Dean’s decision to close the CCP. 

Friends of CCP want to see accountability from both the University and the Faculty in response to the Dean’s misguided decision and irresponsible handling of his announcement. We demand:

• A reversal of the Dean’s decision and the complete reinstatement of the Centre for Cultural Partnerships, including the retention of all its programs and staff;
• Full transparency from the University through which this decision was reached;
• A public forum with the University of Melbourne’s Vice-Chancellor, Glyn Davis, the Director of the Faculty, Su Baker, and Dean of the Faculty, Barry Conyngham, so that CCP student can raise their objections for the first time;

You can show your support for the artists, researchers and staff of CCP by signing this petition.

#SaveCCP How you can help:

• Sign this petition to save CCP and urge others to do the same.
• Join us: #SaveCCP on facebook: www.facebook.com/saveccp; Website: www.saveccp.org.au.
• On social media share your dismay at the Dean’s decision and call for CCP to be reinstated. Use the hashtags #saveCCP and #wearevca and the handles @vca_mcm, @ccp_art and @unimelb.
• Write a letter to the Dean and Director of the Faculty, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, to tell them why the Dean’s decision to close the Centre is wrong, why community and socially-engaged arts training is valuable, and how the closure affects you and the sector.
  
  Their emails are: The Dean, Barry Conyngham, barryec@unimelb.edu.au; The Director, Su Baker, bakerse@unimelb.edu.au; and The Vice-Chancellor, Glyn Davis, g.davis@unimelb.edu.au.

Thank you for your support

For further information and media enquiries, contact us at: saveccp@gmail.com