National Institute of the Arts
Contents
School of Art 496
The Australian Centre for the Arts and Technology 576
National Institute of the Arts (NITA)
Introduction
The Institute is a special purpose institution with the Schools dedicated to performance in music, practice in art and electronic arts and new media. Our teachers are professional musicians and artists with national and international reputations and regular commitments to concerts, recitals, exhibitions and special commissions. They bring a dedication to their teaching and a determination to enhance learning experiences at the Institute. Our students are especially selected for their talent and ability to capitalise on the opportunities open to them. This includes the chances for student performance ensembles, orchestral work, jazz big band, opera and choral work and presentation of art work in professional exhibition galleries and alternative spaces. The Institute has a cosmopolitan student profile with school leavers, mature age Australian and overseas students all enjoying NITA's first class facilities and services, opportunities for international exchange, artists and musicians in residence, in a generous, caring, mutually supportive learning environment.
The Institute is home to the splendid School of Music building with all of its extensive facilities for music making; Peter Karmel building housing first class studios, Australian Centre for the Arts and Technology, Jazz, Percussion and a Big Band performance area; the beautifully restored and extended 1930s building housing the Canberra School of Art and its unusually wide array of art workshops; Llewellyn Hall (one of Australia's premier concert venues); the School of Art Gallery; the extensive library collection; the up-to-the-minute computing facilities; and the natural beauty of the University Campus.
Canberra is also the National Capital and the home of many of the nation's other important national institutions whose staff are our colleagues and whose facilities and resources are available to our students. The National Gallery of Australia, the National Library, National Museum, ScreenSound Australia, and Canberra's arts and music infrastructure all contribute to the spirit and artistic vitality generated by the students and staff to make the Institute an inspirational place for music, art and electronic arts and new media.
School of Art
Formally established as a separate institution in 1976, the School of Art has built a reputation as a leading arts educator offering undergraduate and postgraduate training in nine art and craft disciplines -- Ceramics, Glass, Gold and Silversmithing, Painting, Photomedia, Printmedia and Drawing, Sculpture, Textiles and Wood. Design and the use of computers and multimedia applications are integral parts of the School's philosophy. Design Studies, Multimedia, Field Studies Paper Making and Editioning & Artists Books are exciting study options.In these discipline areas, leading artists with national and international standing head workshop-based programs designed to prepare students for careers as professional artists. Head of Workshops and full-time teaching staff are supported by a team of practising artists acknowledged in their fields. Workshop structures and programs have been established to provide a teaching environment closely related to day-to-day professional studio art practice. The School's programs are designed to give students experience in specific art forms while fostering originality and innovation through the integration of concepts and skills.
School of Music
The School of Music is a unique place to study. Its staff are outstanding practising professionals (performers, composers, musicologists) as well as being inspirational teachers. The facilities are world class, including a 1400 seat concert hall, a 200 seat recital room, a 400 seat full equipped theatre and a 150 seat Big Band room. The partnership with the School of Art leads to exciting opportunities for creative dialogue and interaction across a variety of art forms. Similarly, the ANU environment offers artists intellectual challengers and pursuits of many kinds. The new programs at the school are innovative. Designed to stimulate artistic independence, curiosity, integrity and creativity they are a mix of traditional development of high-level technical mastery with a very flexible approach to academic courses. Musicians of all kinds need a thorough understanding of, and a sense of, historical trends and practices, social context and theoretical language, as well as good general communication and organisational skills. The programs are designed to stimulate development in all of the above areas through a program of individual lessons, performance classes, concert practice, chamber music, masterclasses, ensemble work, tutorials and seminars. Each student receives an enormous amount of individual attention and guidance, and programs can be tailored to suit students' special needs and desires. Above all, the School aims to empower students to reach their full musical potential and simultaneously to broaden their horizons to prepare them to successfully engage with the music profession in its multiplicity of directions.
Australian Centre for the Arts and Technology (ACAT)
The National Institute of the Arts' technology program has developed on many fronts over the past few years and has gained international recognition for the excellence of its teaching and research outcomes. It is housed under the interdisciplinary umbrella of the Australian Centre for the Arts and Technology which provides a unique environment for the teaching, research, recording publishing and performance of time-based arts made with new technology. ACAT nurtures opportunities to study computer arts applications in interdisciplinary settings.