Craft artists suffer in university system

A business-oriented, academic-focus tertiary system is struggling to provide the craft skills artists need.
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Art by Matt Burgess, a graduate of the University of South Australia glass program

When Gabriella Bisetto studied glass, her university program lasted four years. Now the equivalent program is covered in two.

As Head of Glass at the University of South Australia, Bisetto is sharply aware that the changed university environment is making it difficult to teach artists the craft skills they need. ‘One of the things we discuss is how much we can teach skills and tacit learning at a university when that environment is increasingly changing,’ she said.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina