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Indigenous art studies to be globally accessible

6 August 2004 - Charles Darwin University - Media Release - Charles Darwin University is transforming the delivery of Indigenous art studies by taking it out of the classroom and into homes throughout the country and, if all goes well, around the world.

The University earlier this year made one unit subject - Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art - available for students to study online as part of a Bachelor of Visual Arts Degree.

The course was a success with about 30 students enrolling, including about 10 per cent from southern states.

Charles Darwin University Associate Professor of Australian Indigenous Art Sylvia Kleinert said a second online unit introduced for the current second semester - Indigenous Art in Northern Australia - has registered similar enrolment numbers.

Both courses have 20 percent Indigenous students and both online units use designs provided by the Jumbana Group, the Balarinji Design Studio based in Sydney who have provided the artwork for Qantas aircraft.

"This is really about teaching with no boundaries, as we can deliver an extraordinary breadth of resources online. I would never have been able to have presented students with such an array of information in a traditional classroom situation.

"Through the internet, students in these two online units have instant guided access to a myriad of museums, galleries, historical exhibitions, research sites as well as electronic pathways. For example in the new unit students have the opportunity to create a virtual exhibition of their own design ''

Dr Kleinert, who is co-editor of the major reference work, The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture (2000), said the online courses took advantage of one Charles Darwin University's major comparative advantages over other institutions interstate - the University is situated in the Northern Territory.

"The NT is the centre for contemporary Indigenous art in this country, and through these units we are recognising the significance and importance of Aboriginal knowledge that is all around us. This knowledge and our positioning in this heartland, so to speak, is a real strength for us.''

Dr Kleinert said the online courses had attracted growing interest from overseas, and offering the courses internationally was the next stage in a plan to ‘globalise knowledge' on the world of Indigenous Australian art.

"That's something we will certainly be looking at. The interest is there, but we just have to work out the details to make it cost-effective to students from overseas.

"There's an incredible amount of interest in Australian Indigenous art all over the world, so it seems only a matter of time before we head in that direction. The overseas opportunities to share our knowledge is something we are looking forward to.''

Online art studies first at Charles Darwin

Media Release
Charles Darwin University

4 March 2004 - Charles Darwin University has introduced the first of an anticipated series of online art subjects taking the University and students into a new era of art education.

Introduced this year, the subject - Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art - is the first art subject that Charles Darwin University students can study online and one of the few online art subjects available nationally.

“The online course offers an extraordinary breadth of resources. I would never be able to have presented students with such an array of information in a traditional classroom situation,” said the University’s Associate Professor Australian and Indigenous Art, Sylvia Kleinert.

“Through the online subject, students have instant guided access to a myriad of museums, galleries, historical exhibitions, research sites as well as electronic pathways to undertake copyright detective work,” explained Dr Kleinert, who also co-edited the major reference work, The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture (2000).

Phillip Shields, one of 34 students undertaking the subject – including some based in the ACT and Queensland indicated that the volume of information is easily accessible.

“As you become familiar with the navigation, you realise that there is a lot of great information that can be easily accessed compared to what you would find in text books,” said Mr Shields.

“This has been a wonderful project to work on with the added feature of some striking Indigenous art work created specifically for the site,” Dr Kleinert said.

The new online unit features a design from the Jumbana group (Balarinji Design Studio, Sydney) the Indigenous firm who designed the Qantas aircraft.

Riki Salam from the Jumbana group said that ‘the overall look and design is well presented, clean and very easy to understand and follow.”

“I am sure the students will love it! We couldn't be more pleased with the use of our art work especially when it is accompanied by such a great design,” said Mr Salam.

A second online subject in Indigenous art in Northern Australian and Torres Strait Islands is anticipated to go live in second semester 2004 with an online subject in South East Asian Art earmarked after that.

Source: Charles Darwin University

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