Funding cuts: art will suffer

MELBOURNE — On August 21, 500 students and supporters braved rain outside the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), a school of the University of Melbourne, to protest against funding cuts.

The rally marched from the VCA to Parliament House, demanding the government intervene to stop the cuts. VCA students' artwork was on display, with colourful costumes, jester costumes, giant puppets, flags and banners. Puppetry courses are to be cut at VCA.

Actor Geoffrey Rush told the crowd: "I suspect that the Melbourne model [Melbourne university's neo-liberal funding model] is an economic imperative, not an artistic one". Both Rush and the Greens called for federal government funding to counter cutbacks.

For more information visit www.savevca.org.

From GLW issue 808