Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences
School of Art, Architecture and Design
School of Art, Architecture and Design
These students chose the Theory Spine specialisation in the School of Art, Architecture and Design.
Kay
Drabsch, Bachelor of Visual Arts (2005),
Honours (2006)
My name is Kay Drabsch, and in 2005 I
completed my undergraduate degree which was a
Bachelor of Visual Arts (Photography) at the University of South
Australia, then went on to complete the
Bachelor of Visual Arts Honors.
I left school at the age of 15, in a time when female work was limited
to secretarial work, nursing, shop assistant,
home duties and factory work. Fortunately,
after trying and failing numerous jobs my love of children led me into a
career path that fitted into the home duties category, and I ran
children's homes for the government in west London. It was in London
that I met my Australian husband and moved to Adelaide, where I
continued to work with children at Lentara, run
by the Uniting Church. Next I worked in the
psychology department of the Regency Park Centre for
Disabled Children. My job then was to
devise games and different ways to help the children learn and
communicate in unconventional ways. Finally I'd found something that I
was really good at - it came naturally to me.
In fact I'd been
doing this all my life without realising.
The fact that I have the opportunity to speak to you, indeed, that I
was even at University at all, is still a little surreal to me.
You see, I was labelled 'stupid'
at school, and I was - stupid enough to
believe them. For 40 years I never read a book or wrote a word unless I
absolutely had to. What I learned, I learned from the world around me in
unconventional ways; I was dyslexic, but that term
didn't exist when I was at school.
There are numerous stories I could relate to you about my journey though uni and the help and encouragement I received from all around me. The Learning and Teaching Unit worked with me to find ways around my specific problems, and all the lecturers gave me extra time and one-to-one talks for assessment when I couldn't face the group. If I had to pick a favourite year it would be Honours. I was terrified of all the reading and writing. I thought I'd have to do far more than in previous years, but with the help of the lecturers combined with the Learning and Teaching Unit , and taking things one step at a time, through numerous drafts and many insecure moments of panic, I got there.
My elective in Honors was Arts Writing. I thought they were crazy for suggesting it but I'm glad they did. It wasn't at all like I imagined, it wasn't about putting the written word on paper, it was something different to everyone. To me it was about communication in any form, so if you get the opportunity to try it, you won't be sorry, and if you're reading this thinking you'd never make it through uni, think again. I did it; you can too, the help's there if you let people know you need it.
Melinda Rankin, Bachelor of Visual Arts (2005). Awarded the University Medal 2005
My pathway through Art and Design courses was an interactive journey influenced by
my own interests, employment opportunities and voluntary work undertaken in the
arts industry. Voluntary work with the Flinders University Art Museum led to a
Reconciliation Week exhibition based on their collection (Fibres, at the
Flinders Medical Centre Promenade Gallery). This voluntary work became the basis
for a directed study and work produced for the Asia Pacific Arts course allowed
me to deepen my understanding of related issues. I also undertook BUGEs in
Museum Studies at Flinders University and Media Museum through the Louis Laybourne-Smith School of Architecture. These electives allowed me to develop a
view of curating from the perspective of other disciplines.
For my final directed studies course I researched historical information for the
Adelaide Festival exhibition
Writing a
Painting. This resulted in an associated
exhibition Out of site, exploring the Indigenous and Chinese history of
Adelaide's West End. This exhibition presented historical information and
artefacts alongside work by contemporary artists and included a catalogue essay
exploring the history in more detail. The
Arts Writing course was a valuable
resource during this time and I have since written articles for the journal Artlink.
After graduating, I commenced work at the Hahndorf Academy and am now employed
as Director, overseeing the museum, exhibition program, artist studios and
Heysen Prize for Australian Landscape.
Melinda Rankin, May 2007
