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Media Release

September 15, 2005

Drawing Attention to Art and Education in SA

Do you get tingles when you see drawing charcoal? Do your fingers itch at the site of a large piece of white cartridge paper and some Contè Crayon? Well next week Adelaide’s art education community will be taking part in an exceptional and unique conference, set to make your drawer’s heart sing.

UniSA will host the inaugural Drawing is Everything International Conference in the new South Australian School of Art complex, Kaurna Building, City West Campus from September 21 to 23.

Two years in the planning, this major event will bring together a wide array of artists, designers, educators and people interested in exploring the role of drawing in a variety of contexts.

Conference Directors Ron Corso and Greg Donovan believe they have assembled an exciting array of speakers, presenters, workshops and exhibitions which will broaden people’s understanding of drawing.

“From animated and commercial drawing to architectural drawing and the impact of information technology on drawing, the conference themes and ideas will provide a rich tapestry for those attending and it will be a rare opportunity to interact, share and exchange ideas with people from other countries and backgrounds,” Corso says.

“This is the first conference of its kind in SA so it will open up meaningful dialogue, positive critiquing and debate about the location of drawing as practice underpinning visual disciplines within educational, cultural, historical and contemporary frameworks.”

Keynote speaker, visiting international academic, Eileen Adams will be presenting a lecture on day one – Power Drawing: Drawing as a Medium for Learning - followed by a Master Class Workshop on Thursday 22nd September as part of the conference.

Neville Weston will be the keynote speaker on day two with Mouth to Mouse: The Resuscitation of Drawing and on day three Jonathon Dady will present a keynote entitled Of Stuff and Time. Also (and in conjunction with) the Adelaide Central School of Art (ACSA) a Drawing Master Class

Workshop will be presented by internationally acclaimed artist Godwin Bradbeer on Saturday 24th September to Monday 26th September 2005.

Along with a comprehensive program of activities, lectures and exhibitions, these exciting workshops will provide participants in the conference, staff and students from the Helpmann Academy partner institutions, SASA, ACSA and Adelaide Centre for the Arts, with the opportunity to attend, develop and expand both conceptual and applied experiences in both the teaching and practice of drawing.

“This is the first time that the three Visual Art Schools have had the opportunity to collaborate on a focussed international drawing program with key academics and speakers coming from interstate and New Zealand with ongoing and direct benefits to the visual arts community for South Australia,” Donovan said.

“We hope to advance the idea of making UniSA’s South Australian School of Art a research centre for drawing in South Australia in collaboration with the Campaign for Drawing in the UK, New York Studio School, the Drawing Centre and the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum in New York.

“In the short term we will be firming up links with our Australian Technology Network partner, RMIT University and other Australian and New Zealand universities by benchmarking SASA course work and postgraduate degrees.”

This conference has financial support from the Helpmann Academy, a leading South Australian creative arts institution.

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