Victorian College of the Arts
About us
Creativity is the key to change in the world. Join us in that change.
With an energetic and innovative culture, the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music is the proud home of the Victorian College of the Arts and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Studying with us, working with us, or simply coming for a visit, you will enjoy the creative cultural outputs of our brilliant students and staff, as well as the beautiful purpose-built Southbank campus on which we are situated.
The Faculty is a place for creative people to come together to expand their minds and experiences, through which they become part of a world-wide community that motivates cultural growth. In short, we believe in the power of the artistic mind to effect change and we welcome you to share in that adventure.
Study with Us
We bring together all the artistic disciplines within a tier-one research university. Work in our world-class facilities, in the centre of Melbourne's Arts Precinct. Build on your knowledge and skill with a world-class education experience, designed to challenge and enhance your creativity
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'A fragment of something much bigger' — new exhibition showcases paintings by Paul Maymuru
15 May 2024
A new exhibition showcasing expansive works by Maŋgalili artist Paul Maymuru will open next week at the University of Melbourne’s Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery....
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
- Indigenous Arts and Culture
University of Melbourne upskills film students using the latest Hollywood technology
1 May 2024
Cutting-edge virtual production technology that’s being used in Hollywood, is now available to students and industry practitioners at the University of Melbourne, with a...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Triennial competition opens to celebrate talented young violinists
26 April 2024
Australia’s finest young violinists will once again compete for a total prize pool of $55,000 in the country’s most generous violin scholarship, the University of...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
New exhibition 'Oscilloforms' explores links between contemporary art and its historical precursors
19 April 2024
An exciting new exhibition will open at the University of Melbourne’s Project8 Gallery next week exploring the relationship between twenty-first century artforms and the...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Partnerships
'We are all artists' — Renowned human rights educator visits University of Melbourne
17 April 2024
Internationally renowned human rights speaker and educator Professor André de Quadros recently presented the public lecture ‘Freedom dreaming, storytelling, and rec...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
VCA Film and Television students make 'Fast Films' in new collaboration
10 April 2024
Students from the Victorian College of the Arts recently travelled to Shepparton to participate in a whirlwind movie-making experience with students from the Greater Shepparto...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
The Philip Hunter Fellowship to support new play exploring pivotal moments in climate science history
10 April 2024
Emerging playwright Jason O'Leary (Master of Theatre (Writing) VCA 2023) has been awarded the 2023 Philip Hunter Fellowship to develop Spring's Decline, a new play dramatising...
Musicologist Linda Barwick receives Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
9 April 2024
Renowned Australian musicologist Emeritus Professor Linda Barwick has been announced as the recipient of the 2024 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award....
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Left Write Hook program reaches new milestone with latest funding announcement
9 April 2024
A project co-led by Faculty of Fine Arts and Music researcher Dr Donna Lyon has recently been awarded a Federal Government grant to assess the project’s outcomes....
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
New report calls for cultural change in Australian screen industry
14 March 2024
A new report co-authored by University of Melbourne Senior Lecturer Jo Briscoe has found that cultural problems and destructive work conditions are leading to creative opportu...
'I fell in love with the art making process at university': Meet VCA graduate Amina Briggs
7 March 2024
Amina Briggs is a Boonwurrung Erub artist and recent graduate of the Master of Contemporary Art at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). Since graduating in 2023, Amina has...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
Melbourne Conservatorium of Music appoints two world-class pianists
5 March 2024
The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music is thrilled to announce two new appointments to its keyboard performance program, Andrea Lam and Konstantin Shamray. Both are widely rega...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
'We need your voice, not the voice you think the world needs': Meet VCA grad Amy Sole
29 February 2024
Amy Sole is a Wiradjuri and Worimi theatre maker and graduate of the Master of Theatre (Writing) at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). Since graduating in 2020, Amy has...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Theatre
VCA graduate Maki Morita on the power of community, creativity and theatre
29 February 2024
Meet Maki Morita: a writer, performance-maker, and graduate of the Master of Theatre (Writing) program at the VCA. Hear from Maki as they share insights on their craft, valuab...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Theatre
‘There’s always an opportunity somewhere’: Meet VCA alum Jacob Boehme
1 February 2024
Meet Jacob Boehme, a Narangga and Kaurna man and graduate of the Master of Writing for Performance program at the Victorian College of the Arts. As founding Creative Dire...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Theatre
- Writing
When you sit down to build a sandcastle, take a look around you: the beach is already sculpting
3 January 2024
Mark Friedlander explores how we can harness qualities of the beach to build the perfect sandcastle....
- Victorian College of the Arts
Bridging the gap: Creating a future in music for children with disabilities
12 December 2023
A University of Melbourne research program run in conjunction with Melbourne Youth Orchestras, the Adaptive Music Bridging Program, is proudly preparing the first co...
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music is proud to present ‘The Magic Flute’
5 December 2023
This December sees students from the Master of Music (Opera Performance), Bachelor of Music (Voice), Master of Production Design (Stage), and the Melbourne Conservatorium of M...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
VCA graduates showcase short films on MIFF Play
28 November 2023
The next generation of Australian filmmakers will showcase their graduating works from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) from 1 to 15 December....
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
At a time when journalism needs to be at its strongest, an open letter on the Israel/Hamas war has left the profession diminished
28 November 2023
Hundreds of Australian journalists signed an open letter to news organisations calling for better coverage of the war. It calls their impartiality into question....
‘Your first set of instincts are usually the best ones’: Meet VCA graduating artist Zane Edwards
28 November 2023
Meet Zane Edwards, a graduating Honours student at the VCA whose latest series of portraits explore themes of vulnerability, distrust, and desire. In this captivating body of...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
Anna Bao En Sing: Balancing Music and Medicine
27 November 2023
For the first time in more than five years, The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (UMSO) has just completed an international tour of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur....
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Next generation of artists unveil work at 2023 VCA Grad Show
27 November 2023
Featuring more than 140 projects, the 2023 Art Grad Show is one of the largest exhibitions of emerging art in the country, offering audiences insight into the latest developme...
Transforming music education using online delivery
21 November 2023
A new framework is giving music teachers the tools and strategies needed to enhance student outcomes by harnessing technology....
VCA graduating artist Yixuan Zhao explores the depths of beauty in new paintings
17 November 2023
Master of Contemporary Art student Yixuan Zhao deeply appreciates classical painting. In her latest project, Yixuan merges classical Rococo imagery with innovative painting te...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
VCA graduating artist Naimo Omar is using art as a vehicle for change
17 November 2023
Meet Naimo Omar, a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art) student in the Drawing and Printmaking department. Naimo’s work, deeply influenced by her Muslim and Somali heritag...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
‘A world without art would be a soulless one’: Meet VCA graduating artist Grace Murphy
17 November 2023
Grace Murphy is days away from exhibiting new work at the 2023 VCA Art Grad Show. Her latest paintings, inspired by the complex relationships between humans and animals, are b...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
VCA graduating artist Demi Kromidellis on exploring cultural heritage through photography
17 November 2023
Demi Kromidellis is a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art) student employing photography to explore themes of identity, belonging, and her enduring connection to Greek culture....
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
2023 Wattle Fellows announced
16 November 2023
The Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Fine Arts & Music are pleased to announce that six students from across the two faculties have been awarded 2023 Wattle Fellowships....
Roald Dahl, time-bending crime, and queer pirate comedy: the best of streaming this November
8 November 2023
There’s still time to get up to date on your binge watching, so you can be ready if anyone at an end-of-year party asks if you’ve seen anything good lately....
'The biggest challenge I have is trusting the process … A resolution will emerge': Meet Astrid Mulder, alum of Graduate Certificate in Visual Art and Master of Contemporary Art
13 October 2023
Across performance, photography and video, VCA graduate Astrid Mulder creates work that plays with choreography, colour and form and questions how we communicate and navigate...
Rhythms of discovery: Kate Tempany’s Great Barrier Reef Concerto
13 October 2023
Ahead of its premiere with the University of Melbourne Wind Symphony, Kate Tempany discusses her latest work, 'Great Barrier Reef Concerto'. An intricate blend of Guinean rhyt...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
University of Melbourne awards Marles and Woodward Medals to four researchers
12 October 2023
Professor Felicity Baker awarded a 2023 Marles Medal for her outstanding research in the humanities....
Meet VCA student Ellie Carroll
11 October 2023
Get to know Ellie Carroll, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre) student at the VCA as she shares her favourite experiences, goals, and preparation for her upcoming performanc...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Music Theatre
Gutsy topics need level ground to find momentum
11 October 2023
Pacific diaspora and ‘queering climate’ – topics leading conversations for change in the groundbreaking Talanoa Forum with Yuki Kihara at Powerhouse and Chau Chak Wing Museum....
University of Melbourne researchers awarded ARC funding for Indigenous disability research
9 October 2023
A University of Melbourne project to investigate how Australian universities can advance life outcomes for Indigenous people with disability has been awarded nearly $2 million...
My Sister Jill: Patricia Cornelius’ new play is a blistering post-war social and cultural commentary
3 October 2023
My Sister Jill disrupts ideas of colonial glory with a troubling depiction of family violence, PTSD, homophobia and the ruinous intergenerational impacts of patriarchal oppres...
Working to preserve cultural tradition through technology
3 October 2023
Ngarluma man Andrew Dowding’s research fuses education, innovation and heritage in digital mapping to empower Indigenous Australians....
The rebirth of 'The Doll' at its theatre of origin
3 October 2023
History and future come together with a new staging of Ray Lawler’s iconic play Summer of the Seventeenth Doll at the new Union Theatre....
Wartime hijinks, wilderness survivors and contemporary dance: what we’re streaming this October
2 October 2023
The weather might be turning, and the sun might be shining – but these picks will have you wanting to spend some more time on the couch....
Vale Celeste Chandler
28 September 2023
With heavy hearts, we acknowledge the passing of a remarkable artist, educator, and treasured colleague, Celeste Chandler, who enriched our VCA community from 2009 to 2023. Sh...
- Visual Art
Sharing the universal language of music
27 September 2023
Composer Melody Eötvös wrote her first composition at age eight. Now, her latest piece ‘Hun Tur’ is set to captivate audiences as part of the University of Melbourne Symphony...
Do we really need another Swan Lake?
25 September 2023
In their 60-year history, this will be The Australian Ballet’s fifth take on Swan Lake. It has opened in Melbourne before touring nationally....
Students from the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra showcase talents in Singapore and Malaysia
19 September 2023
For the first time in five years, the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will embark on an international tour this month to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, celebrating the...
University of Melbourne students join committee addressing gender-based issues facing their generation
19 September 2023
University of Melbourne students will join a group of young leaders addressing the most pressing gender-based issues facing their generation as part of The Global Institute fo...
App unlocking benefits of music therapy, wearable tech and AI for dementia awarded $2m grant
18 September 2023
An app that unlocks the therapeutic potential of music for people living with dementia across Australia will receive $2 million ($1.3m USD) in grant funding and support from G...
University of Melbourne and Arts Centre Melbourne strengthen ties through new partnership
15 September 2023
The University of Melbourne and Arts Centre Melbourne are delighted to announce a new partnership, set to foster cultural development within the Melbourne Arts Precinct and be...
From Melbourne to Asia with the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Meet pianist, Timothy Kan
13 September 2023
Hear from Timothy Kan, a Master of Music (Research) student, as he prepares to accompany the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra as soloist for piano in Ginastera'...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
Art can be anywhere
11 September 2023
Project Anywhere, a ten-year-long global exhibition program, explores the where and when of art outside the traditional exhibition circuits, writes Dr Sean Lowry....
Meet Melbourne Conservatorium of Music student, Jessica Leigh
11 September 2023
Hear from Bachelor of Music (Honours) student Jessica Leigh as she discusses her goals for the year, preparation for her upcoming tour with the University of Melbourne Symphon...
Under-counting, a gendered industry, and precarious work: the challenges facing Creative Australia in supporting visual artists
6 September 2023
Any policy interventions from Creative Australia to support visual and craft artists’ incomes will need to take a sector-wide approach....
How audio erotica creates the intimate fantasy of a boyfriend experience, without needing a boyfriend
5 September 2023
Erotica and pornography are huge in the audio space, with stories about intimate, emotionally-charged sexual encounters designed to create a sense of closeness between speaker...
It was written for nuclear disarmament – but today You’re The Voice is the perfect song for the ‘yes’ campaign
5 September 2023
You’re the Voice reinforces the view that supporting the Voice to Parliament is an act of national reconciliation we can take together....
If you're looking for inspiration, go out and find it: Inside Lloyd Newson's workshops at the VCA
5 September 2023
The VCA recently welcomed renowned choreographer Lloyd Newson to campus for a series of workshops with Dance and Theatre students. These sessions saw students work across disc...
- Dance
- Victorian College of the Arts
Me and my mentor: Britt Salt and Hannah Gartside
25 August 2023
Visual artists Britt Salt and Hannah Gartside are both interested in real bodies moving through their installations. They were paired as part of the VCA Masters Mentoring prog...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Painting the unfamiliar: why the first European paintings of Australian animals look so alien to our eyes
23 August 2023
In this article, Janelle Evans explores the question, 'How did George Stubbs, one of England’s foremost painters of horses and dogs, get Australian animals so wrong?'...
95% male conductors, 70% ageing classics and zero appetite for risk: what’s wrong with elite Australian opera
21 August 2023
Our new research has tracked the gender of artists working at Australian opera companies and found evidence of pervasive gender inequality....
Me and my mentor: Marion Harper and Vera Möller
18 August 2023
Visual artists Marion Harper and Vera Möller were paired as part of the VCA Masters Mentoring program. Here they talk about each other's work and the two-way generative proces...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
5 ways to protect your voice while barracking for the Matildas – and how to treat a hoarse voice after
16 August 2023
Matildas fans, we have a job to do. We need to scream our support as loudly as possible – but not at the expense of our vocal health....
Xiaole Zhan wins 2023 Landfall Young Writers’ Essay Competition
15 August 2023
Xiaole Zhan has been announced the winner of the 2023 Charles Brasch Young Writers’ Essay Competition with their vivid, lyrical essay, 'Muscle Memory'....
Student Q&Arts: Delphine Byrne
14 August 2023
Hear from VCA Art student Delphine Byrne as she discusses her study experience, artistic practice, and future plans with Southbank Local News....
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
The Majlis Travelling Fellowship: Supporting the next generation of artists
10 August 2023
The future of art is on display in the Majlis Travelling Fellowship Exhibition at the Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery from 4-20 August....
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
David Arden on sharing his song lines and latest project ‘MEERTA’
10 August 2023
In the world of music, careers are often born from chance encounters. For Kokatha/Gunditjmara song man David Arden, it was a single album gifted to him in high school that hel...
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Melbourne Conservatorium Star Performance
7 August 2023
The Melbourne Convervatorium of Music finally fixes a fibreoptic niggle — Optocore AutoRouter to the rescue....
Art and ecology: Paul Fletcher on his lifelong collaboration with nature
7 August 2023
Meet Paul Fletcher, a multi-media artist and horticulturist dedicating his practice to exploring the connections we share with the natural world. Hear from Paul as he prepares...
- Staff stories
- Research
In 1951, corroboree dancers in Darwin went on strike: their actions would reverberate as far as Melbourne
7 August 2023
Aboriginal people in 1951 framed cultural practice as labour and as a tool for advocacy for Aboriginal rights stretching across the continent....
New Aussie musical Bloom misses an opportunity to interrogate the gaps in aged care – and in our social fabric
7 August 2023
There is a great track record of musical theatre tackling political material. Bloom seems too afraid of its own subject material to truly tackle the issues....
These five films are a ‘must see’ at MIFF 2023
4 August 2023
There’s no need to be overwhelmed by the movie schedule at the Melbourne International Film Festival with these hot tips from Kai Perrignon....
- Film and Television
From Melbourne to Asia with the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Meet trombonist Joshua Dulfer
2 August 2023
Hear from Joshua Dulfer, a Bachelor of Music (Performance) student, as he speaks to his study experience and preparations for an upcoming international tour to Singapore and M...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
Computer-written scripts and deepfake actors: what’s at the heart of the Hollywood strikes against generative AI
27 July 2023
Hollywood has been using artificial intelligence for 20 years. But the current actors’ and writers’ strikes are specifically concerned about generative AI....
Lizzo proudly calls herself a ‘fat’ woman. Are we allowed to as well?
24 July 2023
Since her rise to stardom, Lizzo has faced constant negative criticism about her body. She has responded by saying ‘I’m a body icon, and I’m embracing that more and more every...
Meet Mr Vic NAIDOC 2023
7 July 2023
Wamba Wamba and Ngarrindjeri playwright, Brodie Murray, was awarded the title of Mr Vic NAIDOC 2023 at the recent Victorian NAIDOC Awards....
- Theatre
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Victorian College of the Arts
The Paul Selzer Exhibition finds power in lifting the stone
7 July 2023
In a world where art often reflects on convergent themes, the 2023 Paul Selzer Exhibition and Prize - now on display at the Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery – stands as a t...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
Rising stars: The VCA50 Creative Development Grants illuminate the path for emerging artists
6 July 2023
In the shadow of a global pandemic, emerging artists face new challenges. Now, more than ever, they need our support to carve their paths into the industry and make meaningful...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- VCA 50
- Giving
Opera student Amanda Hargreaves on performing with Victorian Opera and falling in love with classical music
6 July 2023
As a child, Amanda Hargreaves had big dreams. She wanted to become a pop star, then an actor, and later longed to grace the stage in musicals.Fast forward twenty years, and th...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet University of Melbourne’s Sabrina McKenzie
6 July 2023
Southbank Local News interviewed PhD candidate Sabrina McKenzie....
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Research
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music celebrates the success of alumni and staff at the 40th Annual Green Room Awards
5 July 2023
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music would like to extend our warmest congratulations to alumni and staff who were recognised at the 40th Annual Green Room Awards....
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Prizes and Awards
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Amina Briggs' Art Tram envisions a better future for First Nations people
29 June 2023
Boonwurrung/Erub artist Amina Briggs is one of six First Nations artists chosen to create unique designs for the latest Art Trams initiative as part of the widely celebrated R...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
What an Australian remake of 'The Office' needs to succeed
22 June 2023
Sammy J chats to Victorian College of the Arts screenwriting lecturer Phillippa Burne about the challenge of an Aussie adaptation of The Office....
- Film and Television
Rising has yet to establish its voice – but this year’s festival gave us significant and thrilling work by First Nations artists
22 June 2023
Sarah Austin, Lecturer in the Theatre at the VCA wrote about the success of First Nations artists at the recent Rising festival....
Artist Georgia Banks on falling in love with AI and immortalising herself in the cloud
21 June 2023
Can you really die in the digital age? It's a question that plagues performance artist Georgia Banks. Not only is this question a recurring theme in her work, but it's also a...
- Alumni
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Conductor Nicolette Fraillon AM awarded 2023 Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
21 June 2023
Australian conductor Nicolette Fraillon AM has been awarded the 2023 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award, at an Australian Ballet performance of Identity at Arts Centre Melbourn...
The Australian remake of The Office has the potential to be great - if the writers remember how unique our humour is
19 June 2023
Twenty-two years after the original UK television series The Office was released, and 18 years after the highly successful US remake (2005-2013), Australia is getting its own...
2023 King's Birthday Honours recipients
16 June 2023
The University of Melbourne congratulates staff, alumni and special friends who have received 2023 King's Birthday Honours....
Shaping the future market for digital art
16 June 2023
Buying art in cryptocurrency has seen record-breaking prices followed by a crash in recent years, but there are ways to remove the volatility to benefit both artists and buyer...
Innovative new album of Gunditjmara songs released
15 June 2023
Together with First Nations artists, researchers from the University of Melbourne and Deakin University have produced a new and innovative album of songs in Gunditjmara langua...
Meet Melbourne Conservatorium of Music student Joshua Morton-Galea
15 June 2023
Southbank Local News interviewed Master of Music (Opera Performance) student Joshua Morton-Galea about his study experience and involvement in the Victorian Opera's upcoming p...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Succession: Ten reasons why you'll (re)watch this modern tv masterpiece
5 June 2023
Devastated that it’s over, we can revel in its fading brilliance and remark on its barbs, twists and upsets. Here are ten reasons to watch this modern tv masterpiece again....
Indigenous-led design students represent Australia at Prague Quadrennial
5 June 2023
Jacob Nash is representing Australia and leading VCA students at the world's largest festival of scenography, performance and theatre design....
Trevor Green, orchestra manager, has died
5 June 2023
Insider knowledge gained as a musician served Trevor Green well in a variety of management roles, including his 11-year stint with the MSO and his time served on the VCA Counc...
New subject teaching students to hone comedy craft is no joke
2 June 2023
By Sarah HallRecent headlines have reflected the role comedy plays in speaking truth to power. Chinese social media platforms recently suspended accounts belonging to com...
- Victorian College of the Arts
'Gowidja (After)': Moorina Bonini's vision of an Indigenous future
30 May 2023
Moorina Bonini is a Yorta Yorta, Wurundjeri, and Wiradjuri artist whose practice is deeply informed by her Aboriginal and Italian ancestry....
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
“The Olympics of stage design”: first ever Indigenous led show to represent Australia at the Prague Quadrennial
29 May 2023
For the first time, an Indigenous-led group will represent Australia at the prestigious Prague Quadrennial, the world’s largest festival of scenography, performance and...
National Indigenous Mapping Workshop to be hosted by the University of Melbourne’s Wilin Centre
29 May 2023
The University of Melbourne’s Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development will host the first Indigenous Mapping Workshop Australia (IMW) to be held in the...
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
Exhibitions showcase work by Meriam artist Gail Mabo and women from Durrmu Arts
23 May 2023
Showcasing work by Meriam artist Gail Mabo and women artists from Peppinmenarti in the Northern Territory, two new exhibitions are opening at the University of Melbourne’s Fio...
‘Australian Canvas’: Dr Nicholas Enrico Williams to deliver his final concert as Conductor of Wind Symphony at Melbourne Recital Centre
23 May 2023
Dr Nicholas Enrico Williams’ three-year term as Music Director and Conductor of the Wind Symphony at the Conservatorium has drawn to a close, and he has taken up a posit...
Meet VCA student Ishan Vivekanantham
11 May 2023
Get to know a student’s experience at The University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. Ishan Vivekanantham is currently studying a Master of Production Design (St...
As Julia Gutman’s maverick collage wins the Archibald prize, the award is truly in the hands of a new generation
8 May 2023
This year’s Archibald and Wynne Prize winners show that a new generation of artists have now entered the mainstream....
‘Who the hell is Edgar?’ – a viral Eurovision song about Edgar Allan Poe evokes a strange history of mediums and creative possession
4 May 2023
When Teya and Salena take to the Eurovision stage next week, their song may be new, but their story of ghostly authorship and spirit possession comes straight from Poe’s work....
60 years of The Australian Ballet and 90 years of ‘Australian’ ballet: Identity asks us to reflect on Australian dance today
4 May 2023
The Australian Ballet’s new double-bill Identity stages the work of Daniel Riley and Alice Topp in a reflection of the identity of Australian dance – and Australia....
Miriama Young: Kinds of Blue
1 May 2023
Ahead of its premiere with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, the composer Miriama Young discusses her new work, Kinds of Blue, outlining the inspiration that helped shape it....
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
From joyous celebration to the depths of grief: the new orthodoxy of the Archibald prize is there is no orthodoxy
30 April 2023
Joanna Mendelssohn examines the evolution of the Archibald Prize, arguing that the new norm is the celebration of diversity and non-conformity among artists....
Won’t somebody please think of the children? Their agency is ignored in the moral panic around drag storytime
30 April 2023
In this article, Sarah Austin and Jonathan Graffam O'Meara from VCA Theatre challenge the moral panic surrounding Drag Storytime events and call for a more nuanced understandi...
If the camera was there with the blessing of Father Bob Maguire, people felt safe: my relationship with a marvellous man
24 April 2023
Lecturer in Producing at the VCA, Stephen Luby, met Father Bob Maguire as a young filmmaker in 1990. The words he spoke to him then still reverberate today....
Why I studied... Master of Contemporary Art at VCA
24 April 2023
Visual artist Linda Studená wanted to 'break open' her practice with further study in the Master of Contemporary Art at the VCA....
- Visual Art
- Alumni
Dr David Sequeria profiled in The Age
20 April 2023
David Sequeira’s Indian heritage conjures a surprising celestial alignment in his installation for the TarraWarra Biennial....
Student Q&Arts - Abi Lee
20 April 2023
Abi Lee is currently in her second year of the Bachelor of Music, specialising in Jazz and Improvisation, at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music....
- Jazz and Improvisation
Unlocking the healing power of music: Jeanette Tamplin on Revive's $4.2 million funding for art and music therapy research
19 April 2023
In this article, Associate Professor in Music Therapy, Jeanette Tamplin, discusses the Australian Government's $4.2 million investment in art and music therapy research, exami...
From radical to reactionary: the achievements and legacy of the influential artist John Olsen
13 April 2023
the hyperbole surrounding Olsen’s death seems to have crowded out any assessment of his real and lasting achievements as an artist writes Joanna Mendelssohn....
Forge your own path: Sadé Alleyne's vision for the future of dance
6 April 2023
In the picturesque setting of the Shepparton Art Museum's Amphitheatre, 21 dance students from VCA are rehearsing for their upcoming performance of 'HOME' at the Shepparton Fe...
Choreographic legacies, human connectivity, and a psychedelic rainbow celebration: FRAME is a joyous festival of dance
5 April 2023
Staying true to its objectives of representing dance artists from across practices and lineages, the inaugural FRAME Dance Festival offered a diversity of performance styles a...
Nureyev's Don Quixote recreated on stage
5 April 2023
Richard Roberts, Head of Design and Production at the VCA, spoke with ABC Radio about his work designing sets for The Australian Ballet's latest production of 'Don Quixote.'...
Arthur Jafa – Unrest: “Seminal works that speak to the heart of 21st century experience” showing at the Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery
5 April 2023
By Sarah HallLove is the Message, The Message is Death (2016), Arthur Jafa’s video work was described in The New Yorker as “the most spellbinding artwork of t...
Music Theatre and Interactive Composition present Mongrel: “a mind-bending rabbit hole to behold”
31 March 2023
By Sarah HallNext week, third year Music Theatre and Interactive Composition students will present Mongrel. ‘Mongrel’ — a series of mixed-breed, interdiscipl...
Behind the curtain: Associate Professor Richard Roberts on reimagining one of Australia’s most iconic ballets, Don Quixote, for the stage
23 March 2023
Head of Design and Production at the Victorian College of the Arts, Associate Professor Richard Roberts, is known for his visionary work in production design. His latest endea...
Contemporary dance performance ‘HOME’ to captivate at Shepparton Festival, through University of Melbourne Goulburn Valley partnership
23 March 2023
Dance students from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) at the University of Melbourne are set to captivate Shepparton Festival audiences with a new contemporary dance wor...
VCA Art graduates to appear in Hatched National Graduate Show at PICA
10 March 2023
Visual Art graduates Jinxuan Chen and Emily Norton are among 26 graduates from 21 art schools across the country to appear in the prestigious Hatched National Graduate Show at...
The Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery’s latest exhibition ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ reveals the power and vulnerability of self-portraiture
9 March 2023
This March, the Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery at the University of Melbourne presents 'It's not you, it's me,' a compelling exhibition of self-portraiture by staff of Vis...
VCA dance student Jake Ware interviewed by Southbank Local News
8 March 2023
Third-year Dance student Jake Ware was interviewed by Southbank Local News about their study experience and plans for the year ahead....
Louise Hanson Dyer: A life and legacy of uplifting artists
8 March 2023
Discovering the extent of Louise Berta Mosson Hanson Dyer’s generosity is much like unearthing precious metals; the deeper you dig, the more you find....
The modern women of Australian ballet
8 March 2023
Revisiting ballets created by pioneering Australian women can inspire the next generation of female choreographers, writes dance historian and PhD candidate at the VCA, Yvette...
Meet the other Aussie star of succession
7 March 2023
Since graduating from Victorian College of the Arts in 2006, actor Ashley Zukerman has gone on to have an incredible career working on film and television projects here in Aus...
Theatre review: Breaking the Castle, QPAC
7 March 2023
Peter Cook is a graduate of Acting at the VCA whose first full-length play, Breaking the Castle, has been described as an extraordinary piece of theatre-writing....
The Melburnian channelling Katy Perry and the Backstreet Boys on stage
7 March 2023
It's every theatre kid's dream to star in a big show in their hometown and for Bachelor of Music Theatre student, Yashith Fernando, that long held ambition is about to become...
Putting the science behind performers’ well-being
21 February 2023
Caring for performers’ mental and physical well-being needs to be backed by evidence-based methods for maximum impact, said Professors Emma Redding and Margaret Osborne at the...
Growing up, Siobhan Stagg didn’t even know the word ‘soprano’ – now she’s one of our brightest stars
17 February 2023
From singing in her living room in Mildura to performing in Europe's leading opera houses, the story of Conservatorium graduate, Siobhan Stagg is far from conventional. Now sh...
Oh naur: Why TikTok is laughing at the Aussie accent
16 February 2023
at the Aussie accent
Amy Hume, Lecturer in Theatre (Voice) at the VCA spoke with The Age about the Australian pronunciation of the word 'no'....
Conference explores how the arts are contributing to better health and wellbeing
16 February 2023
Arts and Health Lead at the World Health Organisation Christopher Bailey is the key note speaker at the Performing Creativity, Culture and Wellbeing Conference and told ABC Ne...
The Grief Trilogy: VCA alum Liv Satchell's plays explore connection in the face of loss
16 February 2023
Liv Satchell is a writer, theatre-maker, dramaturg and facilitator who graduated from the VCA in 2016. Building on the work she created for her Master of Directing for Perform...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
- Writing
- Theatre
Building intercultural engagement through music
15 February 2023
A new framework aims to celebrate and generate opportunities for cultural exchange and the expression of new cultural identities through shared music....
- Music Therapy
- Research
5 ways singing helps humanity
9 February 2023
Singing is a powerful way of achieving deep personal and social meaning, as well as supporting our mental and physical wellbeing....
- Music Therapy
Wellbeing experts highlight the power of arts and culture to improve health and wellbeing for all
8 February 2023
Wellbeing experts, practitioners, and policymakers from across the globe are coming together in Melbourne to advance the vital role of arts and culture in contributing to bett...
- Creative Arts Therapy
- Research
PhD student Meta Cohen plays at the intersection of queerness, theatricality and sound
19 January 2023
Meta Cohen (they/them/she/her) is a composer, sound designer and dramaturg with work spanning music, theatre and interdisciplinary art. Meta’s music has been commissione...
- Research
- Theatre
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
5 Australian women choreographers you should know (and where to see them in 2023)
10 January 2023
Supporting and celebrating today's women choreographers is vital to encouraging a new generation of women to follow, giving women in dance a voice into the future. So where ar...
- Dance
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
Music, animation, and dance students take over Fed Square’s digital façade on New Year’s Eve
20 December 2022
Students from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) at the University of Melbourne will take over Fed Square on New Year's Eve with...
- Dance
- Interactive Composition
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Naur, yeah: Australia, you're performing linguistic magic when you pronounce the two-letter word 'no'. Here's why
14 December 2022
Did you know that Australians perform linguistic magic while pronouncing the word 'no'? Amy Hume, Lecturer in Theatre (Voice) at the Victorian College of the Arts explains why...
Dr Anthea Skinner interviewed on ABC Classic Drive
6 December 2022
Dr Anthea Skinner spoke with ABC Classic Drive about her research on Adaptive Musical instruments ahead of International Day of People with Disability....
Conservatorium graduates selected for the Victorian Opera Emerging Artist program
6 December 2022
Master of Music (Opera Performance) graduates, Syrah Torii and Alastair Cooper-Golec will receive full-time employment and mentorship at the Victorian Opera....
The Past is Present: Reflecting on 150 years of Chinese art at the National Gallery of Victoria
6 December 2022
Honorary at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, Alison Carrol reviewed the NGV's latest exhibition 'China - The Past is Present' for the Conversation....
The forgotten ballets of Australia
29 November 2022
Hear from Yvette Grant, a researcher in dance history at the Victorian College of the Arts as she introduces us to the prolific choreographer Laurel Martyn (1916-2013) who cre...
2022 Art graduates share a future built on community
29 November 2022
Head of VCA Art, Associate Professor Simone Slee was interviewed by ArtsHub about the 2022 VCA Art Grad Show....
Professor Jane Davidson on the benefits of group singing
29 November 2022
Professor Jane Davidson, Head of the Faculty Research Centre appeared on ABC News recently speaking to the psychological and social benefits of group singing....
The emerging voices of Australian film: Largest ever selection of short films by VCA graduates to stream free on MIFF Play
24 November 2022
For the third time, films by graduating Film and Television students from the Victorian College of the Arts will feature on MIFF Play, the Australia-wide digital streaming pla...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA Art Grad Show: The future of art making in Australia on display
18 November 2022
The 23 November marks the celebrated return of the VCA Art Grad Show, featuring new works by the graduating cohort of Art students....
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Showcase
- VCA 50
Wilin: fanning the flame for 20 years
8 November 2022
by Sarah HallWilin, which means ‘fire’ or ‘flame’ in the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung languages, has been part of the land where the Wilin Centre now s...
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Wilin 20th
Explainer: What are non-traditional research outputs, and why do they matter?
8 November 2022
In this new Explainer for the University's Research website, Professor Marie Sierra writes on the noteworthy contributions and growing influence of NTROs. She argues that it i...
Piers Lane (AO) announced as recipient of 2022 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
1 November 2022
Acclaimed pianist, Piers Lane (AO), has been awarded the Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award at a concert with Joseph Calleja and Amelia Farrugia....
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
‘Embrace your own strange notions': Choreographer Lucy Guerin on working with third year dancers at the VCA
11 October 2022
In her latest work with third year dance students at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), award-winning choreographer, Lucy Guerin, takes her inspiration from the students...
- Dance
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Showcase
Getting match fit: VCA Acting students bring the drama of sport on stage
27 September 2022
In October this year, graduating Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) students will take to the stage in two exhilarating and physically demanding plays: Sarah DeLappe’s The W...
- Acting
- Victorian College of the Arts
'Whichever avenue we go down, we’re supported fully': Hear from Master of Producing students Lucinda and Andy
27 September 2022
When you’re a screen producer, there’s always something to do – whether it’s honing scripts, keeping the budget on track or ensuring an on-set snack su...
- Film and Television
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA alumni chosen for the coveted Impact Australia screenwriting program
27 September 2022
Impact Australia was launched this week at the University of Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music was delighted to learn t...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
- Partnerships
Vale Shirley McKechnie AO (1926 - 2022)
13 September 2022
The Victorian College of the Arts joins the Australian dance community in mourning the loss of the indelible, Shirley McKechnie AO, who throughout her life remained a seminal...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Dance
'I wanted to stand out from the crowd': Meet Master of Producing graduate Mario Biancacci
12 September 2022
Mario Biancacci’s path to being an international film producer wasn’t exactly pre-ordained. But he’s made his way from a Bachelor of Science to a Robbie Will...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
- Alumni
Melbourne Conservatorium of Music students to perform with Melissa Aldana at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival
5 September 2022
A new partnership with the Melbourne International Jazz Festival (MIJF) will enable University of Melbourne students from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music to perform at A...
Looking forward: Director Dialogues address key areas of focus for the VCA in its 50th year
31 August 2022
The Victorian College of the Arts’ (VCA) 50th anniversary represents a chance to reflect on the last half-century of arts practice in Naarm/Melbourne and position itself...
- VCA 50
- Victorian College of the Arts
'If you can show call opera, you can show call anything': Meet Will Barker, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production) graduate
30 August 2022
It might seem like a long road from your living room to the Sydney Opera House, but for Will Barker, the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production) helped him make that leap. Will tal...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Production
- Alumni
Joining the band: How new music technologies are helping students with disability access music education
25 August 2022
Dr Anthea Skinner is a musicologist with a lived experience of disability. Inspired by her own experiences growing up, Dr Skinner has launched the Adaptive Music Bridging Prog...
- Research
- Musicology
- Staff stories
A powerful musical experience: University of Melbourne Orchestra to perform Mahler 2
25 August 2022
The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will be returning soon to the Hamer Hall stage with Mahler’s mighty Second Symphony (The Resurrection), led by their Chief...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
Adult survivors take back their power in documentary film 'Left Write Hook'
25 August 2022
Left Write Hook is a new documentary film focusing on a University of Melbourne-supported program helping adult survivors take back their power....
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
The music app supporting dementia care at home
23 August 2022
A new app aims to train family carers of people with dementia to use music to support care and reduce symptoms at home...
Podcast: Professor Sally Smart, “The power of artists is extraordinary”
17 August 2022
The Expert Hack Podcast sat down with Victorian College of the Arts alumna artist Professor Sally Smart to discuss how artists are influencing politics and social ch...
- Visual Art
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
Inside the musician: Stuart Greenbaum: Emerging from the darkness
15 August 2022
Professor in Composition at the Conservatorium, Stuart Greenbaum, has released 'A Trillion Miles of Darkness', a new album of soulful, evocative music featuring the clarinet....
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Staff stories
- Composition
Herring Island inspires a new piano sonata
12 August 2022
Pianist Coady Green asked Linda Kouvaras to compose a work about a little-known location in Melbourne; he discusses the piece that eventuated....
New partnership brings students into the concert hall with the world’s leading musical talent
11 August 2022
A new exclusive partnership with the Australian World Orchestra (AWO) will enable University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music students to have unparalleled access to a net...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Partnerships
Dr Raafat Ishak and Professor Patricia Piccinini selected to create new works for the Metro Tunnel project
9 August 2022
Commuters travelling through Melbourne's new underground railway stations will see new commissions by Dr Raafat Ishak, Head of Painting at the VCA and Professor Patricia Picci...
- Staff stories
- Alumni
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
(In) Corporeal Encounters Podcast Series
2 August 2022
Across five episodes with artists, scholars and activists working in the fields of dance and related disciplines, these critical conversations explore possibilities for future...
- Dance
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Research
Deaf storytellers share knowledge and challenge audism in What I Wish I'd Told You
2 August 2022
By Sarah HallThere are stories that can only be told in Auslan.Artists Chelle Destefano and Claire Bridge have created a home for some of them in What I Wish I’d Told Yo...
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
With My Self in That Moment, Chamber Made gives us a dystopian view of our lost soul in the digital age
2 August 2022
Senior Lecturer in Music at the Conservatorium, Miriama Young, reviews My Self in That Moment, a new hybrid performance by Chamber Made for The Conversation....
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
- Research
Head of Theatre, Associate Professor Chris Mead discussed his latest book on ABC Radio National
1 August 2022
Listen to Associate Professor Chris Mead, Head of Theatre at the VCA as he discusses his new book 'Wondrous Strange: Seven Brief Thoughts on New Plays' on ABC Radio National....
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Staff stories
Soprano Stacey Alleaume on nerves, wardrobe malfunctions and international success
27 July 2022
Soprano Stacey Alleaume is a superstar of Australian opera; a regular at the Sydney Opera House who has performed in some of the artform’s best-known roles. And she&rsqu...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Alumni
- Music Performance
Epic opportunity for animation students
27 July 2022
Animation students are creating a short film using cutting-edge 3D technology, as part of a competition from gaming company Epic Games....
- Film and Television
- Partnerships
- Victorian College of the Arts
Diploma in Music and Bachelor of Science student Thien Pham wins $10,000 James Morrison Jazz Scholarship
27 July 2022
Diploma in Music student Thien Pham was announced the 33rd winner of the $10,000 James Morrison Jazz Scholarship for solo instrumentalists under 19 on 8 May. The announcement...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Jazz and Improvisation
Victorian College of the Arts researchers recipients of ABC TOP 5 Arts Media Residency Program
25 July 2022
Early career researchers Amaara Raheem and Yvette Grant from the University of Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts, have been awarded a 2022 ABC TOP 5 Arts Media R...
- Partnerships
- Research
- Dance
- Victorian College of the Arts
Director of the VCA, Professor Emma Redding appears in American Vogue
22 July 2022
American Vogue asked Director of the VCA, Professor Emma Redding her thoughts on the resurgence of Dance-Based fitness. Professor Redding wrote the world’s first masters degre...
First Nations uni students bring Warrior documentary to UK culture showcase
22 July 2022
A new creative initiative between Australia and the UK will see First Nations students from the University of Melbourne showcase their culture on a global platform. Among them...
- Indigenous Arts and Culture
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- International
New leadership reimagines University Museums and Collections through First Nations lens
22 July 2022
Professor Brook Andrew has been announced as the inaugural Reimagining Museums and Collections Director at the University of Melbourne....
- Indigenous Arts and Culture
- Staff stories
From Melbourne to London with promiscuous/cities
19 July 2022
by Sarah HallFor two decades, Professor Alyson Campbell has straddled the worlds of the academy and independent theatre, while recognising a tension between the two....
- Theatre
- Staff stories
- International
Resurfacing vital Indigenous history through historic film footage
19 July 2022
...
- Wilin 20th
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Research
- Staff stories
Faculty of Fine Arts and Music alumni and staff sweep up at 39th Annual Green Room Awards
18 July 2022
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music congratulates our outstanding alumni and staff who were recognised at the 39th Annual Green Room Awards....
Goran Stolevski’s 'Of an Age' to open MIFF
12 July 2022
After a decade working in relative obscurity, Australian-Macedonian writer-director and VCA grad Goran Stolevski has landed in the film industry in a big way. With thirteen fe...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
- Partnerships
Lengger Lanang: Immortalising a vanishing Indonesian dance with the help of motion capture technology
11 July 2022
New digital technologies at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) are helping to preserve Lengger Lanang, a centuries old cross-gender dance from Central Java....
- Dance
- International
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
Congratulations to Leah Columbine, 2022 recipient of the MSO Snare Drum Award
7 July 2022
Leah Columbine is a third year Bachelor of Music (Performance) student and the 2022 recipient of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) Snare Drum Award....
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Recent grad Danni A. Esposito making waves in sound design
5 July 2022
by Sarah HallSince graduating last year from a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production), Danni A. Esposito is already making waves in the sound design industry....
- Production
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
Professor Katrina Skewes McFerran appointed Director of the Research Development Unit
1 July 2022
Professor Katrina Skewes McFerran, Professor in Music Therapy and Head of the Creative Arts Therapies Research Unit in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, has been appointed a...
VCA Film and Television to host the ‘Impact Australia 3’ screen writer accelerator program
28 June 2022
Impact Australia 3, the third iteration of the highly coveted screenwriter accelerator program, will be held in-person this year on the Victorian College of the Arts’ (V...
- Partnerships
- Film and Television
- Alumni
VCA alum team up for Netflix teen hit series 'Surviving Summer'
22 June 2022
Directed by VCA alum Ben Chessell, Sian Davies and Charlotte George, with cinematography by alum Katie Milwright, Surviving Summer has already been a Netflix hit since i...
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
Flipping the script at the Venice Biennale
17 June 2022
Recently returned from launching her second Venice Biennale exhibition, for Sāmoan-based artist Yuki Kihara who is representing Aotearoa New Zealand, curator Professor Natali...
- Staff stories
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
- VCA 50
From the VCA to RISING: The many guises of Scotty So
14 June 2022
VCA graduate Scotty So is performing and exhibiting in this year’s RISING festival. Just don’t ask him to stick to one medium....
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
- Alumni
- VCA 50
Celebrating Kate Daw
14 June 2022
Kate Daw, the much-loved artist and educator who led VCA Art from 2018 – 2020, saw art as a social force deeply interwoven with everyday life....
- Visual Art
- Staff stories
Theatrum Botanicum: the choreography of ecology
10 June 2022
by Sarah HallGregory Lorenzutti has united his life’s passions for dance and ecology in Theatrum Botanicum, which opens this week at the Victorian College of the Arts, w...
- Dance
- Production
- Victorian College of the Arts
Becoming the Selfish Giant
3 June 2022
When understudy Nick Sheppard was called to play the lead in a recent Victorian Opera production, the opera performance student stepped into his biggest role yet....
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
The edges of sculpture: artist Nabilah Nordin on what drives her playful practice
2 June 2022
“I’m inspired by the impossible and always looking for what sculpture can be, and what it can do,” says Melbourne based artist, and graduate of the VCA, Nabi...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
Vale Bernhard Sachs, a mentor who lived his belief in art and artists
31 May 2022
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music was incredibly saddened to hear of the recent passing of Dr Bernhard Sachs, Lecturer in the School of Art at the Victorian College of the Ar...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
“I'm here, I'm proud and I know what I'm doing”: Third-year student and Mununjali man Nicholas Currie on his journey into painting, and his relationship with the Wilin Centre
31 May 2022
“There's a different feeling when Aboriginal people teach Aboriginal people and uphold Indigenous people, and make you feel safe, and listen to your fears.”So says...
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Wilin 20th
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Palawa and Wiradjuri theatremaker Nicola Ingram on why she makes theatre
31 May 2022
Nicola Ingram is a proud Palawa and Wiradjuri woman from nipaluna, lutruwita (Hobart, Tasmania) and a 2021 graduate of the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting). Though now a passion...
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Wilin 20th
Meet Ngioka Bunda-Heath: 2022 Hutchinson Fellow
18 May 2022
Ngioka Bunda-Heath is a Wakka Wakka, Ngugi and Birrpai dancer and storyteller whose choreographic works are a deep excavation of her cultural and ancestral histories. She is a...
- Alumni
- Dance
- Indigenous Arts and Culture
- Prizes and Awards
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Wilin 20th
Focus on new Associate Deans in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music
17 May 2022
The 2022 academic year has ushered in a new Director of the VCA and a new suite of Associate Deans for the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. These executive-level positions...
Enterprise Professor Natalie King on curating 'Paradise Camp' for the Venice Biennale
30 April 2022
The New Zealand pavilion at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia recently opened with artist Yuki Kihara’s ensemble exhibition, Para...
- International
- Staff stories
- Visual Art
‘Practically perfect’: Music Theatre alum Stefanie Jones lands major role as Mary Poppins
12 April 2022
Music Theatre alum Stefanie Jones has been selected to play the role of Mary Poppins in Cameron Mackintosh and Disney’s critically acclaimed stage production, which will...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Music Theatre
- Alumni
Steven Rhall wins 'The Paul Selzer Exhibition' $25,000 art prize
3 March 2022
Taungurung artist, Steven Rhall has been announced the prize winner of The Paul Selzer Exhibition for his work Recycled or Reclaimed (2022) at Domain House Gallery in the Roya...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
- Alumni
- Prizes and Awards
Hannah Shin wins top prize at the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition
1 March 2022
Melbourne Conservatorium of Music graduates, Hannah Shin (Bachelor of Music 2021) and Tian Tian Lan (Diploma of Music Studies 2020) were awarded first and second place at the...
- Alumni
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Prizes and Awards
Victorian College of the Arts welcomes new Director
27 February 2022
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music at the University of Melbourne is delighted to announce the arrival of Professor Emma Redding as Director of the Victorian College of the Ar...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Staff stories
- Dance
Compose Queer: Bringing queer stories into the mainstream of classical music
24 February 2022
Compose Queer is an initiative that empowers young queer composers and was conceived by vocal consort the Divisi Chamber Singers, a talented group of musicians who met and for...
- Alumni
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Backstage at Chunky Move's Yung Lung
23 February 2022
While 2020-21 posed huge challenges to many graduating students, two Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) graduates landed a surprising opportunity with CHUNKY MOVE via an online int...
- Alumni
- Dance
- Victorian College of the Arts
The Paul Selzer Exhibition: Supporting graduates of the VCA
18 February 2022
As Melbourne's arts and cultural sector remerges from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, four of the VCA's finest graduates are displaying newly commissioned works as part...
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
- Prizes and Awards
Meet James Howard, Jaadwa Musician and PhD Candidate
18 February 2022
Dr Danny Butt, Associate Director (Research) VCA and Creative Producer Claire Bredenoord raise the profile of graduate researchers at the Victorian College of the Arts through...
- Indigenous Arts and Culture
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
The Time It Takes: giving voice to those who stutter
15 February 2022
VCA filmmaker Sarah Marcuson is about to see her documentary, The Time It Takes, featured on the Melbourne International Film Festival's digital platform MIFF Play. The d...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
VCA graduates’ short films stream free on MIFF Play
15 February 2022
Almost 30 short films by some of Australia’s most exciting emerging filmmakers – the 2021 graduating class of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) Film and Tele...
- Film and Television
- Partnerships
- Victorian College of the Arts
Leanne McGowan wins Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship
14 February 2022
Leanne McGowan has been awarded the Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship, Australia’s richest prize for young violinists....
- Music Performance
- Prizes and Awards
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
VCA alum, Ari Wegner makes Oscars history with her nomination for Best Cinematography
9 February 2022
VCA graduate, Ari Wegner (Bachelor of Film & TV 2004), made history as the second woman ever nominated for Best Cinematography at the Oscars....
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
Violinists compete for Dorcas McClean Scholarship, richest prize for violinists in Australia
8 February 2022
Regarded as Australia's most important prize for violinists aged 25 years and younger, the Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship competition is now underway for 2022....
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
Expressing trauma through creative arts - and boxing
19 January 2022
Dr Donna Lyon is a film producer and senior lecturer in producing at VCA Film and Television. She talks about how research, University partnerships and the Tran...
- Film and Television
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Staff stories
A new exhibition reimagines death and body disposal practices for the 21st century
10 January 2022
We are currently experiencing a mass death event as a result of the COVID pandemic, with many friends and families mourning the end of life of their loved ones, and organising...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA's Kate Just, Prue Lang awarded 2022 Australia Council for the Arts funding
16 December 2021
The Australia Council has announced this year’s recipients of its prestigious Fellowships, valued at $80,000 over two years, including celebrated VCA Dance alum Prue Lan...
- Alumni
- Dance
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
'Good art can re-wire our brains': Meet Dr Kat Henry, Theatre lecturer at the University of Melbourne
16 December 2021
Photo credit: Southbank NewsDr Kat Henry is a theatre director and the coordinator of the Master of Theatre (Directing) program at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). Her...
- Theatre
- Staff stories
- Victorian College of the Arts
Ngioka Bunda-Heath awarded the 2021 Hutchinson Indigenous Fellowship and Residency
14 December 2021
Dancer, choreographer and storyteller Ngioka Bunda-Heath has been awarded the Hutchinson Indigenous Fellowship and Residency at the Victorian College of the Arts....
- Alumni
- Dance
- Giving
- Victorian College of the Arts
Art, identity, and 'in time': Meet Alkisti Pitsaki, Master of Theatre (Directing) graduate
14 December 2021
After graduating with a BA in Theatre Arts, Greek student Alkistis (Alkisti) Pitsaki wanted to find a graduate course that would help her develop as a director and support her...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
VCA Art Grad Show 2021 - Audiences Return
13 December 2021
The incredible creativity of the graduating cohort of VCA Art students is once again on show....
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Dobell Award continues to support Music Theatre students
8 December 2021
For almost a decade, the Dobell Award has celebrated emerging musical theatre artists from the Victorian College of the Arts....
- Music Theatre
- Giving
- Victorian College of the Arts
Film & Television graduates win big at the Sydney Film Festival
29 November 2021
VCA Film and Television graduates, Sophie Somerville and Courtney Bombell have won the prestigious 2021 Dendy Live Action Short Award for their graduation film Peeps (2019) at...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Researching the arts and wellbeing: Challenges and opportunities
22 November 2021
A recent Australia Council for the Arts workshop brought some of the country’s leading arts and mental health researchers together....
- Partnerships
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
Meet Zoyka Francalanci Aguayo, Master of Creative Arts Therapy student at the University of Melbourne
5 November 2021
As a practising psychologist with a passion for dance (Flamenco and African Rhythms), Zoyka Aguayo’s decision to study the Master of Creative Arts Therapy specialising i...
- Creative Arts Therapy
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Dance
Students band together to bring the Skyrim theme to life
5 November 2021
Led by their Chief Conductor, Richard Davis, students from the University of Melbourne’s Symphony Orchestra have banded together to record and film the theme tune of Sky...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
VCA alum Nina Sanadze wins 'the churchie' $15,000 art prize
26 October 2021
Graduate of the Bachelor of Fine Art (Hons) Nina Sanadze has been announced 2021 winner of ‘the churchie’ emerging art prize for her work Apotheosis (2021) at the...
- Prizes and Awards
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
Dance science pioneer Professor Emma Redding appointed VCA Director
20 October 2021
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music at the University of Melbourne is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Emma Redding as incoming Director of the Victorian Coll...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Dance
- Staff stories
Two Faculty violinists among Dorcas McClean award semi-finalists
6 October 2021
Seven semi-finalists and four jurors have been announced for the prestigious triennial Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship for young violinists....
- Alumni
- Giving
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Prizes and Awards
- Music Performance
VCA graduate showcase streamed free for the first time on MIFF play
20 September 2021
Short film lovers will be treated to more than 40 films by the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) Film and Television graduating class of 2020 in a special free-to-view onlin...
- Film and Television
- Showcase
- Victorian College of the Arts
Congratulations to our alumni participant in Impact 2
17 September 2021
Impact 2 was launched this week in Melbourne by award-winning filmmaking company Imagine Entertainment. The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music was delighted to learn that scr...
- Alumni
- Film and Television
Kummarge provides pathways for emerging First Nations dance artists at the VCA
16 September 2021
Kummarge, a new program directed by dance artist and visionary leader, Wiradjuri man Daniel Riley, is about ensuring that First Nations students and aspiring dance artists don...
- Dance
- Prizes and Awards
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Chris Mead, Head of Theatre at the University of Melbourne
6 September 2021
Associate Professor Chris Mead joins the Victorian College of the Arts as Head of Theatre following roles at the Melbourne Theatre Company, PlayWriting Australia and Sydney Th...
- Acting
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
In Conversation with the Creators of 'Paper City'
18 August 2021
Paper City follows the survivors of a US air attack on eastern Tokyo. Now in their twilight years, the survivors battle for recognition and reparations under a government relu...
Meet Cara Hagan and Brenton Surgenor, new faces of VCA Dance
18 August 2021
Leading specialist in somatic education, choreography and dance science Aotearoa-born Brenton Surgenor has lived and worked in the US, the UK, Hong Kong and Australia. His car...
- Dance
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
The power of mentoring: an interview with curator Professor Natalie King OAM
13 August 2021
Professor Natalie King has been recognised for her 20-plus years spent mentoring other women, colleagues and First Nations peers working in the arts....
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Research
Ablaze: Tiriki Onus resurfaces vital Indigenous history through a film about his grandfather
6 August 2021
Academic, advocate, singer and now filmmaker, Tiriki Onus discusses the film made by his grandfather William "Bill" Onus and the new documentary it inspired....
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
Master of Dance will launch at the University of Melbourne in 2022
13 July 2021
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, home of the Victorian College of the Arts and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, is pleased to launch a new Master of Dance for 2022.&n...
- Dance
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
Is our thinking about emotions wrong? Dr Frederic Kiernan, University of Melbourne
29 June 2021
Thinking about "doing" emotions, rather than just "feeling" them, offers a new perspective on the mechanisms of social change....
- Research
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Lighting of the Wilin for Reconciliation Week 2021
28 June 2021
Every year, the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music comes together to celebrate the beginning of National Reconciliation Week by lighting the Wilin as part of a formal s...
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
Meet Elliott Gyger, Associate Director of Teaching and Learning at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
27 June 2021
Elliott Gyger is Associate Professor in Composition at the University of Melbourne, with a rich and varied career in music-making and education. Here, he discusses his work, t...
Rhythm, gravity and time: Lucy Guerin on the creation of 'Pendulum' for RISING Festival
23 June 2021
Lucy Guerin, artistic director of Lucy Guerin Inc, and Matthias Schack-Arnott began conversations about PENDULUM, part of the inaugural RISING festival, as a small-scale work...
The art and science of teaching music online: Dr Carol Johnson at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
15 June 2021
Lockdown has accelerated the shift towards online music teaching, making Dr Carol Johnson’s expertise in the field, earned over nearly 20 years, more sought-after than e...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Research
- Performance Teaching
VCA Film and TV to host the Impact Australia 2 screenwriter accelerator program
10 June 2021
Impact Australia 2, the follow-up to the highly coveted screenwriter accelerator program, will be held in-person this year on the Victorian College of the Arts’ (VCA) So...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
- Partnerships
MIFFPlay and the VCA partner to showcase short films
8 June 2021
More than 40 graduating shorts films by Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) Film and Television students will be showcased on MIFFPlay, the digital platform of the Melbourne I...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
- Partnerships
Bells Make Me Sing: re-recording a Brian Brown classic to celebrate 40 years of Jazz and Improvisation
31 May 2021
In April this year, 13 students and staff from the Jazz and Improvisation course at the University of Melbourne came together to perform a new version of a very special track....
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Jazz and Improvisation
The Image is not Nothing (Concrete Archives) comes to Margaret Lawrence Gallery
26 May 2021
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music is hosting The Image is not Nothing (Concrete Archives) following the exhibition's premiere at ACE Open as part of the 2021 Adelaide Fe...
Four 2021 VCA Australians in Film mentees announced
26 May 2021
Four Victorian College of the Arts alumni will participate in an accelerator program as part of the University of Melbourne's partnership with Australians In Film (AiF)....
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
- Partnerships
VCA Production graduate pulls back the curtain on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
25 May 2021
Darcy Wischer is a Melbourne-based stage manager currently working on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and J...
Meet Nicholas Williams, Associate Director of Performance – Ensemble Studies at the Melbourne Conservatorium
20 May 2021
Dr Nicholas Enrico Williams is an Associate Professor of Music, Music Director and Conductor of the Wind Symphony and Concert Band at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Un...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet the new faces of VCA Animation: Rosalie Osman and Christie Widiarto
18 May 2021
Rosalie Osman is a 2D animator with an impressive portfolio of web, film and television works, specialising in character animation. She creates short films based on early chil...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Staff stories
- Film and Television
Meet visual artist Moonis Ahmad Shah, PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne
22 April 2021
Moonis Ahmad Shah tells Sharon Grace Flynn about using interdisciplinary methodologies to create "counter archives", completing his PhD at the Victorian College of the Arts an...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
Meet Monica Lim, Master of Music (Research) in Interactive Composition student
22 April 2021
Monica Lim’s practice investigates the composition of sound through movement. Her electromagnetic piano, created in collaboration with composer and lecturer David Shea f...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Interactive Composition
Disclosure: an Australian indie film and the team who made it
26 March 2021
Michael Bentham’s debut feature film Disclosure premiered at Palm Springs International Film Festival and Berlinale in early 2020. The film is screening at Cinema Nova...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
Bridging ethnic divides at the Mitrovica Rock School: an interview with Dr Gillian Howell
10 March 2021
Dr Gillian Howell's research investigates the contributions of music and participatory arts to post-war peace, reconciliation, cultural development and community cohesion. Her...
- Research
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Art Forum at the VCA: 'We’ve realised our community extends far beyond the borders of Southbank'
8 March 2021
The forthcoming Art Forum series at the VCA features artists such as Grace Lillian Lee, Glenda Nicholls and Brenda L Croft – and the success of last year's online events...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
Hiraeth: a new solo guitar work to celebrate 100 years since Manuel de Falla's Homenaje a Debussy
8 March 2021
A century to the day since Spanish composer Manuel de Falla's iconic Homenaje a Debussy enjoyed its first major performance, Ken Murray performs a new companion piece com...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
- Research
Feral queerness – an interview with Associate Professor Alyson Campbell
1 March 2021
Running interference? Going feral? Alyson Campbell discusses her research projects and strategies relating to her own queerness and the queerness of others....
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Research
- Theatre
Dr Sarah Woodland: 'Social justice is a connective tissue in my applied theatre work'
16 February 2021
In her role as Dean's Research Fellow in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, Dr Sarah Woodland leads a portfolio of research entitled 'Performing Justice: Arts-Led Approaches...
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Theatre
Conservatorium trombone student wins prestigious Margaret Sutherland Bursary Competition
11 February 2021
Melbourne Conservatorium Bachelor of Music student Jessica Gillham has won the Margaret Sutherland Bursary competition 2020....
- Music Performance
- Prizes and Awards
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Binga – a buoyant symbol of hope on the University of Melbourne's Southbank campus
10 February 2021
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music recently welcomed a new face on campus for Me and UooUoo: The RCH150 Anniversary Art Trail....
- Visual Art
- Giving
- Arts Precinct
- Victorian College of the Arts
Gondwana Choirs founder Lyn Williams named 2021 Heinze Award recipient
8 February 2021
The creator and driving force behind the Gondwana Voices, Sydney Children’s Choir and Gondwana Indigenous Choir has been recognised for transforming the country’s...
- Prizes and Awards
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Resilience and connection through music – in person and online
28 January 2021
COVID-19 and its attendant lockdown restrictions occurred while Professor Jane Davidson's team was already developing a range of face-to-face elements for its intercultural mu...
- Research
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Re-membrance, Re-volt, Re-emergence: a Social Practice lecture series at the VCA
14 January 2021
Re-membrance, Re-volt, Re-emergence is a global lecture series convened by Tania Cañas for the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) Social Practice and Community Engagement program...
- Research
- Social Practice and Community Engagement
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Tania Cañas, course coordinator of the Honours program in Social Practice and Community Engagement at the VCA
12 January 2021
The Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours in Social Practice and Community Engagement is a new one-year course for artists of all disciplines exploring community dynamics an...
- Social Practice and Community Engagement
- Victorian College of the Arts
Portland House Foundation Harry Hains Memorial Scholarship provides new opportunities in Film and Television at the Victorian College of the Arts
8 January 2021
Determined to support equal access opportunities in the arts, The Portland House Foundation has awarded the inaugural Harry Hains Memorial Scholarship in Film & Television...
- Giving
- Prizes and Awards
- Film and Television
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Professor Barry Conyngham – reflections of the outgoing Dean of Faculty of Fine Arts and Music
17 December 2020
When Barry Conyngham finishes up as Dean at the end of 2020, he will leave behind a faculty transformed in everything from its name to its trajectory. Here, in an edited inter...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
'Unshakable creativity, resilience, tenacity' – VCA Art 2020 Grad Show catalogue is now live
17 December 2020
The VCA Art Graduate Catalogue was launched on Wednesday night at a digital awards event, Finissage. The Catalogue, featuring more than 1,000 artworks by graduating students f...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Lecturer Sunny Kim presents the 2020 Peggy Glanville-Hicks Address
14 December 2020
Lecturer in Jazz & Improvisation at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Sunny Kim was invited to deliver the prestigious Peggy Glanville-Hicks Address earlier this month...
- Jazz and Improvisation
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Andrew Upton at the VCA: 'The blank page is humiliating, shaming, disgraceful, terrifying'
24 November 2020
Last week, VCA Master of Theatre (Writing) Coordinator Raimondo Cortese spoke with Australian playwright, screenwriter and director Andrew Upton about his career, training, pe...
- Alumni
- Theatre
- Writing
- Victorian College of the Arts
Nigel Westlake wins University of Melbourne Albert H Maggs Award for Composition
23 November 2020
The University of Melbourne last week decided the 2020 winner of the Albert H Maggs Composition Award as Nigel Westlake for his piece, Sacred Sky....
- Composition
- Contemporary music
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Words Seemed Unnecessary: the VCA's David Sequeira and Isolation Improvisation Collective make artful music
17 November 2020
Patrick Telfer, founder of the Isolation Improvisation Collective, and visual artist and lecturer at the University of Melbourne David Sequeira release a new collaborative wor...
- Interactive Composition
- Visual Art
- Staff stories
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Victorian College of the Arts graduates share in the Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture 2020
12 November 2020
Three Victorian College of the Arts graduates were among the winners at the coveted Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture 2020 announced yesterday. Lecturer in Visual Art Dr Lau...
- Alumni
- Prizes and Awards
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Caitlin Aloisio Shearer, BFA (Visual Art) student at the University of Melbourne
4 November 2020
"A creative career requires tenacity, ingenuity and strength, and the outcomes may not measure up to those that are socially sanctioned." – Caitlin Aloisio Shearer tells...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Frisson, a new short film from Alex Wu, will give you goosebumps
20 October 2020
Does listening to your favourite song give you goosebumps? Musical chills, or "frisson", are explored by VCA Film and Television alum Alex Wu in a new film entitled Frisson. C...
- Alumni
- Film and Television
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Victorian College of the Arts
Vale Dr Kim Dunphy OAM, a pioneer in dance movement therapy and much-loved friend and colleague
15 October 2020
It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of our colleague and friend Dr Kim Dunphy OAM, Program Coordinator and Senior Lecturer in Dance Movement Therapy at the Faculty...
Meet Raimondo Cortese, course coordinator of the Master of Theatre (Writing) at the University of Melbourne
13 October 2020
Writer and playwright Raimondo Cortese has written more than 30 plays which have been performed in more than a dozen countries, including Features of Blown Youth, Ro...
- Theatre
- Writing
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA Graduate Tina Stefanou wins $50,000 Schenberg Arts Fellowship
13 October 2020
"I feel like I've woken up in another universe" – The Schenberg Art Fellowship 2020, a cash prize of $50,000, has been awarded to Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) graduat...
- Alumni
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
New Dean appointed at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music
6 October 2020
The University of Melbourne has appointed Professor Marie Sierra as the new Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, home of the Victorian College of the Arts and Melb...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Alyson Campbell, Associate Professor in Theatre at the University of Melbourne
17 September 2020
Associate Professor in Theatre Alyson Campbell is a freelance director and dramaturg with an astounding 30-year career, and teaching credits that feature the School of Creativ...
- Staff stories
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Ravi Avasti, Master of Contemporary Art graduate, University of Melbourne
16 September 2020
Kyneton based Ravi Avasti completed a Master of Contemporary Art at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne in 2018. He was awarded the Fiona Myer White Sto...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Guitar Perspectives 2020 – some student works to savour, right here
16 September 2020
The Guitar Perspectives Online Celebration 2020, held late last month, featured 42 videos showcasing the breadth and diversity of the Melbourne Conservatorium's renowned...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Dr Richard Letts receives the 2020 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
9 September 2020
Australian musician, author and advocate Dr Richard Letts AM has been awarded the 2020 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award....
- Prizes and Awards
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Vale Kate Daw, a shining light for all who knew her
8 September 2020
Dr Kate Daw, Head of VCA Art and much-loved friend, colleague and artist, passed away in the early hours of Monday morning. Here, Jon Cattapan remembers her life and incredibl...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
From Southbank to West Side Story: The Maverick Brass Quintet perform Bernstein
25 August 2020
The Maverick Brass Quintet is a group of musicians based all around the world that meets seasonally to take on creative projects such as summer festivals and international com...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
- Alumni
Guitar Perspectives 2020: music made in isolation by Melbourne Conservatorium staff, students and special guests
24 August 2020
Yes, we would have preferred to be celebrating together in person but the Guitar Perspectives 2020 Online Celebration still provides as much excitement, passion and inspiratio...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Jane Schon, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre) student at the University of Melbourne
21 August 2020
"Risk-takers are so much more interesting to watch," says Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre) student Jane Schon. With journalism and marketing skills, Jane is looking to create a...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Future Forward: watch the best of the 2020 symposium for graduates entering the creative industries
18 August 2020
Future Forward is a week-long online symposium, designed to support graduating students with the skills they need to transition into creative industries, with a COVID-19...
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Richard Roberts, Head of Design at the Victorian College of the Arts
17 August 2020
Richard Roberts is an Australian freelance theatre designer and design teacher, based in Melbourne. His design experience includes designs for drama, dance, film, television a...
- Production
- Design
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Staff stories
Event Horizon: an Art + Australia symposium and special issue
12 August 2020
Australia’s seminal art journal, Art + Australia, will explore the conjunction of art and science in its next issue, titled Event Horizon, which will be released th...
- Visual Art
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet John Meade, Head of the Graduate Certificate of Visual Art at the University of Melbourne
12 August 2020
"We teach students how to think, how to look at art, and how to make art." Artist and Lecturer in Painting Dr John Meade has been described as having "an omnivorous eye". He u...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
Meet Jordine Cornish, Master of Creative Arts Therapy student at the University of Melbourne
12 August 2020
Jordine Cornish has lived, worked and danced across Israel and Europe. Now her feet have landed back in Melbourne, where she is strengthening her creative career with a Master...
- Creative Arts Therapy
- Dance
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Jo Briscoe, Lecturer and Course Coordinator in Design and Production at the University of Melbourne
31 July 2020
Jo Briscoe is a production designer working in film and television and is a Lecturer in Design at the Victorian College of the Arts. Her professional design practice includes...
- Staff stories
- Design
- Production
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Steph Kehoe, Course Coordinator of the BFA (Theatre) at the University of Melbourne
31 July 2020
Steph Kehoe has worked as a teacher, director and performer in Australia, Europe, the Americas and Asia. She trained under Jacques Lecoq at Ecole International de Théâtre Jacq...
- Staff stories
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Derrick Duan, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation) student
31 July 2020
Derrick took the plunge to move to Melbourne from South Australia to study a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation) at the Victorian College of the Arts. Fortunately, he's "200% co...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Raafat Ishak, Head of Painting at the VCA
30 July 2020
Raafat Ishak is the Head of Painting at the Victorian College of the Arts. Working across painting, installation and site-specific drawing, Ishak’s practice is informed...
Meet Samantha Hargreaves, Master of Music (Opera Performance) student
30 July 2020
Samantha Hargreaves entered the Master of Music (Opera Performance) with her singing voice quavering, but now has many production credits to her name. Meet Samantha and learn...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
Meet Mikaylah, BFA (Visual Art) student at the University of Melbourne
30 July 2020
Mikaylah Lepua is studying photography as part of the Bachelor Fine Arts (Visual Art) and is exploring her culture through her own unique lens. She describes herself as loud,...
- Indigenous Arts and Culture
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Sherry-Lee, BFA (Music Theatre) student at the University of Melbourne
30 July 2020
An Arrente woman from Alice Springs, Sherry-Lee Watson always wanted to perform. Now she's on her way to living her dream in Melbourne, studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music...
- Music Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Short stop at MIFF program
29 July 2020
Six films by Victorian College of the Arts Film and Television alumni have been selected as part of a new MIFF Shorts retrospective focusing on connections....
- Alumni
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
The William Tell Overture – performed by the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and VCA dancers, at home
28 July 2020
Apples were the order of the day for University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and a select number of Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) students. After the great success of the...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Dance
- Victorian College of the Arts
How VCA acting students embraced the 'Mike Leigh Improvisation Method'
21 July 2020
Improvisation is a core skill built into the curriculum of our emerging actors. Budi Miller, Head of Acting at the VCA, talks us through the Mike Leigh Improvisation Method, a...
- Acting
- Victorian College of the Arts
Welcome to Interactive Composition Open House
20 July 2020
The Melbourne Conservatorium's Interactive Composition students are well positioned to innovate in times of trouble. Indeed, in their recent Open House streaming concert, stud...
- Interactive Composition
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Finding voice – Katy Abbott on composing Hidden Thoughts II: Return to Sender
20 July 2020
Celebrated Melbourne Conservatorium composer Katy Abbott discusses her latest work, incorporating letters sent by members of the Australian public to detained asylum seekers o...
- Research
- Composition
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Henry Kelly, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre) graduate at the University of Melbourne
16 July 2020
Henry Kelly graduated from the first cohort of the re-imagined Bachelor of Fine Art (Theatre) course at the Victorian College of the Arts. Life has presented many highs and lo...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
Meet Morgan Rose, graduate of the Master of Theatre (Writing) at the University of Melbourne
16 July 2020
Morgan Rose is a graduate of the Master of Theatre (Writing) (formerly Master of Writing for Performance) program at the Victorian College of the Arts. She works with teens th...
- Alumni
- Theatre
- Writing
- Victorian College of the Arts
Dear Australia – new Australian performance writing
10 July 2020
Playwriting Australia’s (PWA) Dear Australia offers bite-sized monologues that give voice to the hopes and fears of Australians facing the persistent threat of COVI...
- Alumni
- Theatre
- Writing
- Victorian College of the Arts
Ronald Farren-Price, a legend of Australian music, turns 90
2 July 2020
Friends, family and colleagues of distinguished Australian concert pianist and music educator Ronald Farren-Price AM gathered for a small online ceremony today to mark his 90t...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Sophie Ash, mogul skier and animation student
2 July 2020
Sport and animation are not considered to go hand in hand, but Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation) student Sophie Ash has blended her love of mogul skiing and fine art into one...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Lockdown What You Will – Shakespeare Online
2 July 2020
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) students had already started rehearsing for their annual Shakespeare showcases when COVID-19 took us into a virtual campus. Not to be perturbed,...
- Acting
- Victorian College of the Arts
So you've mastered screenwriting at the VCA – what comes next?
1 July 2020
The screenwriter may not be the first name to roll in the credits – but more often than not they're the backbone of any film and television project. We spoke to some wri...
- Alumni
- Film and Television
- Writing
- Victorian College of the Arts
Mongrel 2020: music theatre, cabaret, and live performance to watch online
1 July 2020
What happens when Music Theatre students and Interactive Composition students from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music bring together their creative talents in the lockdown era...
- Interactive Composition
- Music Theatre
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Kyle Ramboyong, BFA (Dance) student at the University of Melbourne
30 June 2020
Take a deep dive into the life of a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) student. Kyle Ramboyong shares the sage advice he wishes he'd heard before beginning his dance journey at the...
- Dance
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Danna Yun, Composition alum at the University of Melbourne
25 June 2020
Multi-instrumentalist Danna Yun talks composition, collaboration, video-game music and life goals....
- Alumni
- Composition
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Lisa Osborn, Head of Production at the University of Melbourne
25 June 2020
Lisa Osborn has worked as a stage manager throughout Australia and internationally and has been at the VCA since 2018. She has worked on productions for many leading companies...
- Design
- Production
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Jade Nye, Jazz and Improvisation student at the University of Melbourne
24 June 2020
Jade Nye auditioned at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music for voice studies, so she certainly wasn't expecting to graduate on the saxophone. And yet .....
- Jazz and Improvisation
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Paul Fletcher, Senior Lecturer in Animation at the University of Melbourne
24 June 2020
Paul Fletcher is a Senior Lecturer in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation) program at the Victorian College of the Arts. Here, he tells us about the course and what it involv...
- Staff stories
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Dianne Miranda, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) student
17 June 2020
Dianne Miranda auditioned for three different programs at the University of Melbourne – but since starting her Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) course, she hasn't looked b...
- Acting
- Victorian College of the Arts
Protect your voice on Zoom, with vocal coach Amy Hume
1 June 2020
For the latest in our How To series, voice coach and VCA Theatre (Voice) lecturer Amy Hume gives some clear tips on protecting your voice while working and playing online...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Theatre
17-carrot gold – new work by Master of Film and Television students
22 May 2020
First-year Master of Film and Television students were tasked with creating a unique piece of content from home, and ... they hopped to it....
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
How to play a simple blues guitar solo
19 May 2020
In the latest in our How To series – shot from home while the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music operates virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions – Head of Guitar Dr Ke...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
Noel Hutchison, sculptor and art writer, remembered
13 May 2020
Acclaimed sculptor and art writer Noel Hutchison established the first Honours Degree at the VCA and was its first coordinator. His friend and colleague Aleks Danko, Honorary...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
104 Concert Halls: Ravel's Boléro (from home) by the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
12 May 2020
Most arts and music disciplines rely on collaboration, but maybe none more so than orchestral performance. By its nature, an orchestra is a collective – the trick, more...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
New ABC media residency for arts practitioners and researchers
1 May 2020
The University of Melbourne is partnering with the ABC and the Australia Council to present TOP 5 Arts – a media residency for graduate early-career practitioners and Ph...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Research
- Alumni
VCA introduces updated BFA curriculum for 2021
10 March 2020
In 2021, the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) will introduce an updated Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) curriculum, in which students will continue to take practical, studio-ba...
Meet Dr Brad Merrick, Senior Lecturer in Music (Performance Teaching) at the Melbourne Conservatorium
5 March 2020
Dr Brad Merrick is a passionate educator and performer who has been involved in music and performance teaching for many years. What does his life look like since he joined the...
- Performance Teaching
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Staff stories
VCA filmmakers get a seat at the table with Australians in Film in LA
4 March 2020
Victorian College of the Arts Film and Television alumni will have the opportunity to work at the former home of Charlie Chaplin in Los Angeles, thanks to a new partnersh...
- Film and Television
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
Visual Artist Scotty So opens up about drag, authenticity, and getting mistaken for Carrie Lam on the internet
13 February 2020
In 2019, Scotty So began exploring notions of reality and authenticity – but how did this lead to his alter-ego being accidentally picked up by international news m...
- Alumni
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Art Schools for Fire Relief raises more than $100,000 for recovery charities
7 February 2020
More than $100,000 has been raised for Wildlife Victoria and the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund in an art exhibition hosted by the Victorian College of the Arts at the Margar...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
Alumni collaborate on Asia TOPA's The Seen and Unseen
31 January 2020
Eugyeene Teh and Adena Jacobs met at the VCA in 2007. 13 Years later, they’re collaborating with fellow Australian theatremaker Jenny Hector, Indonesian artist Kamila An...
- Alumni
- Design
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Dr Suzanne Fraser: coordinating the Centre of Visual Art (CoVA) – a ‘big, beautiful creature’ at the University of Melbourne
20 January 2020
Dr Suzanne Fraser is Centre Coordinator at the University of Melbourne's Centre of Visual Art (CoVA) and was previously a lecturer in Art History at the University. As well as...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Research
Robert Walton on Child of Now and bringing your heart to work
10 January 2020
A creative trailblazer, Victorian College of the Arts Theatre lecturer Robert Walton has been credited with creating the world’s first piece of iPad theatre and has tour...
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Theatre
- Research
Four new faces at the Melbourne Conservatorium in 2020
23 December 2019
2020 promises to be an exciting year at the Melbourne Conservatorium, with milestone anniversaries, an incredible array of public performances, and teaching, research and musi...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Musicology
- Staff stories
- Jazz and Improvisation
- Music Performance
Corrie Chen, filmmaker: some advice for film and television graduates at the University of Melbourne
12 December 2019
Award-winning filmmaker and television director Corrie Chen graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Bachelor Film and Television (Hons) in 2008, and a Master i...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
Dr Kim Dunphy, Dance Movement Therapist: ‘It’s our moral obligation to make a contribution’
4 December 2019
Digital archives of sung poems might seem a long way away from dance movement therapy, but for Dunphy it’s all part of a broader engagement with art, culture and communi...
- Creative Arts Therapy
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Research
A chance for teachers to upskill and make music accessible to students with disabilities
3 December 2019
A new course at the University of Melbourne will help equip music teachers with the skills to work with students with special needs and ensure they have equal access...
- Music Therapy
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Short courses
Chris Kohn, VCA lecturer: putting diversity centre stage
28 November 2019
Since 2016, Chris Kohn has been working on a PhD looking at theatre made by people with intellectual disabilities and those identifying as neurodiverse. Right now, though, he'...
- Research
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA ART GRAD.SHOW.2019 – it's time to get excited
27 November 2019
Every year's VCA Art Grad Show is an event to remember, but this year it's bigger and better than ever....
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Conversations on Country: experiencing Indigenous cultural and creative practices with the Wilin Centre
26 November 2019
Each year, the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development takes University of Melbourne students out on Country. Mireille Stahle joined the team in Yorta Yorta...
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
VCA Film & Television Graduate Screenings 2019 – what to expect
26 November 2019
The Victorian College of the Arts film screening season takes place between Friday 6 and Sunday 15 December 2019 at The Capitol, Melbourne....
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Operation opera: the secret of success at the Melbourne Conservatorium’s Voice department
15 November 2019
What do Georgia Wilkinson, winner of the 2019 Herald Sun Aria competition, and Chloe Harris, who won this year’s prestigious Richard Divall Prize, have in common? Well,...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Luke Devenish: how screenwriting pulses through The Heart of the Ritz
14 November 2019
Luke Devenish is a novelist, screenwriter, playwright and lecturer who currently teaches Screenwriting at the Victorian College of the Arts. So how do all of those skills comb...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Writing
Meet Priya Namana, Master of Contemporary Art student at the University of Melbourne
11 November 2019
After moving to Melbourne to pursue design, Priya Namana found herself increasingly frustrated at the socio-political climate around her. She talks about how she found a const...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Homeside: music therapy for people living with dementia goes global
31 October 2019
Homeside is training family carers worldwide to use music interventions to manage behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia....
- Music Therapy
- Research
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
The need for truthing in language rematriation
29 October 2019
In this edited extract of her recent 2019 Lin Onus Oration at the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, Dr Lou Bennet makes a compelling case for the impor...
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Dr Katy Abbott wins for Hidden Thoughts at the 2019 Paul Lowin Prizes
28 October 2019
Dr Katy Abbott, Senior Lecturer in Music (Composition) at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, has been announced as one of the winners of the 2019 Paul Lowin Prizes in a ce...
- Composition
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
And action! The VCA Digital Archive opens to the public
28 October 2019
Every VCA graduation film since 1966 is now stored in digital form. A new exhibition at the University of Melbourne showcases this treasure trove for the first time....
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Research
Richard Frankland says 2002 play about deaths in custody is sadly still relevant
24 October 2019
Richard Frankland is not surprised his 2002 play about deaths in custody, Conversations with the Dead, is being restaged or that the story is still topical....
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Five Questions for Lauren Gould, Master of Production Design for Screen student
17 October 2019
Master of Production Design for Screen student Lauren Gould discusses her career-defining internships in film and television....
- Design
- Production
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Film and Television
Five Questions for Caitlin Overton, Master of Theatre (Directing) student
16 October 2019
Having grown up in rural NSW, VCA Theatre student Caitlin Overton is looking for ways to bridge the gap between rural and metropolitan creatives....
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Krishan Meepe, Ethnomusicology student at the University of Melbourne
14 October 2019
Melbourne Conservatorium of Music student Krishan Meepe says Ethnomusicology has given him the tools to unpack some of the complex intersections of music, and politics....
- Ethnomusicology
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Omar Hassan, Photography student at the University of Melbourne
14 October 2019
Omar Hassan enrolled in the VCA Art (Photography) degree straight out of high school and is determined to take each day as it comes....
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Bouyancy director Rodd Rathjen: interview
11 October 2019
Buoyancy is Australia's submission for Best International Feature at the 2020 Oscars. We talk to the director of this brutal and beautiful film....
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
An artist bears witness to those detained on Manus Island
8 October 2019
Manus Island refugee processing may be coming to an end, but new portraits shine a light on the lives left in limbo....
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Tilly Webb, Interactive Composition student at the University of Melbourne
3 October 2019
Now in her third year, musician Tilly Webb explains why she chose to study Interactive Composition, and how she learned to trust her gut....
- Composition
- Interactive Composition
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Athina Wilson, Film and Television student at the University of Melbourne
25 September 2019
BFA (Narrative) student Athina Wilson talks about empathy, team-building and women in cinema....
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Claire Bird, Theatre student at the University of Melbourne
20 September 2019
Claire Bird is studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre). She talks about the moments of discovery while studying and the importance of failing gloriously....
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Nathan Santamaria, Design and Production student at the University of Melbourne
18 September 2019
Nathan Santamaria is a sound designer, engineer and composer studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Design and Production), he talks about travelling to Prague this year to attend...
Meet Jasmine Vaughns, Music Theatre student at the University of Melbourne
17 September 2019
Jasmine Vaughns, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre) student, talks about meeting her idol in New York and the importance of being brave....
- Music Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Liz Smith, Graduate Certificate in Visual Art student
17 September 2019
After a 40-year career in psychology and education, Liz Smith is on her way to becoming an artist full-time via the Graduate Certificate in Visual Art at the Victorian College...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Danni Zhang, Screenwriting student at the University of Melbourne
17 September 2019
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting) student Danni Zhang talks about her run-in with Mr. Feminism, and what excites her about a career in screenwriting....
- Writing
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Richard Tognetti: 'Creatives should be able to test the waters and pour in as much acid as they like'
13 September 2019
Richard Tognetti is Artistic Director and leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO). Here, the violinist, composer and conductor reflects on the University of Melbourne...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Charby Ibrahim, Master of Film and Television (Documentary) graduate
6 September 2019
From teacher to filmmaker, Master of Film and Television (Documentary) graduate Charby Ibrahim is passionate about social justice. He talks about how he’s trying to push...
- Alumni
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Master of Creative Arts Therapy: an Australian first at the University of Melbourne
6 September 2019
A new Master of Creative Arts Therapy course has been announced by the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music at the University of Melbourne....
- Creative Arts Therapy
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Victorian College of the Arts
What's a girl? Just ask Ellen Grimshaw
2 September 2019
Ellen Grimshaw graduated in 2018 from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Master in Writing for Performance. Here she discusses her new show, inspired by her work for the...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
New graduate-level voice training for stage and screen at the University of Melbourne
27 August 2019
A new masters course has been launched to provide students with industry-leading knowledge and skills to work as a professional voice coach in the performing arts, film and te...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA Digital Archive: dance on film
21 August 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and bre...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Dance
Willow Sizer on cowboys, taxes … and fighting the status quo
20 August 2019
Willow Sizer, who graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2017 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre), is one of 30 student and alumni artists from the Faculty of...
- Victorian College of the Arts
Dr Andrew McAliece and Dr Richard Simmie: supporting performing arts students, through their lifetime giving and a gift in their Wills
13 August 2019
Andrew McAliece and Richard Simmie’s decision to support performing arts students, through their lifetime giving and a gift in their Wills, has opened up a whole new wor...
Welcome to the new Director of the Melbourne Conservatorium
9 August 2019
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music at the University of Melbourne welcomes a new Director to the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Dr Richard Kurth....
- Arts Precinct
- International
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Yamandu Costa, virtuoso guitarist: ‘I believe in the beauty of people’
30 July 2019
Ahead of Yamandu Costa’s performance at the Melbourne Conservatorium in early August, guitarist and Faculty of Fine Arts and Music alumna Rose de La Montaña speaks to th...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Ng Sze Min, Bachelor of Music (Interactive Composition) graduate from the Melbourne Conservatorium
25 July 2019
After completing a three-year diploma in music composition at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, Ng Sze Min moved to Melbourne to study Interactive Compositio...
- Interactive Composition
- Contemporary music
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
VCA Digital Archive: Word Art
25 July 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and bre...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Sally Smart: “First Commissions takes our artists to the world”
24 July 2019
Ahead of the First Commissions exhibition in Melbourne on 27 and 28 July, multidisciplinary artist – and Vice-Chancellors Professorial Fellow of the University of M...
- International
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
VCA Digital Archive: The City
18 July 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and bre...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA Digital Archive: an interview with filmmaker Qiu Yang
16 July 2019
He recently won the Leitz Cine Discovery Prize during Critic’s Week at Cannes. Meet the Changzhou-based filmmaker and VCA Master of Film and Television graduate Qiu Yang...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Elijah Wald: how the guitar shaped – and didn’t shape – the world
16 July 2019
Elijah Wald is a musician, writer and historian who has been playing guitar for more than 50 years. Ahead of his keynote address at the Melbourne Conservatorium of M...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Southbank Campus to open for Open House Melbourne
16 July 2019
Open House Melbourne visitors can be among the first to see the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music’s new world-class spaces at Southbank on 27 and 28 July, as part of a broa...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
- Music Performance
- Arts Precinct
The origins of musical expertise: beyond born versus made
16 July 2019
The International Symposium on Performance Science (ISPS) is a biennial meeting of performers and scientists that provides a platform to discuss all facets of performance and...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Research
Bill Henson: ‘There is no formula for how creativity unfolds’
10 July 2019
Bill Henson is one of Australia’s best-known contemporary photographers – but it was not always thus. As the First Commissions art project launches ahead of an exh...
- International
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
Brazilian guitarist Yamandu Costa in six videos
10 July 2019
His talents and virtuosity are recognised and celebrated worldwide. Ahead of Brazilian guitarist Yamandu Costa’s performance at the Melbourne Conservatorium next month,...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
First Commissions art project launches in Florence
4 July 2019
A major Australian arts project presented by the University of Melbourne has been launched at the feet of Michelangelo’s David, the world’s most famous statem...
- International
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
The International Symposium on Performance Science, Melbourne – what you need to know
1 July 2019
The International Symposium on Performance Science (ISPS) is a biennial meeting of performers and scientists that provides a platform to discuss all facets of performance and...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Research
- Music Performance
VCA Digital Archive: why so queer?
27 June 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and bre...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA Digital Archive: menstruation as inspiration
20 June 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and bre...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Jesus Christ! Meet VCA Superstar Robert Tripolino
19 June 2019
Robert Tripolino graduated in 2011 with the first ever cohort of Music Theatre students at the Victorian College of the Arts. Now Robert has landed the title role of Jesu...
- Music Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
VCA Digital Archive: #Metoo and the myth of male genius
13 June 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and bre...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Deborah Cheetham AO wins the Sir Bernard Heinze Award
7 June 2019
Acclaimed Yorta Yorta soprano, composer and Artistic Director of Short Black Opera, Deborah Cheetham AO, has been awarded the 2019 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award....
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
VCA Digital Archive: top ten horror films
6 June 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and bre...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Photo gallery: Ian Potter Southbank Centre launch
4 June 2019
More than 250 student and staff musicians helped bring The Ian Potter Southbank Centre to life for the official launch on 1 June 2019, with a program featuring orchestral work...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
Australian Chamber Orchestra partners with University of Melbourne
3 June 2019
Students and staff at the University of Melbourne will have unparalleled access to education and research opportunities with a $1 million partnership with the Australian Chamb...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
VCA Digital Archive: Justin Kurzel, Adam Elliot, Ariel Kleiman
31 May 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and bre...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Bethany Fellows, Master of Design for Performance student, University of Melbourne
28 May 2019
Although Bethany Fellows knew she wanted to study at the Victorian College of the Arts, she never knew she’d end up studying stage design in the Master of Desi...
- Production
- Victorian College of the Arts
Alumni stories: Eugene Ughetti
28 May 2019
The percussionist, composer, conductor and artistic director of Speak Percussion is known for tackling complex and ambitious art music projects. Here, he discusses his time at...
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Alumni
- Visual Art
- Music Performance
VCA Digital Archive: animation and diversity
24 May 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and bre...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Kliment Poposki, Master of Dramaturgy, University of Melbourne
1 May 2019
It was a long journey for Kliment Poposki from science to Dramaturgy, but now he can’t imagine doing anything else....
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
Adam Elliot, filmmaker – Alumni Stories at the VCA, University of Melbourne
24 April 2019
Adam Elliot completed his Post-Graduate Diploma in Animation at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1996. He went on to win the 2004 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Fil...
- Film and Television
- Alumni
VCA Digital Archive: Chinese families through children’s eyes
18 April 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and breadth...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Capital D Disability in Theatre with Julie McNamara at the University of Melbourne
18 April 2019
Julie ‘Mack’ McNamara, an Honorary Fellow at VCA Theatre and the Artistic Director of Vital Xposure, one of UK’s leading disability led touring theatre compa...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Herbie Hancock comes to the University of Melbourne for International Jazz Day
15 April 2019
UNESCO’s 2019 International Jazz Day will be presented this month in partnership with the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Head of Jazz and Improvisation Associate Pro...
- Jazz and Improvisation
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
VCA Digital Archive: short documentaries
11 April 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and breadth...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Lin Onus: eternal landscape of the artist’s mind
9 April 2019
A new exhibition at the University of Melbourne celebrates the work and ongoing influence of the late Yorta Yorta artist Lin Onus. By Dr David Sequeira, Director Margaret...
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
Five questions for Dr Anthony Lyons, Interactive Composition lecturer, University of Melbourne
8 April 2019
Composer, performer and academic Dr Anthony Lyons has created an incredibly diverse range of music in his career, from orchestral works to EDM to multimedia installations. But...
- Interactive Composition
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Staff stories
VCA Digital Archive: film festivals, and what they’re looking for
5 April 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and breadth...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Vale Jonathan Taylor: remembering a giant of VCA Dance
1 April 2019
Choreographer and educator Jonathan Taylor was appointed Dean of Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1988, and worked at the College until 1997. VCA Dance lecturer&n...
- Dance
- Victorian College of the Arts
Five questions for Dr Annabelle Murphy, Senior Lecturer (Film and Television), University of Melbourne
29 March 2019
As part of our ongoing Staff Stories, Dr Annabelle Murphy discusses her filmmaking and academic career, which began with a classic red typewriter and a big imagination.As...
- Film and Television
- Staff stories
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA Digital Archive: Melbourne, you’re a star!
28 March 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and breadth...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
The Ian Potter Southbank Centre opens for Melbourne Conservatorium students and staff
27 March 2019
More than 1,000 students and staff have moved into the new state-of-the-art Ian Potter Southbank Centre, home to the new Melbourne Conservatorium of Music....
- Arts Precinct
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
I Wayan Dibia: bringing Balinese traditions into performance study at the VCA
27 March 2019
Professor I Wayan Dibia is a Senior Honorary Fellow in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music and a master teacher from Bali. Each Summer, via the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music G...
- Acting
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA Digital Archive: Towering storeys
21 March 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and breadth...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Hannes Lackmann, Master of Music (Performance Teaching) graduate, University of Melbourne
15 March 2019
Percussionist Hannes Lackmann was performing regularly on the Melbourne music scene after graduating – so what inspired this Jazz & Improvisation graduate to pursue...
- Alumni
- Performance Teaching
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
VCA Digital Archive: Ding! Ding! Melbourne trams
14 March 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and breadth...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA Digital Archive: Gay experience
7 March 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and breadth...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA Digital Archive: Girl at the Window, inspired by a Gerald Murnane documentary
28 February 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and breadth...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Giulia Giannini McGauran, VCA Art graduate and photographer
25 February 2019
VCA alumna Giulia McGauran wanted to be a nurse, studied drawing, and works now as a photographer. Here she tells us about her artistic inspirations, favourite shoots fro...
- Alumni
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA Digital Archive: Life after death
21 February 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and breadth...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Rachael Alford, Master of Screenwriting graduate, University of Melbourne
20 February 2019
An actor and writer, Rachael Alford recently graduated from the Master of Screenwriting at the Victorian College of the Arts. Here, she talks about her approach to work, her p...
- Writing
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
VCA Digital Archive: Love and joy
14 February 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films that date back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and breadth...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Carol Brown announced as the new Head of VCA Dance
12 February 2019
Carol Brown has been announced as the new Head of VCA Dance at the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. The internationally-established creative res...
- Dance
- Staff stories
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA Digital Archive: Representations of mental health in film
7 February 2019
The VCA Digital Archive is a living audiovisual record of student films dating back to 1966. The articles in this series respond thematically to the depth and breadth of...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
What is Interactive Composition at the University of Melbourne?
14 January 2019
It defies easy definition, but those who have had anything to do with Interactive Composition at The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music know its value. It’s a course for inn...
- Interactive Composition
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Winging It – a web series produced by the University of Melbourne
11 January 2019
“Heaven has been corporatised, and no-one hates his job more than Michael …” Winging It is a seven-part web series developed as part of a Faculty of Fi...
- Film and Television
- Writing
- Interactive Composition
- Theatre
- Acting
- Victorian College of the Arts
Let’s get digital: an archive of work by VCA film graduates, coming soon
27 December 2018
2019 will see the much-anticipated launch of a Digital Archive featuring work by VCA Film and Television graduating filmmakers across the decades.By Donna Lyon-Hensler...
- Film and Television
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Tyran Parke, the new Head of Music Theatre at the University of Melbourne
14 December 2018
Award-winning singer, actor, director and recording artist Tyran Parke will be stepping into the role of Head of VCA Music Theatre in January 2019. He talks to Thuy On about h...
- Music Theatre
- Staff stories
- Victorian College of the Arts
Curating A Life: Professor Natalie King
13 December 2018
This year, curator and writer Professor Natalie King was recognised by the Australian Financial Review as part of their 100 Women of Influence awards for her contrib...
Tiriki Onus: five questions for the Acting Head of the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development at the University of Melbourne
3 December 2018
The Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, percentage-wise, has the highest number of Indigenous students of any faculty at any university in Victoria, and now there are plans to ren...
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Arts Precinct
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Research
- Partnerships
Natalie Williams wins the 2018 Albert H Maggs Composition Award
28 November 2018
Composer Natalie Williams has been awarded the 2018 Albert H Maggs Composition Award for her string octet Saudade....
Five questions for Dr Erin Helyard, Senior Lecturer (Historical Performance and Musicology), University of Melbourne
27 November 2018
As part of our ongoing Staff Stories, Dr Erin Helyard discusses conducting, his favourite writers and the trait he most deplores in others.As told to Kelly Southworth....
- Staff stories
- Early Music Studio
- Musicology
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Flamingos, giants, and School of Rock: backstage with VCA Production students
27 November 2018
Without sound designers, stage managers, and set and costume designers, many stage, screen and music performances would never get off the ground. We spoke to three graduating...
- Production
- Design
- Victorian College of the Arts
Artist Moorina Bonini on the reclamation of cultural identity
27 November 2018
Graduating VCA Visual Art Honours student Moorina Bonini discusses her work The Other Reclaims, exhibited in The Stables as part of the 2018 VCA Art Graduate Exhibit...
- Alumni
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA 2018 Graduate Film Series: Moonshine
26 November 2018
The annual Victorian College of the Arts Film and Television Graduate Screenings showcase the talent of our Film & Television students. We caught up with filmmaker Jake Ne...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Indigenous artist Yhonnie Scarce wins prestigious RAKA Award
23 November 2018
Victorian College of the Arts Lecturer Yhonnie Scarce has been named the 2018 Kate Challis RAKA Award recipient for her contribution to the visual arts using blown g...
- Indigenous Arts and Culture
- Prizes and Awards
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Visual Art
VCA 2018 Graduate Film Series: Love is a Lunatic City
23 November 2018
The annual Victorian College of the Arts Film and Television Graduate Screenings showcase the talent of our Film and Television students. We caught up with director Hannah Moo...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA 2018 Graduate Film Series: Among Men
23 November 2018
The annual Victorian College of the Arts Film and Television Graduate Screenings showcase the talent of our Film & Television students. We caught up with director Ande Cun...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Explainer: what is artistic research?
20 November 2018
The role of artistic researchers is not to describe their work – it’s something else entirely.By Professor Barb Bolt, Faculty of Fine Arts and Music....
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Chloe Uhrmacher, Diploma in Music student, University of Melbourne
19 November 2018
French horn player Chloe Uhrmacher is in the final year of a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne with a concurrent Diploma in Music at the Melbourne Conser...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Tom Richards, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) graduate, University of Melbourne
7 November 2018
Tom Richards auditioned three times before getting into the VCA’s Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) – so has it been worth it?As told to Kelly Southworth....
- Acting
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Five questions for Dr Kate Just, Graduate Coursework Coordinator (Visual Art), University of Melbourne
7 November 2018
Dr Kate Just is an award-winning contemporary artist and academic who has worked extensively with representations of the body, feminism, and queer arts theory and practic...
- Short courses
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Sarah Vickery, Master of Directing for Performance student, University of Melbourne
18 October 2018
Directing plays for Mardi Gras, tackling the challenge of academic study, and developing work that tackles provocative social issues – for Victorian College of the Arts...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Sneak preview of the new Ian Potter Southbank Centre in the Melbourne Arts Precinct
15 October 2018
Victoria’s Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley was welcomed to The Ian Potter Southbank Centre today, with a performance by Conservatorium brass students Hanna...
- Arts Precinct
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
- Contemporary music
101 Sensations: on tour with the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in Asia
12 October 2018
Between 23 September and 29 September 2018, the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performed in Singapore and Shanghai, the first time it had ever travelled overseas....
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Showcase
- International
Jon Cattapan becomes the first artist to test a new edition-making initiative at the VCA
12 October 2018
A new edition-making initiative will see visiting artists creating work at the recently refurbished Victorian College of the Arts Print Workshop.By Susanna Ling...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Staff stories
- Arts Precinct
Arts explainer: what is social practice?
5 October 2018
We hear a lot about social practice in the arts, but what actually is it? We asked course coordinator of the University of Melbourne’s new Bachelor of Fine Arts (Ho...
- Social Practice and Community Engagement
- Indigenous Arts and Culture
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
A tour of Melbourne’s Arts Precinct and the people who make it
21 September 2018
The reimagining of Melbourne’s Southbank is a source of disruption, possibility and hope for the people and organisations of the Arts Precinct. By Susanna Ling...
- Arts Precinct
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Partnerships
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
Margot Fenley to step down as Head of VCA Music Theatre
21 September 2018
Head of VCA Music Theatre Margot Fenley has announced she will step down at the end of 2018 to take on a new teaching position within the discipline....
- Music Theatre
- Staff stories
- Victorian College of the Arts
Tillman Jex: life as an Interactive Composition grad in Berlin
19 September 2018
Berlin was always part of the plan for Tillman Jex – and he knows how to make it work for him.By Paul Dalgarno...
- Interactive Composition
- Alumni
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
VCA Dance – on board with the Travelling Dance Studio in Berlin
17 September 2018
Some 22 VCA Dance students recently took part in the annual Travelling Dance Studio program in France and Germany, honing their knowledge and skills in ways that will benefit...
- Dance
- International
- Victorian College of the Arts
Alice Humphries: turning the Tide with the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
14 September 2018
More than 100 young musicians will embark on their first international tour when the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra travels to Singapore and Shanghai later this mo...
- Music Performance
- Composition
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Alumni
Jonathan Mills: How the University of Melbourne’s Southbank campus benefits the city’s Arts Precinct
7 September 2018
Sir Jonathan Mills AO is a prominent Australian-born composer and festival director, and joint Enterprise Professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music and the Faculty of Ar...
- Arts Precinct
- Staff stories
- Victorian College of the Arts
Judy Bailey OAM honoured with the Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
3 September 2018
Prominent jazz pianist and teacher Judy Bailey has been awarded the 2018 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award.by Susanna Ling...
- Music Performance
- Prizes and Awards
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Music Therapy: from Melbourne to Würzburg
29 August 2018
The University of Melbourne’s Music Therapy team has a strong connection with the German city of Würzburg – and it’s only going to get stronger.By...
- Music Therapy
- International
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Research
An interview with Yandell Walton, resident artist in the VCA’s PHASMID Studio, Berlin
27 August 2018
Melbourne artist Yandell Walton’s work interacts with its environment in complex ways. So what effect will being in Berlin have on her practice?By Paul Dalgarno...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
- International
- Alumni
A new era for VCA Dance
23 August 2018
Head of VCA Dance Jenny Kinder has announced she will step down from her role at the end of 2018....
- Dance
- Staff stories
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet the family: Ron and Margaret Dobell on why they love VCA Music Theatre
20 August 2018
Their support of VCA Music Theatre has transformed the lives and careers of emerging artists, but the Dobells’ influence goes way beyond the financial.By Paul Dalgarno...
- Giving
- Music Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Anneliese Gill, PhD candidate in Music Psychology and Performance Science
16 August 2018
Third-year PhD candidate at the Melbourne Conservatorium Annaliese Gill would like to create a resource to help music students and their teachers develop complementary psychol...
- Music Psychology and Performance Science
- Research
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Acting it Out: a new VCA Theatre initiative to increase diversity
15 August 2018
The Victorian College of the Arts’ new outreach program aims to support students from Indigenous and culturally diverse backgrounds. By Susanna Ling...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
Watch VCA Greats: Patricia Piccinini
13 August 2018
In 2015, Patricia Piccinini’s ComCiência in Rio De Janeiro was the most visited contemporary art exhibition in the world. Patricia Piccinini is a graduate of the Victori...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Alumni
Hollywood actor Jane BadlerHains: from V to the VCA
10 August 2018
Earlier this week, actor, singer, producer, and philanthropist Jane BadlerHains visited the Victorian College of the Arts to share the story of her decades-long performing car...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Acting
How to digitally render Ned Kelly as a woman going to a ball
7 August 2018
...
- Production
- Victorian College of the Arts
Martyn Myer: ‘A world-class cultural capital needs a world-class arts training faculty’
6 August 2018
Philanthropists come in all shapes and sizes, but for Martyn Myer there’s only one approach: roll up your sleeves and don’t take no for an answer. By Paul Dal...
- Arts Precinct
- Giving
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Hell’s Canyon playwright Emily Sheehan and actor Conor Leach in conversation
31 July 2018
Hell’s Canyon, the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights’ Award-winning play by Victorian College of the Arts graduate playwright Emily Sheehan, will show at the&nb...
- Writing
- Theatre
- Alumni
- Acting
- Victorian College of the Arts
‘Space of Friendship’: Melbourne Art Fair joins forces with the University of Melbourne
30 July 2018
This year’s Melbourne Art Fair is being held at the University of Melbourne Southbank campus, home of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music and Melbourne’s growing Ar...
- Arts Precinct
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Mimir Chamber Music Festival returns – with world-class mentoring
27 July 2018
The 2018 Mimir Chamber Music Festival will be held at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music in August and September. Founded by the Conservatorium’s ...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Showcase
Letter: Yours Internally
26 July 2018
Director of the Margaret Lawrence Gallery Dr David Sequeira shares his thoughts about Yours Internally, an exhibition of work by Kiron Robinson and Grant Steven...
- Alumni
- Arts Precinct
- Research
How to throw a stage punch (and keep your teeth)
21 July 2018
...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Listen: How to turn musical “failure” into a rewarding career
20 July 2018
Susan de Weger is not your typical classical musician. The self-confessed “failed musician” now helps young musicians connect with modern audiences and compete wit...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Two-minute interview: Stephen Goss, composer and guitarist
19 July 2018
Ahead of his visit to the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music next week, world-renowned and acclaimed composer Stephen Goss speaks to Ken Murray about his composi...
- Composition
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Music Performance
Meet Andrew Bucknall, Master of Music Therapy student
18 July 2018
After working in hospitality, retail, and as an electrician, Andrew Bucknall finally heeded his calling to help others through music. Now a second-year Master of Music Therapy...
- Music Therapy
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Alumni
Storm in a Petri dish: mixing art and science
16 July 2018
Storm is an interdisciplinary Symposium and Exhibition, co-hosted by the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music and the Faculty of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne. We spoke...
- Research
- Partnerships
- Alumni
- Visual Art
Staging change: supporting diversity in Australian theatre
13 July 2018
The Victorian College of the Arts is offering a Diversity in Theatre program from August to September to support authentic representation of people of colour on stage. Cessale...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
VCA x MIFF: five films at the 2018 Melbourne International Film Festival
13 July 2018
Five films by Victorian of the Arts students and alumni are screening at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival. Here’s the roundup. By Susanna Lin...
- Film and Television
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
The theatre of fake news: Polygraph speaks truth to a post-truth era
13 July 2018
In a time characterised by fake news and political dishonesty, how are we to understand truth? Such is the subject of enquiry in Polygraph, part murder mystery, part...
- Production
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
William Tell-all: behind the scenes of the epic Victorian Opera production
12 July 2018
Victorian Opera’s latest production is set to be bigger than Ben Hur. Ahead of opening night on 14 July, we caught up with former Melbourne Conservatorium of Music stude...
- Music Performance
- Production
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Alumni
Meet Casey Jenkins, Master of Contemporary Art student
5 July 2018
First year Master of Contemporary Art student Casey Jenkins is settling back into university study after spending a lot of time in small but active community art groups. Encou...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Arts Precinct
- Alumni
Five questions for Chris Kohn, Coordinator of the Master of Directing for Performance
4 July 2018
Victorian College of the Arts tutor and PhD candidate Chris Kohn is currently researching the connections between collaborative theatre creation, ethics and intellectual disab...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Staff stories
Two-minute interview: Dr John Carpente, music therapist for children on the autism spectrum
2 July 2018
Dr John Carpente is a world expert in music therapy for children on the autism spectrum. In advance of his 9 July seminar on Musical Play to Support Children on the...
- Music Therapy
- Research
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet the Animation alumna shortlisted for the BAFTA Student Film Awards, Anastasia Dyakova
25 June 2018
Victorian College of the Arts graduate Anastasia Dyakova’s film Ready for a Baby has been shortlisted for the BAFTA Student Film Awards. She tells us abou...
- Film and Television
- Prizes and Awards
- Victorian College of the Arts
Explainer: what are Lieder?
22 June 2018
World-renowned Lieder accompanist Dr Graham Johnson OBE explains the origins and delves into the poetic beauty of this enduring musical form.By Graham Johnson OBELieder accomp...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
VCA alumni on the big screen at Palm Springs International ShortFest
21 June 2018
Of more than 4,200 short film submissions from more than 100 countries, works by eight Victorian College of the Arts Film and Television alumni have been selected. By Sus...
- Alumni
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Southbank’s redesigned Print Workshop – a guided tour at the Victorian College of the Arts
21 June 2018
Printmaker Adrian Kellett has been at the Victorian College of the Arts’ Print Workshop for 19 years – first as a Fine Arts student, and now as Print Workshop Coor...
- Arts Precinct
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Five questions for Andrea Keller, Lecturer in Music (Jazz and Improvisation – Piano)
18 June 2018
She’s won multiple ARIA and Australian Jazz “Bell” Awards, written and recorded dozens of albums, and is a strong voice for women in jazz – so what wou...
- Jazz and Improvisation
- Staff stories
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Kim Ho, Master of Writing for Performance student
18 June 2018
Having majored in English and Theatre studies and having already written two full-length plays, Kim Ho decided to apply for the Master of Writing for Performance to gain more...
- Writing
- Theatre
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
Does the radio keep you company? The Melbourne Conservatorium needs you
15 June 2018
Dr Amanda Krause is a postdoctoral research fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Here, she explains her ne...
- Research
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Kate Daw, Head of VCA Art, on her vision for artists in Southbank
13 June 2018
She’s an internationally-recognised visual artist whose work has featured in group and solo shows since 1992. The former Head of Painting, and recently-announced Head of...
- Staff stories
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
How to prepare for peak performance, for musicians and non-musicians alike
13 June 2018
For the latest in our How To video series at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, Dr Margaret Osborne, Lecturer in Music (Performance Science) and Psychology, Melbour...
- Music Psychology and Performance Science
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Five Deadly Questions for Richard Frankland
8 June 2018
Associate Professor Richard Frankland is Head of the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development at the University of Melbourne. He’s also a key figure in...
- Staff stories
- Indigenous Arts and Culture
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
Meet Georgie North, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art) Honours student
6 June 2018
Painter Georgie North values strong relationships with her peers and enjoys working in collaborative and public art projects. She speaks with Kelly Southworth about empat...
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Carol Johnson, online music expert: “I saw people’s lives change because they had the opportunity to learn music”
5 June 2018
Having moved from the northern hemisphere to join the Melbourne Conservatorium as Senior Lecturer in Music (Online Learning and Educational Technologies), and having just publ...
- Staff stories
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Performance Teaching
Four decades of VCA Dance artists and where they are now
4 June 2018
As the VCA Dance 40th Anniversary Celebration (10 June) approaches, we ask some former students about their memories of the Victorian College of the Arts, and what they&r...
- Alumni
- Dance
- Victorian College of the Arts
Patrick White Playwrights’ Award recipient Kim Ho: putting cross-cultural stories centre stage
29 May 2018
Kim Ho is a Melbourne-based playwright, actor, and the 2017 recipient of the prestigious Patrick White Playwrights’ Award for his play Mirror’s Edge,&nbs...
- Writing
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
The Crucible: outworn or reborn?
25 May 2018
It’s the 17th-century witch-hunt story everybody knows, but what relevance does Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible have today? Acclaimed theatre director Adena...
- Theatre
- Acting
- Music Performance
- Victorian College of the Arts
Two-minute interview: Alex Pertout, percussionist
18 May 2018
He’s a multi-award-winning artist whose playing has graced iconic Australian number-one hits by Daniel Braithwaite and Powderfinger, and a founding member of the Austral...
- Jazz and Improvisation
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Glenn Branca: four guitar works by the late composer
18 May 2018
His music has influenced musicians and divided critics the world over – but his impact on our understanding of what guitars can do can’t be denied. By Dr Ken...
- Contemporary music
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Elliott Gyger at 50: the composer takes us through seven of his works
18 May 2018
The Melbourne Conservatorium is about to present seven works by the award-winning composer Associate Professor Elliott Gyger, who will also conduct the performance. Here, he e...
- Composition
- Staff stories
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Lauren Gorman, Master of Music (Orchestral Performance) student
18 May 2018
It was only after spending time studying in Europe that Melbourne flautist Lauren Gorman realised everything she wanted was available back home.By Susanna Ling...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet the staff: Faculty of Fine Arts and Music
16 May 2018
Dinosaur spirit animals, lurking rulers and miniature chairs – yes, we’re an eclectic bunch … By Kate Mulqueen...
- Staff stories
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Ronald Farren-Price AM receives the prestigious Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
14 May 2018
Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Honorary Principal Fellow Ronald Farren-Price AM has been awarded the 2017 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award....
- Prizes and Awards
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Handing over the reins at The Stables – a new home for the arts in Melbourne’s Southbank
11 May 2018
The University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Music today celebrated the completion of The Stables – a world-class visual arts and performance space in th...
- Arts Precinct
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
- Wilin Centre For Indigenous Arts And Cultural Development
VCA alumna Yvette Coppersmith wins the Archibald Prize 2018
11 May 2018
Visual Art alumna Yvette Coppersmith has been awarded Australia’s most distinguished portraiture prize for her self-portrait.By Scott McLachlan...
- Alumni
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Event: Catch the Synthi 100 streaming live
10 May 2018
It’s iconic, and so are the people playing it. Don’t miss your chance to see and hear the Synthi 100 in action.By Alex Parade...
- Interactive Composition
- Contemporary music
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Monochromes are so much more than a grey area in visual art
8 May 2018
Artists who engage in contemporary monochrome art practices see themselves as part of a growing lineage – as a new exhibition at the Margaret Lawrence Gallery amply demo...
- Visual Art
- Research
- Victorian College of the Arts
Two-minute interview: Jonathan Paget, classical guitarist
7 May 2018
Jonathan Paget is passionate about performing 19th-century guitar music on period instruments. We caught up with him before his 11 May Guitaromanie! performance to find o...
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Myuran Sukumaran’s final 72 hours – what GUILTY tells us about the death penalty, and life
2 May 2018
Paper Planes and Van Diemen’s Land producer Maggie Miles talks about co-writing and producing a film about the Bali Nine convicted criminal’s last days.By Mag...
- Film and Television
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Nina Buxton, filmmaker: “Being cat-called at night is an incredibly common scenario.”
30 April 2018
Recent Film and Television graduate Nina Buxton felt compelled to make her short film, Mwah, after experiencing sexual harassment while riding alone one night. In the lea...
- Alumni
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Two-minute interview: Maude Davey, director of Mongrel
30 April 2018
Actor, writer, director, and Victorian College of the Arts alumna Maude Davey tells us more about the VCA’s new music theatre variety show, Mongrel. By Susanna...
- Music Theatre
- Interactive Composition
- Production
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Showcase
Gloria and Beatus vir – meet the cast and crew
27 April 2018
An all-sensory experience in the historic St Paul’s cathedral blending early music, modern visual spectacle, and the timeless genius of Vivaldi? Uh, yes please! &nb...
- Early Music Studio
- Music Performance
- Production
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Two-minute interview: David Batchelor, artist and writer
27 April 2018
David Batchelor is one of more than 30 artists whose work will feature in Monochrome: Empty & Full at the Margaret Lawrence Gallery in Melbourne in May. By Sophi...
- Visual Art
- Arts Precinct
- Showcase
Gideon Obarzanek, choreographer: my life
27 April 2018
We caught up with the award-winning choreographer and founder of Chunky Move Dance Company, who will present a new work at the VCA from 2–5 May.As told to Susanna L...
- Dance
- Arts Precinct
- Partnerships
Art of war: where conflict meets creativity
24 April 2018
The relationship between Australia’s military efforts and sanctioned artists dates back to 1918 but, as the nation’s 63rd official war artist explains, there are a...
- Research
- Visual Art
- Victorian College of the Arts
Felicity Baker on Music Interventions for Dementia and Depression
17 April 2018
Professor Felicity Baker is Head of Music Therapy at the Melbourne Conservatorium. She talks here about her upcoming symposium, Music Interventions for Dementia & Depressi...
- Music Therapy
- Staff stories
- Research
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Meet Willem Kingma, Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation) student
16 April 2018
Second year Animation student Willem Kingma already features at animation festivals around the world. He talks with Susanna Ling about being a storyteller, his artistic inspir...
- Film and Television
- Victorian College of the Arts
Honouring Ron and Margaret Dobell, valued friends of Music Theatre at the VCA
12 April 2018
Their philanthropic contributions to cabaret in Melbourne were rightfully celebrated at the Green Room Awards this week – but that’s just one of many reasons to ce...
How I launched a web series concept then lost control
12 April 2018
Masterminding a cross-disciplinary project for 126 students was hard – but not a patch on those feelings of professional redundancy. By Andrew O’Keefe,...
- Film and Television
- Interactive Composition
- Production
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Ade Vincent, composer: from The Tiger & Me to Melbourne Symphony
11 April 2018
Ade Vincent, a Phd candidate at the Melbourne Conservatorium, is the inaugural Cybec Young Composer in Residence with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. His work Hood...
- Composition
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Vanitas has been nominated for a Webby – vote now
9 April 2018
An immersive art app developed by Victorian College of the Arts lecturer Robert Walton is in the running for the Oscars of the internet. By Robert Walton, Lecturer i...
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
- Prizes and Awards
VCA Dance is 40 – Happy Birthday!
9 April 2018
As VCA Dance turns 40 it’s time to celebrate the achievements of VCA Dance students, teaching staff and alumni over the past four decades.By Associate Professor Jenny Ki...
- Dance
- Victorian College of the Arts
Sue Healey, choreographer and filmmaker: ‘There’s incredible magic in what we shoot’
28 March 2018
The award-winning choreographer, educator, filmmaker and installation artist talks to Susanna Ling about her upcoming exhibition at the Victorian College of the Arts.By Susann...
- Dance
- Alumni
- Victorian College of the Arts
Comedian Louisa Wall: ‘You don’t need people to want you’
26 March 2018
Billed as a perennial millennial who does cabaret like you’ve never seen it before, Louisa Wall’s DIY approach to theatre and comedy is paying off, with a second s...
- Alumni
- Theatre
- Victorian College of the Arts
Meet Alexandra Czarnecki-Roper, Bachelor of Music (Jazz & Improvisation) graduate at the Melbourne Conservatorium
19 March 2018
Recent percussion graduate Alexandra Czarnecki-Roper discusses what it was like to study at the Conservatorium....
- Contemporary music
- Music Performance
- Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
Curator Natalie King on her new role as Enterprise Professor at the VCA
16 March 2018
Natalie King curates Australian and international programs that include exhibition making, publications, lectures, workshops and cultural partnerships across contemporary art...
- Visual Art
- Staff stories
- Victorian College of the Arts