Newsletter | President’s Report | December 2023
Advocacy
This year was dominated by debate in the lead up to the October referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. AAANZ issued a statement in support of the Voice acknowledging it as an important step towards Treaty. Following the referendum we released a follow-up statement recognising the deep pain many people were experiencing and reaffirming our commitment to Treaty, truth-telling and self-determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Thank you to the Indigenous Advocacy Working Group: Dr Ali Gumillya Baker, Dr Fiona Foley, Rebecca Holborn and Dr Jessyca Hutchens for crafting these statements.
Consultation for the Australian Universities Accord began early this year. The purpose of the Accord is to consider recommendations and performance targets to improve the quality, accessibility, affordability and sustainability of higher education in Australia. AAANZ made a submission highlighting the inequities around increases to fees for humanities students from the Job Ready Graduate package which disproportionately disadvantages students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, first-in-family, migrant and First Nations backgrounds. The Accord’s Interim Report, released in July, acknowledged these concerns and identified three key areas of focus: access, quality and funding. Under-resourcing of the higher education sector has been an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed to facilitate future reforms.
Griffith University recently announced intentions to close the Griffith University Art Museum (GUAM). This announcement was made only weeks before Christmas with a two-week consultation period ending 15 December – a time when students were not on campus to voice their opposition. This myopic decision puts economics before students and ignores the vital role university art museums play in teaching, learning and research. Citing financial deficits and the need to increase floor space for the Griffith Film School, the university has demonstrated a profound failure to understand the significant role GUAM plays promoting the research of the university through exhibitions and engagement programs that encourage critical thinking and debate in a multidisciplinary context. AAANZ submitted a statement outlining our opposition to the decision. While the official consultation period has now closed, I encourage members to voice their opposition to this decision, directly to the university.
Early Career Mentoring Program
This year AAANZ implemented a new Early Career Mentoring Program. This is a pilot scheme established in recognition of the challenges doctorate students and early career researchers experienced in recent years from missed opportunities to network and participate in scholarly communities resulting from prolonged lockdowns during the COVID pandemic. Four applications were received and they have each been paired with a senior academic or industry professional and mentoring will begin next year. Thank you to Dr Kate Warren and Soo Min-Shim for helping with this scheme.
Early Career Publishing Program
The Early Career Publishing Program launched last year is progressing. Two doctorates were selected and the series editors are now working with the first of these, Victoria Souliman, to develop a book for publication. AAANZ has a contract with Taylor & Francis to publish five books under the series title Emerging Australian and New Zealand Art Histories. We will call for further submissions next year. Thank you to series editors Professor Rex Butler and Associate Professor Anthony White who are working closely with the writers and providing mentoring in the process of preparing a thesis for publication. This significant initiative will ensure new voices can reach wider audiences and helps support the next generation of art historians.
Prizes
The Art Writing and Publishing Awards (AWAPAs) continue to be a highlight of the annual program and are growing from strength to strength with a strong field of submissions again this year. The 2022 judges’ comments were published in the autumn issue of Art Monthly. This has been a valuable forum to help raise the profile of the Awards. I’d like to thank all our judges who have the difficult task of selecting the winning publications and a special thank you to all the sponsors who make the Awards possible including: Art Monthly; Australian Institute of Art History; Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū; Monash Art Design & Architecture; Power Institute, Foundation for Art and Visual Culture; Professor Terry Smith, FAHA, CIHA; University Art Museums Australia and the University of Melbourne. Their generous support ensures AAANZ is able to recognise outstanding contributions to the field of art writing and research. A video of winners of this year’s Awards will be available on the AAANZ website.
The PhD Prize received a strong field of submissions again this year and four were shortlisted to be read in full. Thank you to sponsors of the prize Taylor & Francis for their continued support.
Annual Conference
This year AAANZ was delighted to hold the first face-to-face conference since 2019 at Griffith University’s Southport campus on the Gold Coast. I would like to thank the Griffith University conference organising committee: Professor Susan Best, Dr Laini Burton, Professor Elisabeth Findlay, Dr Chari Larrson and Dr Emily Poore. AAANZ was able to make 13 bursaries available to low income earners to assist attendance at the conference. Thank you to the Australian Institute of Art History for supporting three of these. Next year the conference will be held at the Australian National University in Canberra from 4 to 6 December 2024.
Journal
This year the Art Journal of Australia & New Zealand changed hands and is now hosted by UNSW Art & Design. I’d like to thank the new Editor-in-Chief: Dr Verónica Tello and Managing Editor: Dr Anastasia Murney for delivering the journal this year, together with the new Editorial Committee: Dr Diana Baker Smith, Professor Jennifer Biddle, Dr Jaye Early, Associate Professor Bianca Hester, Dr Astrid Lorange, and Jose da Silva and the new Editorial Advisory Board: Professor Anna Arabindan-Kesson (Princeton University), Professor Geoffrey Batchen (University of Oxford), Dr Julie Gough (Independent Scholar), Justin Paton (Art Gallery of NSW), Professor Felicity Scott (Columbia University), Dr Lisa Slade (Art Gallery of NSW), and Associate Professor David Teh (National University of Singapore).
They have developed a number of important initiatives including successfully applying to have the journal accepted for SCOPUS, an abstract and citation database, which will connect more researchers with the publication. Another initiative was an online workshop in collaboration with un Magazine, to introduce emerging writers to the journal. These are significant measures that will ensure the continued relevancy and status of the journal into the future.
Review
This year AAANZ undertook a review of the Rules of the Association which had not been revised since 1999. An internal committee made a number of recommendations to bring the Rules in line with changes to governance requirements of associations and the increased use of online forums for meetings. The updated Rules were passed unanimously at the Annual General Meeting in December. Thank you to the committee Dr Karen Hall, Dr Chari Larrson, Professor Andrew McNamara and Dr Ray Spiteri for reviewing the Rules.
In closing I would like to thank the Executive Committee for their support and continued hard work throughout the year. To achieve as much as we do and provide such a broad range of activities each year we are dependent on many people volunteering their time. I would like to give a special thank you to Rebecca Renshaw our Business Manager and Dr Katrina Grant, Coordinator Marketing and Communications. Three members of the Executive will be stepping down from the Committee this year and I’d like to give particular thanks to Professor Andrew McNamara, International Representative and Associate Professor Ngarino Ellis, Aotearoa│New Zealand Māori and Pasifika Representative who have both been on the committee since 2017 and have done so much behind the scenes. Thank you also to Korin Lesh, our Treasurer and NT Representative, for all her work ensuring our financial records are in order. I appreciate the time and commitment to AAANZ they have each given over the years.
I wish all members a happy and safe holiday period and all the best for 2024.
Dr Wendy Garden
AAANZ President
December 2022