Pictured: Alan Young AM, ACSA Chair; Andrea Michaels MP, Minister for Arts; Penny Griggs, ACSA CEO; Lauren Hillman, C44 General Manager
Premiering Sunday 1 October at 8pm on Channel 44 and CTV+, The Alternative Art School: 40 Years of Adelaide Central School of Art tells the story of an iconic Adelaide arts institution on its fortieth anniversary.
The Adelaide Central School of Art (ACSA) in Glenside is Australia’s leading provider of visual arts education with an exceptional career success rate for students and an alumni that boasts some of SA’s most accomplished artists.
At a preview screening attended by alumni and the arts community, ACSA CEO Penny Griggs said, “We are so proud of this film. The forty-year history of the school is honoured and celebrated through interviews with some of the key players over the years.
“However, it also looks to the future and highlights the impact of outstanding visual arts education. Adelaide Central School of Art is an ambitious, independent, single-focussed art school making a big impact and producing exceptional artists. It’s a South Australian treasure worth celebrating.”
Since it was founded in 1982 by Rod Taylor AM, ACSA has firmly established itself as an institution renowned for its excellence in both teaching methodologies and the accomplishments of its students. Hundreds of graduates have each contributed their unique artistic vision and skills to enrich the fabric of the school and the broader artistic community.
“It’s wonderful to be celebrating forty years of the Adelaide Central School of Art,” said Andrea Michaels MP, Minister for Arts. “Since 1982, ACSA has grown to become one of Australia’s leading art schools. Not only providing a world-class arts education to hundreds of students but the professional skills to create dynamic careers in visual arts for graduates.”
“Channel 44 has always been proud to champion South Australian success stories,” said Channel 44 general manager Lauren Hillman. “It has been a wonderful collaboration producing this documentary with the ACSA staff and students to lift the curtain on four decades of artistic excellence and creativity.”
Originally conceived as a specialized art school, in 1994 ACSA received its initial accreditation and, by 1998, it had evolved into a higher education provider, introducing its inaugural Bachelor of Visual Art program, followed in 2011 by a fourth-year Honours option for exceptionally high-achieving graduates.
In 2012, ACSA moved from Norwood to its current site in Glenside when the South Australian Government granted the institution a 50-year lease on two historic buildings within the Glenside Health and Cultural Precinct, next to the South Australian Film Corporation.
The Alternative Art School: 40 Years of Adelaide Central School of Art premieres on Channel 44 at 8pm, Sunday 1 October, in Adelaide and everywhere on-demand on community TV streaming platform CTV+.
