QPAC & QUT Partner for Arts Education

Today, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) announced a partnership to jointly establish the position of Chair in Arts Education.

The Chair will be funded between QPAC and QUT's Creative Industries Faculty and Faculty of Education for an initial three-year period. The inaugural appointee is Professor Judith McLean*, currently QPAC's Scholar in Residence.

The announcement comes during Queensland State Education Week (18 - 24 May) and at the start of UNESCO International Arts Education Week (21 - 27 May).

Minister for the Arts Ian Walker said the announcement of the Chair in Arts Education was great news.

"The creation of this role is a great opportunity for Queensland to look more closely at how arts education can influence and inform arts programming," Mr Walker said.

"This partnership between QPAC and QUT will enhance learning in and through the arts.

"It also shows QPAC's ability to innovate and lead, making it a force to be reckoned with in the arts here and overseas."

QPAC and QUT said Professor McLean had an international reputation in the creative industries and more than three decades of experiences across the cultural and education sectors.

"Professor McLean is an inspiring leader and a national voice in the field of arts education. As QUT's Chair in Arts Education and QPAC's inaugural Scholar in Residence she will work across both institutions to forge stronger links between the academic arena and industry."

"This role makes links between policy, art making and teaching and supports both organisations in bridging complex thought and practical application: it's about putting ideas in practice," they said.

Professor McLean's current research centres on brain based learning and its relationship with the arts with a particular focus on how cultural institutions like QPAC can collaborate with audiences to heighten the significance of art in everyday life.

Professor McLean described her appointment as an exciting step forward in linking arts theory and practice and in highlighting the importance lifelong learning through the arts.

"There is a natural synergy between arts and education that has been studied by academics and arts practitioners formally and informally for a long time. Putting theory into practice and finding ways for QUT and QPAC to collaborate across a range of programming and experiential initiatives will provide benefits that reach further than each organisation alone.

"For many years artists have known the value of collaboration, and teachers have known the importance of lifelong learning: by being able to bridge those concepts there is a new wealth of creativity to explore," said Professor McLean.

As Scholar in Residence Professor McLean works with QPAC staff in the development of an expanded range of activities for audiences and the public around its annual program designed to provoke questions and discussions.

In the longer term both QPAC and QUT expect the partnership will grow Queensland's profile in arts education nationally and overseas.

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