Listen To Us

As UWIC management have proposed, ‘CSAD will (also) be discontinuing formal subject interests in Sculpture and in Media Arts and Performance’.

We, the Students of Cardiff School of Art and Design oppose this.

UWIC management have continually refused to meet with us students to explain any of the proposed changes.


On behalf of the Students of the Fine Art Programme, Howard Gardens, UWIC
Re: the proposed closure of the Sculpture Department.
The students of the Fine Art programme, UWIC, are writing this statement to be read verbatim on our behalf to urge you to reconsider the pending decision to close the Sculpture specialism within the Fine Art course at Howard Gardens.

Since the news of the proposed closure of the Sculpture department there has been universal concern. This concern is for the future of the students, whether specialising in Sculpture or not, it’s invaluable and experienced staff, the South Wales art community as a whole and the overall sustainability of Cardiff School of Art and Design that has, for 100 years prior, been of national repute and value. 
A Fine Art Course without a Sculpture specialism cannot be a Fine Art course. The importance of an interdisciplinary course and specialised teaching cannot be expressed highly enough. Facilities for Sculpture and the facilitating of Sculpture are not equivalent to an integral and specialist Sculpture department within the context of a higher education institution. It is vital to have a range of feedback and the experience of all tutors as practicing artists in a range of disciplines. We feel this is integral to the successful teaching and development of students in a course of this nature. One of Howard Garden’s strongest assets and the reason many enrol, is the close-knit, secure environment whereby departments are willing to communicate and inform each other both socially and educationally. It is the opinion of the students, UWIC’s alumni and established artists in Wales many of whom have made statements that this community will be lost with the new course structure you are proposing.
Please take into consideration the opinions and feelings of the student body. This should be paramount. Had the Sculpture specialism not existed three years ago many current students say they would have never applied to this course. There have been statements and letters from colleges across the country that explains that they too would no longer recommend this course to their students without a Sculpture specialism.

It is for the benefit of the students both existing and prospective and for the sustainability of this course and UWIC that the Sculpture department should remain standing. To discontinue the productive and nationally reputable department of Sculpture within UWIC is short-sighted and destructive to the overall wellbeing of Howard Gardens as a campus, Fine Art as a course, UWIC as an institution and the art community of South Wales. Since the announced closure of the Fine Art department of Newport, South Wales will in turn no longer have a specialised art course. Not only Cardiff, but South Wales will therefore lose the credibility, productivity and thriving art community that it has previously achieved.

The links between all disciplines are symbiotic and invaluable. This is increasingly important in contemporary art practice. In order to have a productive creative working environment and for UIWC to continue it’s fantastic alumni that includes artists such as Phyllida Barlow, Cornelia Parker and Mona Hatoum, it is essential that students are offered the relevant expertise and experience of staff. This is what has been so integral to the success of the course in the past. We fear that you are attempting to solve the problem of funding by stripping UWIC of one of its most recognised and strongest assets. We cannot emphasise enough, the importance of the holistic nature and productivity of this course. It is not about a hierarchy of discipline- it is about the Art School thriving as a whole by creating a structured and specialised range of experiences and skills in order to cultivate an interdisciplinary artistic talent amongst the young artists that come out of this university.

The course is losing credibility in light of both the proposed and recent changes that have been made without our input or consent. 

Please, please reconsider this decision.
We have a list of questions we would like to be answered directly and frankly. As yet, students have been unable to speak directly with any of the governors and many questions previously posed to you have remained unanswered.

Thank you.
The Students of the Fine Art Programme, UWIC.

NB. UNFORTUNATELY JUST BEFORE THE MEETING ROB CUMMINGS OFFICE RANG TO SAY AS THE ‘DEAN OF STUDENTS’ IT WAS NOT HIS JOB TO REPRESENT STUDENTS IN ANY CAPACITY, WE CAN SPEAK ONLY THROUGH THE STUDENTS UNION. HOW PECULIAR