Why a visual arts education is the key to arming students for the future
Despite living in an image-saturated world we offer little education in the vital skills of learning to critique what we see all around us.
3 Oct 2018 12:00
Ted Snell
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Writing and Publishing
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Visual skills are essential for a sophisticated workforce, yet we offer so little education in the vital skills of learning to see and developing the ability to interpret and critique our image-saturated world.
In the global marketplace, the economy of the cultural industries is growing in importance, and visual expression is part of everyday communication. For Australia to compete in this marketplace, visual acuity, visual literacy and the ability to communicate visually must be recognised as an equally fundamental skill to those of language and numeracy. These can all be taught through grounding in the visual arts.
Professor Ted Snell, AM CitWA, is Honorary Professor, School of Arts
& Humanities, Edith Cowan University. Over the past three decades he
has contributed to the national arts agenda as Chair of the Visual Arts
Board of the Australia Council, Artbank,
the Asialink Visual Arts Advisory Committee, University Art Museums
Australia and as a board member of the National Association for the
Visual Arts. He is currently Chair of Regional Arts WA, on the board of
ANAT and the Fremantle Biennale. He has been a commentator
on the arts for ABC radio and television, Perth art reviewer for The
Australian and is a regular contributor to local and national journals.
