The RMIT School of Art is an Australian university

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-second ...

located in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, which is responsible for

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

and postgraduate education and

research Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

and

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

at RMIT University. Established in 1917, it is the top art school in Australia and 11th in the world, according to the 2020

QS World University Rankings ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...

History

Art education has been offered at RMIT since its foundation in 1887 (as the Working Men's College), as part of a suite of "art, science and technological" classes envisioned by its founder

Francis Ormond Francis Ormond (23 November 1827 – 5 May 1889) was a Scottish-born Australian pastoralist, member of the Parliament of Victoria and philanthropist in the areas of education and religion. Ormond is notable for founding the Working Men's Col ...

. The early art classes of the College were modelled on those of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an art schools—particularly the Brighton College of Art (now the

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achiev ...

) and the South Kensington Science and Art School (now the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

) in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. By 1899, around 400 students were taking classes in architectural and freehand drawing,

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

and

wood-carving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

at the College. Its architectural classes were the first in Victoria, and remained part of the School of Art until 1934 when they broke away to form the predecessor to the

RMIT School of Architecture and Design RMIT's School of Architecture and Urban Design is an Australian tertiary education school within the College of Design and Social Context at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University), located in Melbourne, Victoria. '' A skil ...

Photography commenced at the College in 1891, and classes in wet-plate photography,

photoengraving Photoengraving is a process that uses a light-sensitive photoresist applied to the surface to be engraved to create a mask that protects some areas during a subsequent operation which etches, dissolves, or otherwise removes some or all of the mat ...

, photolithography and

collotype Collotype is a gelatin-based photographic printing process invented by Alphonse Poitevin in 1855 to print images in a wide variety of tones without the need for halftone screens. The majority of collotypes were produced between the 1870s and 1 ...

and carbon printing were all offered by 1902. Instructor Ludovico Hart founded one of the earliest photographic clubs in Australia at the College in 1891, The Working Men's College Photographic Club, which continues today as The Melbourne Camera Club. Between 1904 and 1905, instructor James Aebi also took what were likely the first colour photographs in Australia at the College. The Melbourne Camera Club. Retrieved June 7, 2017 Photography was dropped from the College curricula in 1914, but recommenced as a certificate course in the School of Art in 1936. It became a department of the School in 1956, with a diploma course developed by Dr. Neil Lewis from

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

which he modelled on that of the

Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private research university in the town of Henrietta in the Rochester, New York, metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Art became a separate school at RMIT in 1917, as the School of Applied Art (and the second following the Trades School in 1890), with a building for its own purposes completed that year. The foundation stone for the new School building was laid by the

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assemb ...

, Sir

Alexander Peacock Sir Alexander James Peacock (11 June 1861 – 7 October 1933) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Premier of Victoria. Early Years Peacock was born of Scottish descent at Creswick, the first Victorian Premier born afte ...

, on 25 January 1915, and the School was officially opened with a 1 oz 15

karat The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardne ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

and enamelled key by the

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and th ...

, Sir Arthur Stanley, on 25 January 1917. Since 2008, the original key is held by

Melbourne Museum The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia. Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, the museum was opened in 2000 as a project of the Government of Victoria, ...

as part of its history of technology collection.

Courses and programs

The School of Art offers

vocational A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious c ...

certificate and diploma courses in visual arts and photography programs; bachelor's and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

courses in fine art and photography programs and a

Doctorate of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in art. In 2020 it was ranked 11th in the world for Art and Design subjects in the

, making it the top ranked art school in Australia.

Galleries and research

The School of Art has a number of

gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album * ''Gallery'' (Gr ...

spaces, the largest of these being in buildings 2 and 94 on the

RMIT Melbourne City campus The Melbourne City campus of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology ( RMIT University) is located in the city centre of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is sometimes referred to as "RMIT City" and the "RMIT Quarter" of the city in the me ...

,About
Intersect—School of Art. RMIT University. Retrieved June 07, 2017 and links to the RMIT campus union's First Site Gallery and the University's major gallery

RMIT Gallery RMIT Gallery is an Australian public art gallery located in Melbourne, Victoria. It is the main art gallery of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). RMIT Gallery opened on 16 March 1977. It is housed in the historic section of St ...

. Research in the School of Art research focuses on contemporary art, photography and craft. CAST (Contemporary Art and Social Transformation) is the School's core research group, leading collaborative socially-engaged artistic projects.

People

Notable alumni of the School of Art include: painters Charles Billich, Lindsay Edward,

Vincent Fantauzzo Vincent Fantauzzo (born 1977, Manchester, England), is a Melbourne-based Australian portrait artist known for his award winning portraits of Heath Ledger, Brandon Walters, Matt Moran, Emma Hack, Baz Luhrmann, Asher Keddie and his son Luca. He h ...

Harold Freedman Harold Emanuel Freedman O.A.M. (21 May 1915 – 16 July 1999) was an artist from Victoria, Australia, renowned as an illustrator and lithographer, as an official war artist, and for his work in public murals. Early life Harold Freedman's ...

Kenneth Jack Kenneth William David Jack AM MBE RWS, (5 October 1924 – 10 June 2006) was an Australian watercolour artist who specialised in painting the images of an almost forgotten outback life: old mine workings, ghost towns, decaying farm buildings. ...

Robert Jacks Robert Jacks (8 March 1943, Melbourne—14 August 2014, Castlemaine) was an Australian painter, sculptor and printmaker. Born in Melbourne, Australia. He studied sculpture from 1958 to 1960 at the Prahran Technical College, Melbourne, and ...

, Ligel Lambert, John Kelly, Sam Leach,

Gareth Sansom Gareth Sansom (born 19 November 1939) is an Australian artist, painter, printmaker and collagist and winner of the 2008 John McCaughey Memorial Prize of $100,000. Best known for introducing new themes and subject-matter into Australian art ...

and Charles Wheeler; drawers/illustrators

David de Vries David (Dave) de Vries (born 1961) is a New Zealand film writer, director, and producer who also writes and illustrates comic books. He was born in New Zealand and emigrated with his family to Australia. De Vries was born in Wellington, New Z ...

, Virginia Grayson,

William Ellis Green William Ellis Green (12 August 1923 – 29 December 2008), who signed his cartoons "WEG", was an Australian editorial cartoonist and illustrator who drew the Australian Football League premiership posters from 1954 until his death. Life and ca ...

, Robert Ingpen and Anne Judell; photographers Grahame King, Charles Page and Christian Thompson; sculptors/metalsmiths Kingsley Baird,

Peter Corlett Peter Corlett OAM (born 1944) is an Australian sculptor, known for his full-figure sculptures cast in bronze, especially his memorial works. Corlett studied sculpture at RMIT University, Melbourne, from 1961 to 1964. In 1975, he was awarde ...

Stuart Devlin Stuart Leslie Devlin (9 October 1931 – 12 April 2018) was an Australian artist and metalworker who specialised in gold and silver. He designed coins for countries around the world, and became especially well known as London-based design ...

Raymond Boultwood Ewers Raymond Boultwood Ewers (20 August 1917 – 5 June 1998) was an Australian sculptor,Australian War Memorial: https://www.awm.gov.au/people/artist_profiles/ewers.asp best known for his sculpture ''Australian Serviceman'' in the Australian War M ...

Leonard French Leonard William French OBE (8 October 1928 – 10 January 2017) was an Australian artist, known principally for major stained glass works. French was born in Brunswick, Victoria to a family of Cornish origin. His stained glass creation ...

Clement Meadmore Clement Meadmore (9 February 1929 – 19 April 2005) was an Australian-American sculptor known for massive outdoor steel sculptures. Biography Born Clement Lyon Meadmore in Melbourne, Australia in 1929, Clement Meadmore studied aeronautical ...

and

Lenton Parr Thomas Lenton Parr AM (11 September 1924 – 8 August 2003) was an Australian sculptor and teacher . Sculptor Born in East Coburg, Victoria, Lenton Parr spent eight years in the Royal Australian Air Force (Svc No. A33223) before enrolling to st ...

; and former

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

director

Ron Radford Ronald Warwick Radford (born 3 December 1949) is an Australian curator, who was the Director of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) from 2004 until 2014. He was previously the Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide. H ...

. Its notable faculty include:

Godwin Bradbeer Godwin Bradbeer (born 1950) is a New Zealand-born artist now living and working in Melbourne, Australia. Bradbeer is known for large-scale figurative drawing and has been exhibited internationally since the 1970s. He has taught at the University ...

Betty Churcher Elizabeth Ann Dewar Churcher (''née'' Cameron; 11 January 193131 March 2015) was an Australian arts administrator, best known as director of the National Gallery of Australia from 1990 to 1997. She was also a painter in her own right ea ...

, Mikala Dwyer, Lindsay Edward, Vincent Fantauzzo, Harold Freedman, Virginia Grayson,

Murray Griffin Vaughan Murray Griffin (11 Nov 1903 – 29 January 1992) was an Australian print maker and painter. Life and work Commonly known as Murray Griffin, he was born in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern to Vaughan and Ethel Griffin. He spent most of h ...

Pamela Irving Pamela Irving (born 1960) is an Australian visual artist specialising in bronze, ceramic and mosaic sculptures as well as printmaking and copper etchings. In addition to her extensive art work, Irving has lectured in art and ceramics at Monash ...

Inge King Ingeborg Viktoria "Inge" King (; 26 November 1915 – 23 April 2016) was a German-born Australian sculptor. She received many significant public commissions. Her work is held in public and private collections. Her best known work is ''Forward S ...

Simon Perry Simon Perry is a British/Australian sculptor and academic, based in Melbourne, Australia. Best known for his large-scale public art works for urban spaces in Australia and overseas, Perry's practice incorporates numerous sculptural techniques in ...

, Udo Sellbach, Napier Waller and

Teisutis Zikaras Teisutis 'Joe' Zikaras (often spelled "Tesutis") (5 July 1922 – 10 May 1991) was an Australian sculptor born in Panevėžys, Lithuania. He earned a diploma at the School of Fine Arts, Kaunas, Lithuania, where his father Juozas, creator of Lith ...

References

Notes Works * * *

External links

School of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:RMIT School of Art

Art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...