Art ready for revamp, world educators say

Backed by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, Chung-Ang University was able to bring representatives from schools in places such as the United States, Japan, Britain and China to Seoul for a three-day international conference on art education.
The 2006 International Conference on Culture and Art, sponsored by the ministry’s University Specialization Project and the Asia Theatre Education Centre, facilitated a discussion on the future of university art departments, particularly theater and performing arts departments.
A total of 25 universities from 12 countries sent representatives to the conference.
The representatives discussed building an educational network and promoting active exchanges between schools.? The schools involved were the Art Institute of Chicago, Japan’s Nihon University, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and China’s Central Academy of Drama, plus the Chung-Ang University, Yonsei University, Kyung Hee University and eight other Korean schools.
In March, Chung-Ang University announced a plan to integrate its mass communications, theater and film departments into a single College of Media, Performing Arts & Film & Video (also referred to as the International Culture and Art Campus) starting in 2007; the government is providing 10.21 billion won ($12.6 million) in financial support for the plan.? The conference was part of the university’s effort to give the new college an international face and to capitalize ― and support ― the government’s drive to globalize the “Korean Wave,” the term for the popularity of Korean culture and entertainment across Asia.
On Thursday, the opening ceremony was held, along with a forum on the theme of “The Globalization of the Korean Wave through the Asian Cultural Community.”? The university kicked off the event with performances by “Yul” (the university’s zither trio), “Chung-Ang Dance Troupe” and the singer Jang Na-ra.
On the second day, the conference focused on “The Future of Interdisciplinary Education in the Fields of Performing Arts & Film & Video.” During the forum, Brian Singleton, the head of the School of Drama at Trinity College in Ireland, and Peter James, the principal of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, spoke about the context of their school’s educational programs in a global atmosphere.
“Any assessment of current training practices for theater will inevitably originate in a national context,” Mr. Singleton said as he began his speech about the globalization of Irish theater.?The last day included forums with titles such as “Developmental Plan for International Culture and Art Campus” and “Film Education in the 21st Century.”

by Cho Jae-eun