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Beyond the Ivory Tower – Higher Education Institutions as Cultural Resource: Case Study of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Author(s) -
Roennfeldt Peter
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
history compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.121
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 1478-0542
DOI - 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2011.00762.x
Subject(s) - the arts , ivory tower , politics , ambivalence , state (computer science) , sociology , resource (disambiguation) , social science , media studies , political science , visual arts , art , psychology , law , social psychology , algorithm , computer science , computer network
This paper focuses on the interface between higher education and the arts, in particular the role of the music school or conservatorium as a cultural resource. The genesis of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music leading to its establishment in 1957 in Brisbane, Australia, and its subsequent development to the early 1990s, is used as a case study. Perceptions of cultural cringe, both in respect to the northern hemisphere and also the southern Australian states, have been lively discussion points in Queensland’s artistic development for many years. The foundation of the Queensland Conservatorium was therefore viewed as a cultural emblem of mature statehood, and threats to its survival have been debated in this light. The unique socio‐political dynamics of the state, whose capital city Brisbane is far removed from regional centres, also play into any study of Queensland’s artistic development. The conservatorium’s cultural value in contributing to society as a talent pool, incubator of original work, and as an arts centre, is examined. Evidence that the relationship between academia and the broader arts community can be both symbiotic and ambivalent is also presented, largely through analysis of the mass print media, where much of the early history of Queensland Conservatorium is documented.