Ontario Hall currently houses Queen's visual arts programs. (Photo courtesy of Shin/Wikimedia Commons)

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TORONTO (CUP) — The future of visual arts studies at Queen's University is uncertain as enrolment for the school's bachelor of fine arts program has been suspended for the next academic year.

The stop to new admissions is due to of a lack of resources, according to an announcement made by associate dean of arts and science, Gordon E. Smith. But the announcement potentially reflects a larger opposition towards the fine arts at universities in general, according to those within art faculties.

At Queen's, an email sent to students by Smith says there is assurance that the school will “continue to assess” the bachelor of fine arts (BFA) program.

Though according to faculty, there has been no guarantee made that the program will return in the same form.

“The idea is that we reconfigure and remodel the program,” said BFA printmaking professor Otis Tamasauskas. “But if we reconfigure, then it’s not going to be the same program.”

The announcement cites a lack of resources, including a retirement within the program and financial difficulties, as the reasons for suspension of new admissions.

“Other units are also vulnerable, not just us,” said fine art undergraduate chair Jan Winton. “We’ve experienced really, really severe cutbacks, university-wide, for the last three years … it's been something that we’ve seen coming down the line for a long time.”

Students in the BFA program have been told that their current degree won’t be affected. But members of the student body and faculty have spoken out against the decision and created petitions in support of reconsidering the decision.

“To me, it almost feels like it’s rigged,” said Tamasauskas. “They say one thing about we don’t have the resources — but we do have resources, we have full enrolment every year.”

The offices of both the principal and Smith did not immediately respond to requests for interviews.

There is now discussion as to how to remodel the program to be able to continue offering fine arts at Queen's.

“There’s a number of strategies that can be used to try to prevent this — I’m trying very hard to keep the program going,” said Winton.

One potential solution, according to Tamasauskas, is to form a new generalized arts program that takes elements from existing programs. “The dean mentioned that they had to cut other programs in the past, and they were cut or assembled into one nucleus,” said Tamasauskas.

“I think it was too soon, we were mid-admissions recruitment stage,” said Winton. “It’s very hard on our students because they feel like they’re being told that what they’re studying isn’t important.”

The suspension of the program for the 2012–2013 academic year, along with the Nova Scotia government's review of NSCAD University in Halifax, N.S., has led to questions being raised in art circles about the future of arts and humanities education in Canada.

“It’s a concern for all of us teaching in this sector, in art and design schools, across the country,” said Caroline Langill, associate dean at OCAD University's faculty of art. “We’ve seen that in England as well, the loss of funding to the humanities.”

Last spring, the University of the Creative Arts, a specialist U.K. arts university with five campuses, had to raise its fees £500 or almost CAD$1,000 over the national average after three quarters of its funding was withdrawn.

The future of NSCAD University is also in question. The school is facing a $2.4-million shortfall and is currently under review by the Nova Scotia government. While merging with another school was initially proposed, the university's board of governors voted against the idea and are now awaiting a province-commissioned report that is expected to evaluate the school's future.

"These are two major art programs in the country — it’s a concern,” said Langill, referring to Queens and NSCAD.

She added that art programs are valuable to universities as they educate students in a broader way that doesn’t necessarily train them for certain careers.

“It’s the hidden knowledges and the hidden breadth of knowledge that’s acquired when you’re studying art that’s a huge loss,” said Langill. “What are the implications of us taking this out of the university? What does it mean if we are no longer able to study that?”

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