NCAD Students Oppose Move to UCD
dublin |
rights, freedoms and repression |
press release 
Wednesday October 26, 2005 20:52
by Nessa Darcy - NCAD Students' Union
ncadsu at gmail dot com
100 Thomas Street Dublin 8
0879970415
Silent protest against proposed move to Belfield
NCAD students will hold a silent protest on Thursday 27th October at 12 pm to express their anger at decisions being made behind their backs about the future of the college.
STUDENTS OF NCAD OUTRAGED BY TALKS OF MOVING TO BELFIELD
The students of the National College of Art and Design will hold a silent demonstration in the college at 12 pm on Thursday 27th October (tomorrow) to express our disappointment and anger at the recent news regarding the future of our college. It was first revealed to us on Thursday 20th October, by an anonymous source, that An Bord of NCAD are strongly considering the possibility of relocating the college to the Belfield campus of UCD.
An Bord are discussing the move with the governing authority of UCD as an alternative to the redevelopment of NCAD's Thomas Street campus. Sufficient funding and space are not currently available for the long-term redevelopment of the college at its present location. The Belfield site would offer the potential for new and improved facilities, but the vast majority of students believe that these would not be worth the loss of the college's unique city centre home.
At the moment the college is surrounded by a diverse range of cultural influences and amenities, and sources of art materials. The students feel that the move would lead to cultural starvation and the vibrant and creative atmosphere of NCAD would be diluted into the anonymous masses of UCD. Students are skeptical of An Bord's claims that the college would remain permanently autonomous if the move were to go ahead.
The economy and social atmosphere of the Liberties area would also suffer from the loss of NCAD. Many local businesses rely on income from the students and the college is involved in several community projects in the neighbourhood. An article further outlining the details of the situation was published in the Sunday Times on October 23rd.
Students will meet at 12 pm in the concourse in NCAD for a silent demonstration outside the Noel Sheridan Hall, where a staff information session on the UCD issue will take place at 12.30 pm. Protestors should wear black clothing and carry posters displaying reasons why they believe the college should not be relocated to UCD. Journalists, photographers and sympathetic members of the public are invited to join us.
Contact Students' Union President Nessa Darcy - 087 997 0415
or Vice President Ben McDonald - 087 747 2016
or ../mailto:ncadsu@gmail.com
Comments (10 of 10)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10It'll be a sad day for the city if NCAD is banished to Belfield. It's funny to think that the college management say they have no money for redevelopment of the Thomas Street site- this would imply a degree of financial mismanagement that is hard to believe. The college should be thriving, every course is oversubscribed, and since the artworld is booming, you'd think that there would be plenty of opportunities for sponsorship, endowments etc.
Still, when you look at some of the amadáns that run the place it's no surprise that they are in a mess...
Didn't the gov shove millions and millions at MIT to use arces of old buildings around there, how it is that the couldn't expand a college I don't know.
Perhaps because I'm a grown-up I read :- "The relocation of NCAD would have a detrimental effect on the local economy of the Thomas Street area". I wonder have the SU contacted those "suppliers" and "small businesses" &c.., in the area to ask them about their views on losing their customer base? Quite probably budding artists will remain loyal to their crayon shop in the future, but many other businesses who supply daily essentials such as sandwiches, alcohol, and cigarette papers will be effected.
who is the TD for the constituency?
Handing NCAD and the old powers distillery over to the Developers would probobly make a lot of money for Brertie. Butv Past and future generations of irish artists would surly lose out. I spent a few years there and the building has a unique atmosphere which could not be replicated in a surburban site like belfield. NCAD thrives on its city cenre location One of the reasons that many students chose NCAD over Dilat in Dun Laogharie is that you feel part of the fabric of the city If you move it You will kill everything which makes it what it is.
Fuck this is depressing
This would be a disaster for NCAD. UCD has a very specific agenda as to its direction over the coming years. UCD is driving itself forward as a mecca for R&D, its marketing message is industry. A university that is based around the logic of capital otherwise referred to as knowledge based. The commodification of art. Organise and oppose
saw the grafiti on the walls<
would be a tragedy if it moved> having an art college in the city means that as you learn the theory you learn same time from the city< having NCAD in the oasis island of UCD< would be a huge loss< i learned my architecture from walking the streets< speanding time wandering around and understanding the city< i was in bolton st< beside moore st< and thankful that that was the case
i know that not all artees are into city and people stuff< but many are and with that in mind you and those who support you should fight to keep things as they are
I seem to recall something like this in the mid 80s.
I think that it would be better to keep colleges in the city centre. NCAD makes a great contribution to the life of the Liberties. They will say it is because of lack of money! But surely it would cost more to build a new building in Belfield. Why don't they campaign for money off the state. UCD is quickly becoming a corporate college with lower academic standards at undergraduate level. NCAD should keep its distance from this. However you should not keep your distance from UCD students who are your allies in this attack on your college.
Thank you all for your support, I knew there wouldn't be a single person out there in their right mind who would be in favour of this move. Below is a link to some photos of our protest last Thursday. We have many more planned, and we'll post the details up here in the hope that some of you our supporters will be able to join us. At the protest on Thursday Centra across the road from the college donated some crates of water to us and many other local businesses have expressed their support for our campaign. We will be providing them with posters to display in their shop windows. We will also be meeting with Aengus O Snodaigh the local Sinn Fein TD very soon. The article in the UCD Observer was disappointingly one-sided, so it's very reassuring to hear that UCD students are supporting us! Please don't take anything we say against UCD personally, trust me it's not aimed at the students! Let the battle continue!
Do not let the move go ahead. Rather than an art College, it will soon become an arts building if the move goes ahead. Imagine trying to talk to some UCD office clerk about funding, when he or she is putting extra funding in to the latest government pushed degree, (I.T in the mid nineties, engineering at present).
I'm a communications student in DCU, in our building we have Multi-media, Communications and Journalism degree students. The facilities are poor, with two C.D./D.V.D burners for the entire faculty. While our P.C./Macs crash or simply do not work other more popular and less media orientated degree courses have better facilities and better I.T. equipment. It's a popularity contest when it comes to funding. In N.C.A.D Thomas Street, art students are not fighting for funding with other non-art affiliated faculties. Do not let your college be used for the profit of whom ever pays Bertie enough for the permission to build more dog box apartments on your current campus. Let's face it, it's all about profit at the back of it.
Indymedia Ireland is a media collective. We are independent volunteer citizen journalists producing and distributing the authentic voices of the people. Indymedia Ireland is an open news project where anyone can post their own news, comment, videos or photos about Ireland or related matters.