A FEW YEARS WELL SPENT

David Hull

Head, Visual Arts, 1982-1991
Associate Dean, 1992
Dean, Faculty of Visual and Performing Arts, 1993-2002

Nothing can be possible in any educational environment without the genuine ambition of staff for students in their care. And what was obvious from our humble beginnings was the rich dialogue and the arguments that carried through from all staff; Lecturing, Technical, and Administrative. I remain eternally grateful to have known you, to have worked and grown with you.

Z Block was an uncomplicated studio space, a place in which students were able to take charge of their choices, developing languages that were embodied in the art they produced. With a lack of interference, they were supported by an environment which respected their concerns and fostered dialogue between students and staff. 

Z Block was designed as an art workspace where personal studio space was provided to each student, a place they occupied, a place they were responsible for, a personal space that staff respected. I sometimes think that may have been the consequence of having nothing to begin with other than a couple of small craft rooms and a few demountable buildings 35 kms away from the UWS Westmead Campus.

It all began after an idea that if students were to arrive soon we had to give them room to work. So Rhett Brewer and I, armed with the advice that we had a budget for materials of $7000, rented two factory spaces behind Kingswood railway station. Somehow our behaviour in doing so, without the agreement of the college admin, was tolerated.

The factory facilities were expanded after a year or so with increased student numbers, and the idea for Z Block was born. It is worth noting that the resourcefulness of staff was incredible - with no facilities at all, they gathered furniture and old couches from the tip and made screens so students were given the most important thing, a space in which to work.

Shipping containers were added to the factory at Peachtree trading estate in order to store materials and establish workshops; personal studios were allocated. It all began and was explored here amongst factory spaces, outside the confines of an educational institution and the traditional academy.

I still believe the art school we built was a gift to the region we served. In particular it was ‘you’, the artists who worked there – your dedication to a free and open place of art learning, critical thinking, and a place that was safe for experimentation – who provided the catalyst that made our dream work out.

This exhibition, Space YZ, tells part of our story with some of the student alumni – a story that is ongoing through the achievements of all students. 

I still regret the loss of this truly remarkable space, its energy and the staff who really made it sing out loud, and I thank you for it all. I still remember the comments made by a member of the Higher Education Board committee that judged our initial diploma program in 1979; they believed we could not make it work. Well we did! Perhaps in a way this whole adventure was an act of defiance, demonstrating that even though our work took place ‘Out There’, out there provided a freedom that really enabled it all to happen. And it is still happening.