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Victorian College of the Arts

 

40 Years of VCA

The arts are a powerful force for social change and cultural renewal.  The arts can carry messages of protest and hope, of oppression and dislocation and can be a powerful medium for the expression of people's journeys, discoveries and aspirations.

The Centre for Cultural Partnerships is a dynamic hub that draws together people from around the world to think, reflect and take action to build stronger and more vital communities.  Through partnerships and collaboration the Centre’s programs focus on the role of the arts in strengthening communities, promoting social inclusion, building leadership and fostering community cultural vitality.

Committed to interdisplinary and inter-cultural methods, the Centre brings together the resources and expertise of community cultural development (CCD) practitioners, partnership brokers, social entrepreneurs, arts educators, planners and public policy analysts to provide new models in teaching, professional development training, action research and knowledge exchange.

Fundamental to the Centre’s programs is the examination of the changing role of the artist/animateur/social entrepreneur and their work in collaborating with communities to create new forms of artistic and cultural expression. 

Leadership development is also integral to the Centre's work. This is exemplified in the Horn of Africa project, our flagship partnership with the Horn of Africa Communities Network,  which aims to assist young refugees to develop their artistic and leadership skills:

• To assist them to find 'their voice', to live their dream to make a difference
• To present and share the strength and beauty of their culture
• To be a positive role model to other younger people; and
• To build a bridge between their cultures of origin and the wider Australian society.