By Craig Batty
Welcome to the latest edition of NiTRO. The clocks (for some) have moved forward, and I know many of us are looking forward to a well-earned summer break. But alas, there is still a lot to do before then!
The DDCA itself is taking stock and looking ahead. After almost 10 years since its inception, at the recent Executive Board it was agreed that the DDCA should look to its strategic future. With the assistance of Outside Opinion, the DDCA is engaged on a process of reflection of its history and achievements, and what it might seek to do in the future. This is all in the context of a shifting Higher Education landscape, the arts in and out of the academy post-COVID, and what we hope will be a renewed sense of hope for the creative arts in Australia (with the new Government’s commitment to a national cultural policy). A series of workshops will take place in November to help shape our thinking, and this will include representatives from our key peak body partners. We will keep you updated on all of this – expect to see some communications in early 2023.
Back to this edition of NiTRO, which explores the various projects, people and initiatives taking place at the Australian National University to support First Nations creative work, particularly in music. As we all look for ways that our disciplines, schools and universities can offer active support to long overdue equitable inclusion of our First Peoples, the examples provided by co-editors Kim Cunio, Frank Millward and Chris Sainsbury in this edition may offer ideas for adaptation in our own settings.
While NiTRO has included pieces by and focusing on indigenous creative arts and artists in the past (e.g. https://nitro.edu.au/articles/2018/6/1/aboriginal-song-as-non-traditional-research; https://nitro.edu.au/articles/2017/10/5/performing-political-history-an-interview-with-actor-academic-and-activist-gary-foley), this is the first edition where it is the concentrated focus. We thank the editorial team for bringing this important work to NiTRO readers.
Happy reading, and enjoy the month of October.