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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 27, No. 12. 1964.

Arts Festival Recommendations Changes In The Wind

Arts Festival Recommendations Changes In The Wind

meeting

Keren Clark, NZUSA cultural affairs officer, was asked to attend a meeting of the VUWSA executive on July 15 to discuss the separation of Arts Festival and Winter Sports Tournament in August, 1965. Miss Clark had recently returned from Auckland where she had discussed this with the people concerned in organising the 1964 Arts Festival and Winter Tournament.

She explained to the new executive that their sports committee had found that the burden of organising Arts Festival and Winter Sports Tournament together in August. 1965, would be too much for them. The most pressing reason was the lack of accommodation in Wellington.

Although at present Arts Festival was not satisfactory it could very easily become so she said. At the moment the standard of Arts Festival was well below that expected from the Universities.

Keren then outlined the three alternatives that had been discussed in Auckland:
1.Separate Arts Festival and Winter Tournament, having them both at the same time out in different places.
2.Separate them but have them at both different times and places. This idea did not have much support. Most clubs find August satisfactory.
3.Have a separate and full-scale drama festival. Have the rest of Arts Festival at a different time of the year and at a different place.

She said that this last idea seemed to be the most attractive, especially to the drama people.

She continued, saying that it could be possible to have an Arts seminar as well. She told the VUWSA executive that she already had moderate support for an arts seminar providing that it was extremely well organised.

Her suggestions for 1965 were that Vic. should hold Winter Sports Tournament and a drama festival in August and have the rest of Arts Festival elsewhere at the same time. Alternatively Victoria could have a drama festival during the second week of May and the rest of Arts Festival with Winter Sports Tournament in August. She also suggested that Victoria should have the drama part of Arts Festival at Wellington for the next five years or so.

The members of the Victoria executive then asked questions. Asked the cost of doing this, she said that the drama festival would definitely be self-supporting. The money gained from the public performances of the festival plays would be more than adequate. The rest of Arts Festival could have its cost borne by the profits received from the jazz concerts, the modern dances and the music concerts.

She said that the drama festival would only require 75 to 100 billets, not the 250 to 300 needed by the Arts Festival. Asked whether this idea would kill the rest of the Arts Festival, she said that the other Arts Festival activities would benefit from not having to compete with the drama productions for publicity and support from the public.

"Would five years be too much for Victoria to cope with?" Keren thought that Victoria would be able to manage, since Victoria is the only university with adequate facilities for a series of major drama productions. The Vic Drama Club seemed quite willing Several Vic. exec members were of the opinion that the other constituents of NZUSA should be consulted.

After protracted discussion Vic executive passed the following motion:

"That for the purposes of discussion of the subject at Winter Council, this Association make available the Student Union Building facilities in the May holidays, 1965, and undertakes to hold either possibly an arts festival or drama festival at that time, subject to full reports being made available to this executive on accommodation, finance and other matters. This in no way binds Executive."

The Cultural Affairs Committee of VUWSA, which will be running Arts Festival when it comes to Victoria, has made the following recommendations:
1.That, from and including 1966, Winter Sports Tournament and Arts Festival be held in separate centres during August.
2.That next year Arts Festival be held during the May vacation from May 16 to May 22.
3.That the drama section of the Arts Festival be expanded to three-act plays, with the possibility that from 1966 onwards this part be split from Arts Festival and possibly stay in Wellington for some years.