By RENEE FRANCOEUR
Advocate staff
A group of passionate visual arts students at Red Deer College are advocating for a change that they say would not only bring their department up a notch but also benefit the entire college and Red Deer community.
The students would like to see a four-year bachelor of fine arts degree added to the school’s list of more than 75 programs. Currently RDC only offers a two-year visual art diploma program.
This visual art program can also serve as a two-year university transfer program for a bachelor of fine arts. Graduates of the program have to transfer to a university to obtain their full bachelor’s of fine arts.
“We don’t want to finish the degree at a different school,” said Carla Owen, a second-year visual art student.
“Our instructors are our friends. The college is our home. And the facilities here — like our plaster room, our glazing room, our ceramics studio, our kilns — are just amazing compared to really any other school.”
The curriculum for a four-year bachelor’s program has already been made up by faculty members, noted Owen.
“It’s ready to go . . . we just need approval from the college.”
RDC offers seven degree-completion programs, including education and nursing, said RDC president Joel Ward.
A four-year business degree will also be soon added to that list, said Ward.
Part of the five-year academic plan the school is working on will include more degree programs, but it won’t be known which ones until this fall, he said.
“A bachelor of fine arts is on our radar,” said Ward.
“We want our students to stay with us and we’ve talked to ACAD (Alberta College of Art and Design) about doing a partnership for such a degree-completion program.”
Full bachelor of science and arts programs are also being considered.
The growing population in and around Red Deer would support a fine arts degree, said Kaleb Romano, a first-year visual art student.
“I’ve talked to students who completed the two-year program and they told me they would definitely come back and finish their degree if it was offered here,” said Romano who moved from Edmonton to attend RDC.
A fine arts degree would keep more money and artists in the city, he said. “Art stimulates people to think,” he added. “It would enrich other educational programs.”
Carlene LaRue completed the visual art program but came back to take some ceramics courses. She tried going to ACAD in Calgary but it just didn’t have what RDC did, she said.
“The ceramics studio here is so big and clean, classes are smaller, advanced technology like waterjet cutting is available and accessible here,” she said.
Owen said she thinks it’s also time RDC became the University of Red Deer.
The artistic talent is already well and alive in Red Deer, said Owen. Now it’s time to feed and hold onto it.
rfrancoeur@www.reddeeradvocate.com