| Adelaide College for the Arts | |
| City: | Light Square, Adelaide |
| State: | South Australia |
| Established: | 2001 |
The Adelaide College of the Arts, also known as AC Arts and formerly known as Adelaide Centre for the Arts, is a campus of TAFE SA that specialises in performing arts education. It is located on Light Square, Adelaide, South Australia.
The centre was created in 2001 from an amalgamation of the Centre for Performing Arts (previously located in Grote Street) and the North Adelaide School of Arts (previously located in Stanley Street, North Adelaide). The new building on Light Square was constructed to house the new centre, and opened in March 2001.[1]
The Centre for the Performing Arts (CPA) was established in 1978 on the site of the old Adelaide Girls High School, adjacent to the Adelaide Central Market in Gouger Street.
Set up by Dr Barry Young, it initially offered courses in dance and technical production. An acting course was introduced in 1986, headed by David Kendall. In 1997 an introductory acting course was established, called Prologue.
The North Adelaide School of Arts (NASA) was established in 1979 on a site vacated the previous year by the South Australian School of Art. (The latter moved to a campus in Underdale.)
NASA was dedicated to practical studio-based studies in visual art, providing training in studio areas, such as Photography and Digital Art, ceramics, sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, jewellery and textiles.
AC Arts' purpose-built $30 million campus was designed by award-winning[2] architect Adrian Evans during his time with the Adelaide-based firm Hassell.[3]
AC Arts has two main theatre spaces. These are used for in-house performances and also for professional productions, especially during the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival.
The Main Theatre is a proscenium arch theatre that seats 220 and the X Space experimental theatre that seats 110. Both spaces are industry-standard, allowing students to learn in an environment as close as possible to the professional world.[4]
On the third floor of the building there are four dance studios with mirrors and bars, four acting studios and a music room. Two of the acting studios (The Stables and the David Kendall Studio) double as performance spaces with easy black out ability.
Identified major study areas of the centre are:
Adelaide College for the Arts provides both short and award courses. Award courses include: