CHAIR’S INTRODUCTION platforms and learning practices. While we are proud of the rapid pivot to these new approaches, it’s a great relief to have our everyone back on campus, where we can most effectively undertake our studio-based, practiceled learning.
The extraordinary challenges of 2020 showed what NIDA is made of. NIDA’s team, community and students displayed amazing creativity, commitment and resilience when confronted with the unfolding crisis of a global pandemic. While public health lockdowns profoundly disrupted our normal operations – and our sector – NIDA found ways to continue to offer excellence in education. We developed new ways of engaging via digital delivery, reimagined use of our spaces in the building, and adopted new COVID-safe practices. Our CEO Liz Hughes, who took the helm in late 2019, faced an immediate and radical change in her job description – as did many throughout the organisation. Instead of just running the organisation, Liz had to make some fast and furious decisions about how to keep the school open and introduce virtual teaching. Her leadership skills and entrepreneurial spirit shone through and I would like to acknowledge the fantastic job she has done in getting NIDA re-opened, back on track and firmly focused on our exciting future. The commitment of NIDA’s staff was also highlighted throughout the year as they adjusted their teaching techniques and found opportunities for innovation amidst ongoing uncertainty. Our students adapted to virtual learning and the limitations of lockdown with impressive inventiveness and resourcefulness, embracing the possibilities of a range of technology 6
The Hon Paul Fletcher MP congratulated the NIDA class of 2019 in the first-ever virtual graduation ceremony, held on Sunday 28 June 2020, as NIDA officially launched the careers of 163 creative artists. Creative leader Baz Luhrmann (Acting, 1985) delivered an inspirational and thoughtprovoking Occasional Address: ‘The tectonic plates of history are smashing together at this moment. Everything that was, isn’t necessarily so. And what it’s going to be, we don’t really know. But there is one thing that is universal, and that is [your] craft. Whether you are an actor or writer or a tech or designer, the craft of storytelling is not going to change.’
