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VCA What is a Masters of Indigenous Arts and Culture and how did you decide to complete this degree? The Masters of Fine Arts by research is a mode of inquiry into a particular theme that you have identified as an area of interest, generally one that you have previous experience in and would like to explore much deeper through the lens of your personal standpoint in the context of different scenarios – such as ‘colonisation’ in an effort to give your voice and a unique perspective to a topic that may have been researched extensively in the past.
Image: Fred Gesha performing at Wilin’s ‘Fan The Flames’ showcase at the Victoria College of the Arts. Name: Fred Gesha Pronouns: He/him Mob: Meriam Mer / Kanaka Studying: Masters Indigenous Arts and Culture
The idea of undertaking a Masters of Fine Arts was originally suggested to me by filmmaker Dr Richard Frankland, who was being showcased at the St Kilda Film Festival where I work as the Indigenous Arts Officer for the City of Port Phillip. It took me a while for me to actually follow up and apply to the VCA because I was really unsure about what I was going to research, so it was difficult to put together a proposal. However, once I identified what I was going to focus on and how I was going to do it, my thesis began to evolve and take on a life of its own.
