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Acting alumni accuse NIDA of race problem

Performing arts school pledges to do better to support Indigenous and students of colour.

Prestigious acting school the National Institute of Dramatic Art is the latest to be accused of entrenched racism.

More than 100 alumni, students and former staff have signed a letter accusing the performing arts school of failing to support black and Indigenous students and students of colour.

Newly-installed NIDA chief executive Liz Hughes yesterday apologised “wholeheartedly and sincerely” and pledged to quickly “drive substantive change.”

The Age reports a newly established group “NIDA Alumni for Black Lives Matter” called on NIDA to “[forge] a campus where students from all walks of life can exist without issues of racism and can explore their stories safely in their respective practices and training.”

In testimonials NIDA alumni described a culture where students of colour were sidelined and made to feel like they were fulfilling diversity quotas, speaking out about race and discrimination was discouraged and staff and directors were mostly white.

Hughes, who became CEO in December, pledged that she would implement changes within four weeks once she had completed more “listening and engagement” and would start to work on longer-term strategies.

NIDA has produced some of the nation’s top acting talent for decades and was recently named by the Hollywood Reporter as one of the top 5 acting institutions in the world, along with Carnegie Mellon and New York’s Juilliard School.

Organisers will meet with Hughes and board directors on Friday.

2 Responses

  1. You missed the best bit, “Your neutrality has been complicit in white supremacist and colonial violence, where you could have had a greater greater impact than the tokenism of the institute.” Mocke also called for an end of students being forced to perform European works, and has been in dispute with NIDA and encouraging a boycott of the organisation by Aboriginal students for being racist since she filed complaints as a student.

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