Demonstrators protesting against the defunding of Sydney College of the Arts outside the Art Gallery of NSW last year were joined by Labor's Anthony Albanese. Credit:James Brickwood The relocation of visual arts facilities to the University of Sydney's main campus follows a failed attempt to merge the SCA with the University of NSW and a wave of student protests and legal challenges to the decision. The plan, released on Monday, said the initial proposal to shut down the art school at Rozelle was driven by two key concerns, including "the need to address the worsening financial situation of the faculty due in large measure to falling enrolments", but this has been disputed by opponents of the move. The SCA's alumni include Archibald Prize winner Ben Quilty, designer Marc Newson​ and film director Jane Campion. It has been at Callan Park in Rozelle since 1996 following a $19 million refurbishment of the Kirkbride complex, a former asylum for the mentally ill. The art school's new location in the Old Teachers' College, due to open in March 2019, will be smaller than its current site.

Students occupied the Sydney College of Arts last year to protest plans to shut down its Rozelle campus. Credit:Daniel Munoz "It is acknowledged that a reduced physical footprint may require adjustments to current delivery modes and timetabling or adoption of curriculum models that facilitate a staggered use of these specialist facilities," the plan stated. Professor Garton said the exact reduction in physical footprint was uncertain. Former lecturer Merilyn Fairskye: "Not allowing SCA's reputation to be undermined is critical to its future." Credit:Nick Moir "No classrooms will be dedicated to visual arts but SCA will utilise general teaching space from across the campus," he said. "The final composition of art-making and gallery spaces will be determined during the design process for the fit-out of the Old Teachers' College for SCA."

Professor Garton said the fit-out will undergo a tendering process in June following staff consultation, with the aim of appointing a design firm in July. "Much of the available space at the Rozelle campus is unused," he said. "The physical footprint at Camperdown will be reduced as more efficient use is made of central facilities to fulfil several functions while still creating a congenial environment for students. "There will be SCA dedicated space for staff offices, workshops, studios and a gallery." The university's plan envisages total student numbers of 360 to 425 taught by up to 18 academics and 12 technical and support staff. "In response to a declining market for visual arts education, we will see a reduction in SCA staff and a reorganisation of roles," Professor Garton said.

The plan also abolishes the SCA as a separate faculty, transforming it into a department within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. "The larger school structure will result in greater efficiency and allow more resources for SCA teaching and research," Professor Garton said. However, staff and students continue to express concern about the future of the art school. Merilyn Fairskye, a spokeswoman for Friends of SCA, said the art school would lose "considerable autonomy" by its transformation into a small department within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. "A lot depends on Sydney University's understanding of SCA's potential, and its goodwill towards SCA, as well as its resourcing," she said. "Not allowing SCA's reputation to be undermined is critical to its future."

But Ms Fairskye, who taught at the art school from 2000 to 2014, said: "There is a lot of potential benefit that comes from proximity to other disciplines and the wider university community." The Friends of the SCA will hold a forum, Fast Forward: a vision for Sydney College of the Arts, to discuss the future of the art school on May 31 at Artspace Sydney in Woolloomooloo. Art student Suzy Faiz said she was concerned about the SCA's future. "Many of the academics, most of who are professional artists, have taken redundancies," she said. "Without the best artists to teach new students the quality will drop significantly." Ms Faiz said she did not see any benefit to relocating the art school to the Camperdown campus.

Loading "Kirkbride was and remains the perfect campus for an art school," she said. "Having its own campus has allowed for a close-knit art community to communicate within proper studio space to experiment and create work freely." Ms Faiz said she did not believe the university would provide adequate space for the SCA. "Management is not interested in having an art school."