Sydney College of the Arts

The Sydney College of the Arts is the contemporary art college and former faculty of the University of Sydney. The campus is located in Rozelle, Sydney, Australia and housed within Callan Park in the Kirkbride complex, a cluster of sandstone buildings designed by James Barnet, the government architect, in the late 19th century.HistoryThe complex was part of the Callan Park Lunatic Asylum for the Mentally and Criminally Insane, which was built between 1878 and 1884. It was a major psychiatric hospital for many years but, in the late 20th century, the hospital functions were moved to the western section of the estate and the Kirkbride complex became the home of the College of the Arts. The college is a base for the study of the visual arts.On Tuesday 21 June 2016 the University of Sydney announced that the school would be merged with UNSW Art & Design, a plan that was later abandoned.After the merger was called off in July 2016, the University has been acting to relocate the school to its Camperdown campus, whilst implementing a number of cuts to staff, studio space, facilities and subsequent creation of adverse conditions for the Sydney College of the Arts community as a whole. On August 22nd 2016, students occupied the Executive Administration Offices of SCA in protest against the closure of the art school and the ensuing job losses, cuts to studio space, closure of various departments, the removal of the Visual Arts from the curriculum and the move of SCA from its current home in Rozelle. The occupation ended on 25 October, making it the longest running student occupation in the University of Sydney's history.