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In a recent research seminar, Professor Faye McCallum discussed the findings of a broad enquiry into wellbeing and resilience education during times of change and disruption (White & McCallum, 2021). Quantitative data obtained through global networks during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic revealed what worked well for teachers and what didn’t. However, in terms of local delivery of education, many institutions were charged with figuring this out for themselves.
Adelaide Central School of Art (ACSA) is a not-for profit Art School offering four accredited Visual Art programs. Despite the pandemic, ACSA was identified as best Art School in Australia for overall student educational experience for undergraduates studying creative arts in 2020. For one complete term, ACSA’s programs were delivered solely online, forcing educators and students into a state of potential hyper-individualism. In 2021, the online resources that were established during crisis response, have been reimagined as essential learning tools contributing to a blended learning model that embeds resilience in its students and care in its staff.
This paper considers how reconnecting individual and community wellbeing has been successfully achieved by ACSA as part of its recovery process. Crisis response has morphed into an alternative course delivery that prioritises the wellbeing of students and educators through a combination of clever software and proficient pedagogy.
