Fanshawe fine art students say program cut will hurt city, emerging artists

Students, professors and alumni of Fanshawe College's fine art program say they are "shocked" after the school announced it would be discontinuing the three-year advanced diploma program this fall.

It's a decision they say will hurt southwestern Ontario's arts scene, including the artists and the public artwork they produce. While Fanshawe is cutting its three-year fine art advanced diploma program, it is continuing to offer a one-year fine art certificate program. 

"A lot of people don't realize the amount of art they interact with every day," said third-year fine art student Cecil Klassen. "There's design that goes into all the posters you see around Fanshawe and all of the murals downtown that are blocking off closed businesses.

"I think a lot of people who maybe think that art isn't really a career or it's not really valued, you would notice if it was gone one day," he said.

Fanshawe announced Apr. 1 that it is suspending enrolment to 40 programs this fall, which the school says is part of a cost-cutting strategy after the federal government put a cap on how many international students it can take in. 

The school's international student population is among the highest in Ontario, with Fanshawe accepting close to 11,700 international student permits in 2023. That number has been cut by more than half now. 

It means the college can no longer rely on international students, who pay roughly double the tuition of domestic students, as a viable source of revenue. 

Current students will be able to finish the program, but no new students will be accepted.

"My stomach was in knots over it. I just couldn't believe it," said Marla Botterill, the fine art program coordinator and professor. She learned about the program cut just one day before Fanshawe released the information publicly. 

"Fanshawe fine art has been around for 56 years, so it is a part of the ecosystem here," she said, adding that graduates often stay to work in London and fill space in art galleries throughout southwestern Ontario. 

Confusion over cuts

Several students and faculty said they were confused why the fine art diploma was cut due to the international student cap, when their program has historically been made up of domestic students. 

"I don't understand why we're getting cut considering we don't rely much on international students," said Fanshawe fine art professor and program alumnus Ian Indiano. 

Originally from Brazil, Indiano said he was one of three international students when he joined the program in 2019. 

Fanshawe president Peter Devlin previously told CBC News the suspended programs were chosen based on a variety of factors, including enrolment trends and the labour market. 

Botterill said enrolment has been high post-pandemic and all three years of the program are currently full.

"We were viable before the international students started to arrive, so I'm not sure why we're not viable now," she said. "There's still a huge demand for students to study art, but there's fewer and fewer choices in Ontario for them to do that."

Certificate program too short

While Fanshawe will continue to offer the one-year fine art certificate, several current students and alumni who spoke to CBC news said the certificate program is too short for emerging artists to practically start their careers. 

"You don't get anything in the one year," said Sebastian Monroy, who graduated from the three-year program in 2020 before pursuing a fine arts degree at the University of Guelph. 

He said it took him until his third year to decide and hone in on his artistic medium of choice, adding that he also learned to build a portfolio, write grant applications and sign up for exhibitions in the last two years of the program. 

"I'm sure they're going to try their best crunching it up into one year and trying to give the students the most they can, but it's just not going to be enough for the real world," Monroy said. 

Other students said the three-year program has helped them build community with other artists, get exposure through gallery shows and made art more financially accessible through having the school's studio space. 

Botterill said the fine art faculty will need to rethink how it will go forward to ensure students can find a pathway into the arts, and hopes Fanshawe would be open to creating another fine art diploma in the future.