As we now know the management of UWIC/Cardiff school of art and design have seen fit to close down the Sculpture department. This move has been met with great resistance from the wider Cardiff art scene and students past and present, as it should, but we need to know formalize a response that will show are outrage at this decision, as Sam Hasler has already said 'It is my strong belief that Sculpture as a discipline and mode of thought underpins the most radical and progressive art that takes exists today bringing important contribution to the visual language of painting, print, photography, Performance, Writing... It is my strong belief that a vibrant and diverse creative environment is a pre-requisite for any visual art education program. All artists and creative people thrive in an environment of wide discourse and critical relationships with artists who work both in very similar and very different ways to themselves. Further more, it is my strong belief that a capital city with increasing arts activity has been built on the foundations of a supportive and exciting art college. Each year more and more graduates, a great many from the Sculpture and recently closed MAP/Timebased fine art departments, have gone on to contribute to Cardiff and South Wales, generating arts activity of an international standard in Wales and right across the globe. Arts activity is something that many individuals and organizations have spent years trying to nurture and develop. This activity and growth that threatens to bloom into an exciting and fertile environment is its self now threatened. All regional arts activity is dependent upon trust and support from institutions and educational establishments. The closure of the sculpture department of the Fine Art course alongside the recent closure of the MAP/Timebased department shows a regressive attitude toward contemporary art, it shows a lack of belief in diverse and imaginative arts education, and it shows a grave lack of responsibility towards its role in a growing creative hub in the city. For the reasons above I write in protest and request that this decision is reversed immediately.' If you agree with this statement and want to show your support for what in past years has been an exemplar fine art course, then please sign this petition. We need to show are concern in this matter, if we can unite now then we will be heard!

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