JJ School of Art syllabus set to change course

Bella Jaisinghani | TNN

Mumbai: Soon after news of the revamp of the Sir JJ School of Art campus comes word that the syllabus too is due for an overhaul. State-of-the-art equipment and software is being introduced in phases, and eventually, the awkward difference between a five-year diploma course and a four-year degree will also be reversed.

The state government’s department of technical education has agreed to provide the requisite funding to shore up the standards of this once premier institute. “Budgets are still being drawn up but for starters a digital weaving machine worth Rs 45 lakh has been procured from Norway for the textile designing class,’’ says JJ director Hemant Nagdive.

“The purpose behind creating more space by building new classrooms and studios is to revise the syllabus to suit the demands of the modern workplace,’’ he adds. “Also, how can a diploma course last five years while a degree course lasts merely four? We wish to remove this disparity.’’

The director wants to “instil confidence’’ in the students who are talented but are short on confidence due to inadequate training in modern systems and a lack of soft skills. “They find themselves at a disadvantage when they present themselves in the corporate world,’’ he says. “For this reason, we will arrange extra lessons in the English language for students hailing from a vernacular background.’’

Computer education will become compulsory. Over the next eight months, students will have to devote two hours a week to get accustomed to the state-of-the-art Adobe software in their new computer lab.

Conservation of artwork will become part of the curriculum. For this purpose, a restoration laboratory will be set up with the help of a Lucknow-based institute, the National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC). Three professors of JJ will travel to that city to receive specialised training so they can teach students.

Students of photography will be able to avail of an ultramodern studio complete with the latest model of digital camera, lights and sundry equipment, some of which has already been installed. Classes will begin once the professors are conversant with its use. In fact, a batch of five teachers recently visited Chennai to train with a photography institute that is run by a former student of Nagdive.

Architect Abha Narain Lambah describes this as a welcome awakening. “In the past decade, the level of the institute did drop. The library did not even have internet stations for students to browse journals and art collections,’’ she says.

A panel of experts, including artists Bose Krishnamachari and Jitish Kallat and art critic Ranjit Hoskote, will advise the authorities regarding the elements of a modern curriculum. Hoskote says, “Studio courses around the world are very different from what they used to be. The syllabus needs to be radically upgraded.’’