The future of London’s visual art scene has become uncertain, with recent changes affecting post-secondary art programs and placing barriers on young artists.
Fanshawe College cut its three-year fine art diploma program last spring, making the one-year art certificate program its only option for incoming students. It’s a loss that hurts many artists in London, whose options for education near home are already slim.
Cecil Klaseen, 2025 graduate of the Fine Arts program at Fanshawe College. (Credit: Cecil Klassen)
“It’s definitely gonna have a bigger impact, I think, than the higher ups at Fanshawe realize,” said Cecil Klassen, who graduated from the program last year.
The program has led many students to jobs in the local industry, said Klassen, as it was the only three-year college program in London and the surrounding area.
“You’re gonna have a lot of less interesting people around the city, I think you’re gonna have a lot less entertainment or nice things to look at,” said Klassen.
Despite the ability to get an art job after graduation locally, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s recent comment calling the arts “basket-weaving courses” puts the value of art-based education into question.
“Life can’t just be for profit incentive, artists don’t make a lot of money and we all know that. But what is a life without it?” said Klassen.
Two pieces created by Cecil Klassen. (Credit: Cecil Klassen)
Alongside the program’s closure, Ford has slashed the amount of grants students can receive through the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). Ford’s policy cuts the maximum grant funding per student down to 25 per cent, compared to 85 per cent from before.
This is especially impactful for artists who may have to turn to university for an education.
“Even if you want to do art at the large scale of university, it’s up where from like, outrageous amounts of money,” said Liberty Satschi-King, a Fanshawe student who is receiving her fine art diploma this year.
Liberty Satschi-King, third-year Fine Art student at Fanshawe College. (Credit: Liberty Satschi-King)
Her work has been displayed at multiple shows, said Satschi-King, an integrated part of the program that allows students to make connections and showcase their work publicly.
“It was, like, very fulfilling to know that my art was getting out into the community and not just in the college setting,” she said.
Western University’s art program remains intact, but has seen cutbacks and criticism from its students. Protestors marched on-campus last October after the institution laid-off four of its arts and humanities staff, and students called out the school for its alleged underfunding of the arts faculty.
An art piece made by Liberty-Satschi King. (Credit: Liberty-Satschi King)
“My program was actually fused with art history as of this year,” said St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre art curator, Kathy Goodhue, whose museum and curatorial studies program at Western used to be a standalone.
Goodhue said that cutting art education is “insulting” and impacts our ability to critically think.
“Taking that away is incredibly dangerous, especially with how tech and imperial forward we’re headed,” said Goodhue.
She said art students are experiencing burn-out and that the lack of access will “affect people’s ability to come to school.”
“Artists are very resilient people,” said Goodhue.
“I like to think that they rise above the challenge but I do think that it’s gonna put a bit of a roadblock in the way, especially in London.”
Art curator at St. Thomas-Elgin Public Art Centre, Kathy Goodhue. (Credit: Kathy Goodhue)
According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, some of the earliest known art creations are from 100,000 B.C. in Africa. It is proven to be a long-standing form of expression and community enjoyment, making it not only an important piece of our history, but a valued language that flows between cultures and generations.
“It’s something so inherently human to us, surely that’s something worth nourishing,” said Klassen.
A petition to ask Fanshawe’s administration to reconsider its decision has been open for almost a year, yet no efforts to reinstate the program have been brought forward. Any full-time Fanshawe students interested in supporting the cause can sign the petition here.
