SMH: Parents get free admissions, art class vouchers in family-friendly arts package

SMH: Parents get free admissions, art class vouchers in family-friendly arts package

2022-06-22

Article: Linda Morris
Photo: Artist impression of the National Art School makeover.

A total of $9.4 million has been allocated over three years to advance the National Art School’s master plan to redevelop its campus within the sandstone walls of the historic Darlinghurst Gaol.

“It allows the National Art School to begin progressing the master plan and does send a signal to the art school, the market and philanthropists we want them to pony up.”

NAS has called the former Darlinghurst Gaol home since 1922, celebrating 100 years of teaching at this location this year.

Through the expansion, NAS director and CEO Steven Alderton said the art school would “become the front door for art and creativity in NSW”.

“The funding will enable design and planning work to create a 21st-century art school where art and creativity are central to the community.”

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Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Jane Burton, Gerwyn Davies, Ella Dreyfus, Izabela Pluta, Ali Tayahori, Justine Varga, and Kai Wasikowski, finalists of the Bowness Photography Prize 2025.

This year is the 20th anniversary of the Prize. Visit @maph_photography before 9 November to view the artworks in person.

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1) Jane Burton, ‘Snakes and ladders’, 2024, pigment ink-jet print, 42 x 33 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and Bett Gallery (Hobart)

2) Gerwyn Davies, ‘Trick mirror’, 2024, pigment ink-jet print, 120 x 100 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist, Jan Murphy Gallery (Brisbane) and Michael Reid Galleries (Sydney + Berlin)

3) Ella Dreyfus, ‘Liminal body’, 2025, chromogenic print, 150 x 100 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist

4) Izabela Pluta, ‘Coral study / Seepage (mirage)’, 2025, from the series Undulations, gelatin silver prints, 36 x 31.5 cm (each), collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Sally Dan Cuthbert (Sydney)

5) Ali Tayahori, ‘Sisterhood (Broken)’, 2025, from the series Archive of longing, UV print on glass, hand-cut glass, silicone on aluminium, 62 x 62 x 4 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and THIS IS NO FANTASY (Melbourne)

6) Justine Varga, ‘Time immemorial (126,749 years)’, 2024–2025, chromogenic print, 190 x 76 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist, Tolarno Galleries (Melbourne) and Hugo Michell Gallery (Adelaide)

7) Kai Wasikowski, ‘The bees and the ledger: N.B (scenes 1–27)’, 2024, from the series The bees and the ledger, ink-jet prints, 38 x 38 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist

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Aug 25

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Congratulations to NAS alumni/staff Jane Burton, Gerwyn Davies, Ella Dreyfus, Izabela Pluta, Ali Tayahori, Justine Varga, and Kai Wasikowski, finalists of the Bowness Photography Prize 2025.

This year is the 20th anniversary of the Prize. Visit @maph_photography before 9 November to view the artworks in person.

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1) Jane Burton, ‘Snakes and ladders’, 2024, pigment ink-jet print, 42 x 33 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and Bett Gallery (Hobart)

2) Gerwyn Davies, ‘Trick mirror’, 2024, pigment ink-jet print, 120 x 100 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist, Jan Murphy Gallery (Brisbane) and Michael Reid Galleries (Sydney + Berlin)

3) Ella Dreyfus, ‘Liminal body’, 2025, chromogenic print, 150 x 100 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist

4) Izabela Pluta, ‘Coral study / Seepage (mirage)’, 2025, from the series Undulations, gelatin silver prints, 36 x 31.5 cm (each), collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Sally Dan Cuthbert (Sydney)

5) Ali Tayahori, ‘Sisterhood (Broken)’, 2025, from the series Archive of longing, UV print on glass, hand-cut glass, silicone on aluminium, 62 x 62 x 4 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist and THIS IS NO FANTASY (Melbourne)

6) Justine Varga, ‘Time immemorial (126,749 years)’, 2024–2025, chromogenic print, 190 x 76 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist, Tolarno Galleries (Melbourne) and Hugo Michell Gallery (Adelaide)

7) Kai Wasikowski, ‘The bees and the ledger: N.B (scenes 1–27)’, 2024, from the series The bees and the ledger, ink-jet prints, 38 x 38 cm, collection of the artist, courtesy of the artist

Congratulations Genevieve Felix Reynolds @genevievefelixreynolds, the 2026 recipient of the The British School at Rome Residency.

This residency offers the opportunity to live and work in Rome for 3 months, in an interdisciplinary research community. The British School at Rome is a centre of interdisciplinary research excellence in the Mediterranean supporting the full range of arts, humanities and social sciences, and the residency has been made possible through the generosity of our donors, particularly Jennifer Dowling. The British School at Rome is just north of Rome’s historic centre in the Valle Giulia which separates the Parioli district from the Borghese Gardens.

Applications for 2027 residencies will open early next year. Find more information about all of NAS` International Residencies on the NAS website.
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Genevieve Felix Reynolds, Godmode, 2025, polymer on velvet, 150 x 109cm

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Aug 24

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Congratulations Genevieve Felix Reynolds @genevievefelixreynolds, the 2026 recipient of the The British School at Rome Residency.

This residency offers the opportunity to live and work in Rome for 3 months, in an interdisciplinary research community. The British School at Rome is a centre of interdisciplinary research excellence in the Mediterranean supporting the full range of arts, humanities and social sciences, and the residency has been made possible through the generosity of our donors, particularly Jennifer Dowling. The British School at Rome is just north of Rome’s historic centre in the Valle Giulia which separates the Parioli district from the Borghese Gardens.

Applications for 2027 residencies will open early next year. Find more information about all of NAS' International Residencies on the NAS website.
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Genevieve Felix Reynolds, Godmode, 2025, polymer on velvet, 150 x 109cm

Announcing the 2026 recipients of the Onslow Storrier NAS Residency, a three-month studio residency at La Cité Internationale des Arts Paris, awarded to a National Art School Graduate or Academic Staff Member and made possible through the generosity of Annette Onslow and Tim Storrier.

January – March: Mungo Howard @mungo_howard
April – June: Ali Tahayori @alitahayori
July – September: Corey Black @corey_max_black
October – December: Chelsea Lehmann @chelseajlehmann

A residency at the Onslow Storrier National Art School Paris Studio presents each artist with the opportunity to evolve their practice in one of the great centres of artistic excellence. The studio is located on the Right Bank in Rue de L’Hôtel de Ville in the 4th arrondissement overlooking the river Seine, near many commercial and public galleries and only a short walk to Notre Dame Cathedral. There are 270 studios that house artists, musicians and writers from around the world.

Applications for 2027 residencies will open early next year. Find more information about all of NAS` International Residencies on the NAS website.
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Mungo Howard, Profile, 2025, found material and tacks in steel frame, 36 x 31 cm.
Ali Tahayori, Our house is on fire, 2023, video installation, six minor panels, hand-cut mirrors, plaster and wood, each panel 100 cm x 90 cm video component (4 minutes duration)
Corey Black, Malignant Recipe, 2025, digital print on lustre, laser cut and welded Perspex, 45 × 18 × 4.5 cm. Documentation: Jessica Maurer
Chelsea Lehmann, Field Remains, 2025, Oil and wax on linen, 97 × 107 cm

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Aug 23

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What`s happening at the National Art School on 6 September? RSVP to our Open Day today to find out. (Link in bio)

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Aug 22

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What's happening at the National Art School on 6 September? RSVP to our Open Day today to find out. (Link in bio)

Hear artist James Nguyen (@jamesnguyens) discuss the process of his artwork ‘Homeopathies_where new trees grow’ (2025), a site-specific installation created for The Neighbour at the Gate, now on at NAS Gallery.

In response to the exhibition, Nguyen created a large-scale suspended textile, dyed with introduced weeds and contaminated mud collected along the Duck River and Parramatta River in Sydney. These local sites, like many places in Vietnam, continue to be contaminated by Agent Orange, dioxins and toxic leachates that account for the industrial scale manufacturing of chemical weapons along Homebush Bay.

The Naarm/Melbourne-based, Vietnamese Australian artist positions his personal experiences and perspectives in dialogue with others in his interdisciplinary practice, moving between live and online performance, video, drawing and installations. This work was made in conjunction with Nguyen’s aunt, Nguyễn Thị Kim Nhung, and uncle, Nguyễn Công Chính, who you can hear in conversation with the artist in the Artist Talks archive on our website.

The Neighbour at the Gate is now on until Saturday 18 October 2025. 11am – 5pm, Monday to Sunday. Plan your visit at the link in bio.

The Neighbour at the Gate has been made possible with the generous support of the NSW Government through its Blockbusters Funding initiative.

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Aug 21

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Hear artist James Nguyen (@jamesnguyens) discuss the process of his artwork ‘Homeopathies_where new trees grow’ (2025), a site-specific installation created for The Neighbour at the Gate, now on at NAS Gallery.

In response to the exhibition, Nguyen created a large-scale suspended textile, dyed with introduced weeds and contaminated mud collected along the Duck River and Parramatta River in Sydney. These local sites, like many places in Vietnam, continue to be contaminated by Agent Orange, dioxins and toxic leachates that account for the industrial scale manufacturing of chemical weapons along Homebush Bay.

The Naarm/Melbourne-based, Vietnamese Australian artist positions his personal experiences and perspectives in dialogue with others in his interdisciplinary practice, moving between live and online performance, video, drawing and installations. This work was made in conjunction with Nguyen’s aunt, Nguyễn Thị Kim Nhung, and uncle, Nguyễn Công Chính, who you can hear in conversation with the artist in the Artist Talks archive on our website.

The Neighbour at the Gate is now on until Saturday 18 October 2025. 11am – 5pm, Monday to Sunday. Plan your visit at the link in bio.

The Neighbour at the Gate has been made possible with the generous support of the NSW Government through its Blockbusters Funding initiative.

Don’t miss the last chance to enrol in a ceramics workshop at NAS in 2025.

Places are still available in three ceramics Spring Weekend Workshops with incredible artist-educators Trisha Dean, Tania Rollond and Sassy Park.

Early discount extended to 29 August, enrol today at the link in bio.

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Aug 21

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SMH: Parents get free admissions, art class vouchers in family-friendly arts package