SMH: An insider’s guide to buying your very first work of art

SMH: An insider’s guide to buying your very first work of art

Jenna Price delves deep into Sydney Contemporary, join us at stand H02, we will be showing 8 NAS artists.

“Here’s my top tip. Make a beeline for the National Art School stall. Eight brilliant students from among all the graduates were selected by a panel. Their work will never be this inexpensive again. I only wish I’d seen Mechelle Bounpraseuth’s ceramic replicas of what you’d find on an Asian grocery store shelf back then (she’ll be represented by Chalk Horse at the fair. You can buy a meringue swan for about a grand). Director and chief executive of the National Art School Steve Alderton says NAS has 170 graduates every year: “We want to land them in the middle of industry, we want to show people the future of Australian arts practice and we want to promote students. We present unrepresented artists in a space where every other artist is represented.” NAS is also about to launch a “how to collect” series of seminars.”

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We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the Prudence MacLeod Prize. 

The Prudence MacLeod Prize, which will continue for a further three years, supports a recent National Art School graduate to undertake a six-month residency at @acme.art, London.

Supported by the Lansdowne Foundation, the Prize provides an emerging artist with an opportunity to step forward into an expanded, international context at a vital time in their career. The artist will live and work in London, one of the world's great art cities, in a supportive artist community. This important opportunity will enable the artist to forge professional international contacts, explore London's art world and rich cultural resources, and produce a new body of work.

The recipient of this Prize will receive:
– Return travel to London. To be arranged for the artist by NAS.
– Studio accommodation and workspace at Acme Studios for 6 months.
– Living stipend of $AUD3,500 per month for 6 months. Total $AUD21,000.

Application deadline: Sunday 1 February 2026, 11.59pm
Residency: Monday 6 July – Friday 18 December 2026

The Prudence MacLeod Prize is open to eligible NAS alumni who have graduated within the past five years and meet the selection criteria.

Learn more 🔗 in bio. 

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Acme Fire Station, 30 Gillender Street, 1999 © Acme Archive
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the opening of The Grad Show!

Find works by this year's cohort exhibited throughout the NAS campus until 14 December. Open daily from 11am — 5pm and until 9pm on Fridays. 

View online via 🔗 in bio.

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Video: Tim Connolly
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