NAS NEO – Student Advisory Group
NAS NEO is an exciting program that celebrates art and creativity in Sydney. It provides a platform for emerging and established artists, attracts visitors to the CBD area, and engages the community through immersive experiences, collaborative art-making activities, and a diverse range of events. By showcasing the best of Sydney’s cultural art scene, NAS NEO contributes to the wellbeing of the community, promotes the fine art sector, and supports local businesses. We believe that art is essential to our cultural identity and that by supporting artists and providing opportunities for the community to engage with art, we can enrich and improve the lives of individuals and society as a whole.
About NAS NEO Student Advisory Group
We are thrilled to introduce the NAS NEO Student Advisory Group, an exciting opportunity for students like you to contribute to and be a part of the NAS NEO program.NAS NEO is dedicated to celebrating art and creativity in our city, and we believe that students play a crucial role in shaping the future of art and culture. We invite you to submit your ideas and join the Student Council, where you’ll not only help bring your creative vision to life but also have a direct impact on the NAS NEO program’s events and initiatives.
Our previous Brainstorming Session
On Thursday, March 28, we conducted a lunchtime brainstorming session featuring three main questions: What would you like to see, what would you like to do, and what other possibilities exist without any limitations? We collected over 200 ideas (thank you so much for your contributions), and have now refined them for presentation on this panel.
Please vote for the ideas you find most appealing by clicking the “applause” button! Once voting is complete, we will schedule another meeting to further develop these concepts.
We greatly value your input. Feel free to share this with your fellow students, and if you haven’t joined the council yet, please email [email protected] to stay informed!
Student Exhibitions
More opportunities for students to show their work. Small-scale Grad Show. Present alongside past NAS students. Work in progress. No commission. Student-run exhibition.
Networking Nights
Networking nights with other schools. More professional practice seminars. Connecting galleries, artists, and the art world. A space for group conversations and for artists to show their techniques. Courses on social media, promotion, and opportunities outside NAS.
Student-Run Music Nights
Music in the Cell Block. Pay students and pay them well. Make the student book the gigs and organize DJs. Opportunities to do performances alongside music. Perform Performance pieces. Create a band liaison.
Student Markets
Open space to sell and exchange books and art supplies. SWOP night. Recycle night. Barter nights. Organize a mega sale with discount for students.
Movie Night
Students and Indie films in Cell Block Theatre. Outdoor Cinema. Invite other film schools to share experiences.
Open mic Poetry Night
Poetry, spoken word, slam poetry. Confessional style. Sketch the rhyme. A place to improv and story telling.
Collaborative Artwork
Public paint a picture. Collaborative immersive spaces. Collaborative drawing sessions. Public art, murals, and individual murals. Let the NAS Community aim for a Guinness World Record. Collaborative sculpture.
Student Curatorial Group
Help with the facilitation of events. Curate exhibitions. Paid internship. An opportunity to get/give mentorship and work ina curatorial role.
Out-of-the-box Workshops
Yoga classes. Trivia Night. Themed night costumes. Synesthetic workshop. Meditation classes. Drama Classes. Dancing workshop. Zine workshops. Sewing workshops.
Open to Collaborations
Seek opportunities to collaborate with other schools (NIDA, AFTRS, UNSW, SCA, UTS, etc.) Invite more disciplines like music, theatre, fashion nights, circus, orchestras, etc.
NAS NEO Feedback
No old men Dj sets. Students decide on the themes. More accessible communications (updates). Food vans. Complementary beverages.
These ideas don’t include the vote option because they encompass the whole production. This is for you to know that we hear you!
Facilities Feedback
Better vending machines. Water station. Bean bags. Fix the common rooms. More smoking areas. Better and cheaper coffee. Hammocks.
These ideas don’t include the vote option because they encompass all NAS facilities. This is for you to know that we hear you!
Thank you to everyone who has come through to see the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize for its first week. The exhibition is now open until Saturday 21 June 2025. Please note we are open this Saturday and closed for the observed Easter holidays.
—
Good Friday CLOSED 18 April 2025
Easter Saturday OPEN Sat 19 April 2025, 11am – 5pm
Easter Sunday CLOSED Sun 20 April 2025
Easter Monday CLOSED Mon 21 April 2025
Anzac Day CLOSED Fri 25 April 2025
—
Installation view, 24th Dobell Drawing Prize, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, 2025, image courtesy the artists and National Art School © the artists, photograph: Peter Morgan
Apr 17
Art Club is our high school student program for 15-17 year olds, designed to enhance and extend students’ technical, conceptual, and intellectual skills, through intensive practical study in the disciplines offered at NAS as well as engaging in an experience of our studios and campus, under the expert direction of experienced artists.
Set your child on a creative path with Art Club.
Learn more at the link in bio.
Apr 15
Thank you to everyone who attended the opening night of the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize and congratulations again to the prize winner NAS alumna Rosemary Lee.
The 24th Dobell Drawing Prize is now open until Saturday 21 June 2025
11am – 5pm Monday to Saturday
NAS Gallery
Free admission, all welcome
Learn more about the exhibition at the link in bio.
Apr 11
We are delighted to announce NAS alumna Rosemary Lee as the winner of the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize, Australia’s leading prize for drawing, worth $30,000.
Selected from 56 nationwide finalists, and 965 entries, Rosemary’s work will become part of the National Art School’s significant collection, built over the past 120 years. Rosemary, in her winning work 24-1 (2024), observes tonal and compositional profundity in everyday life.
The judging panel comprising acclaimed First Nations artist Vernon Ah Kee, Paula Latos-Valier AM, Trustee and Art Director of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, and Dr Yolunda Hickman, Head of Postgraduate Studies, National Art School, commented of Rosemary’s work: “The decision to award the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize to Rosemary Lee for the work ‘24-1’ was unanimous. We were most impressed by the level of visual intensity the artist has achieved in this work both through its vibrant colour and in the extraordinary detail of the composition. The artwork’s exploration of the urban landscape and gentrification of the Sydney suburbs of Ashfield and Summer Hill, has produced an image capturing a broader sense of transience and the omnipresence of construction sites in our cities today. It questions the cultural and historical value of place, through the lens of the artist’s personal connection.”
See Lee’s work alongside the work of the other finalists in the 24th Dobell Drawing Prize, 11 April – 21 June 2025, NAS Gallery
—
Left to right: NAS Director and CEO, Dr Kristen Sharp with artist Rosemary Lee, featuring winning artwork 24–1, 2024, pencil on paper, image courtesy the artist and National Art School Gallery © the artist, photograph: Peter Morgan
Apr 10
Introducing the National Art School Short Courses Program from July–December 2025
Whether you’re a beginner, rediscovering a past passion, refining your skills, or considering our Fine Arts degree, the short courses offer a stimulating and rewarding experience for all levels.
Our 2025 program begins in July with Winter School, followed by Term Three, Spring Weekend Workshops in September, and Term Four in October.
Learn more and enrol at the link in bio.
Apr 10
Making Sound is a performance event featuring four artists who make devices that make sound, including Gary Warner, Pia van Gelder, Ben Denham and Sean O’Connell, presented following Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025, Saturday 12 April 5-6pm.
Gary Warner creates an improvised soundfield with his ‘aleatoric ensemble’ autonomous sound machines, a collection of modified turntables that spin ad-hoc bric-a-brac assemblages.
Pia van Gelder (pictured) amplifies an electronic circuit as it is built in real-time. Under the moniker of “PvG sans PCB,” in these performances, van Gelder works on a breadboard with electronic components and additional found objects to demonstrate the electronic variabilities produced in the material world.
Ben Denham and Sean O’Connell perform together with handmade synthesizer systems that sense and sonify barometric pressure and the flow of electrons through matter.
Purchase your tickets to the symposium at the link in bio.
—
Pia van Gelder, `sans PCB`, 2021, performance, Collings Creative, image courtesy and © the artist
Apr 6
