The British School At Rome
2026 Dates Announced & Applications Open: Monday 28 April 2025
2025 Recipient
Jelena Telecki, NAS BFA 2005, Sessional Painting Lecturer
The British School At Rome
A three-month residency in an interdisciplinary research community.
Application Deadline Sunday 29 June 2025
Notification of Outcome from 1 August 2025
Residency
This residency offers artists 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.
The successful applicant will receive studio accommodation (including meals) with the British School at Rome for a period of three months: 2 April – 26 June 2025 and inclusion in the BSR’s annual fine art catalogue.
Check out this Interview with 2024 BSR resident Harry de Vries.
Eligibility
- Recent National Art School MFA or DFA graduates (graduating within the last 5 years – current students are not eligible to apply) OR
- Staff of the National Art School (including Sessional staff), AND
- Applicants must be an Australian citizen or Australian resident and able to comply with any visa requirements.
Please note:
- The successful applicant will be required to fund and arrange any associated travel to and from Rome and will be responsible for any incidental costs including studio materials.
- If the successful applicant is a permanent staff member, appropriate leave arrangements will need to be considered.
- Only applications that are fully completed and received by the deadline will be considered.
Selection Criteria
The Residency will be awarded to an applicant who:
- Has displayed a high level of achievement and dedication in their practice,
- Demonstrates clarity of purpose and a compelling rationale for their proposed residency, and
- In the opinion of the judges would benefit artistically and professionally from the residency at this stage of their career, with preference given to people who have not previously received a NAS Residency.
Application Materials
As part of your application, you are required to upload the documents listed below. Uploaded files should include your full name in the file name.
Please include the following documents:
- Your Proposal (PDF format) addressing the following areas.
- Artist Statement summarising current practice (no more than 500 words)
- Rationale for undertaking the residency at British School at Rome (no more than 250 words)
- Please identify any specific requirements (e.g. access, workshops, OH&S, etc.)
- A Summary CV outlining your professional profile and achievement (PDF format, 2 pages max.)
- A maximum of 10 Images (PowerPoint format, 1MB image per page). Please note:
- The PowerPoint should be saved as a .ppt not .pdf.
- Each slide should include the artist’s name, title, date, medium and dimensions.
- Moving image-based artists can present a high-quality video of up to two minutes presented as a single-track show reel.
The panel reserves the right to not assess applications that do not include specified supporting material correctly formatted as outlined above.
Selection Panel
All applications will be considered by a selection panel comprising suitable representatives of the National Art School. The panel may request to meet with an applicant to discuss their application.
Conditions of Entry
- Applicants must abide by all the regulations of the award and agree to abide by the conditions of residence at the BSR
- Applicant warrants that they are available to undertake the residency for three months from April to June 2025 and are willing to fund and organize their own travel arrangements.
- The selectors’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into
- The selectors reserve the right to withhold the award if in their opinion the standard of applications is insufficient to warrant awarding
Acquittal of Residency
The selected applicants will be required to:
- Submit an approximately 1000 word report no later than eight weeks post-residency regarding their residency, experience and project.
- Provide high-resolution photographs and a quote of approximately 200 words that can be used by NAS for promotional purposes and in publications including the Annual Report and Yearbook.
- Make a public presentation to the NAS community about their residency experience and outcomes (dates tbc).
Applications are now closed for 2025 residencies
FAQ
Australian passport holders can generally travel visa-free in the Schengen Area, which includes Italy, for up to 90 days in a 180-day period.
https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/before-you-go/the-basics/schengen
https://conssydney.esteri.it/en/servizi-consolari-e-visti/servizi-per-il-cittadino-straniero/visti/
Upon entering Italy, border authorities may require that you show documentation to justify the reasons for and the duration of your stay in Italy. Your passport must be valid for at least three months after the intended date of departure from the Schengen Area.
The National Art School does not advise on visas and encourages you to confer with the appropriate embassy or consulate.
A furnished live/work studio with en-suite bathroom. Breakfast is provided every day, as well as lunch and dinner from Monday to Friday in the dining room. There are also library, laundry, kitchen and recreational facilities available.
Travel insurance is essential, including medical and repatriation costs and expenses in the event of death. Coverage of €30,000 minimum is required, including medical repatriation, and emergency and/or hospital treatment. This will also need to cover all personal belongings and materials.
The artist’s partner can be accommodated by prior agreement for limited periods during the residency but must pay for their board and lodging at the BSR’s prevailing rates. Children unfortunately cannot be accommodated in the residential studios.
Costs to consider:
- Travel insurance
- Flights
- Art materials & production costs
- Laundry
- Transport
- Recreational activities
- Dining
As a rough guide, this can cost between of $5,000 to $10,000 AUD for 3 months in a foreign country.
- NAS Professional Practice Grants for Academic Staff Development
Three grant rounds each year for NAS Academic Staff Development funds (approx. May, August and November), generally $1500-$3000.
The NSW Government’s arts and cultural driver with grants for professional & skills development for individuals
Grants up to $15,000 to support emerging and early-career artists in taking up professional development opportunities, usually overseas. There are generally 2 Funding Rounds each year.
Australia’s official arts council offering funding for Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups up to $50,000 for a range of activities and projects across all art forms.
CONTACT
Lily Fenwicke
International Residencies Coordinator
+61 2 9339 8717
[email protected]
We encourage all eligible candidates to apply, regardless of whether this is your first residency application. Please contact the International Residencies Coordinator to discuss any accessibility requirements or adjustments that can be made to your application process.
Bring a friend to Winter School and save!
We’re offering a 15% discount on the purchase of a second Winter School course—as part of our exclusive ‘bring a friend’ special.
How it works:
1. Sign up for any Winter School course
2. Invite a friend to join you on the learning journey
3. Get 15% off when you purchase a second course for yourself or your friend
Learn more at the link in bio.
Mar 31
Introducing Sean O`Connell and Pia van Gelder, speakers at Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025
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Moderated by Ben Denham, Sean will explore traditional and extended practices that map connections and energetic exchange within abstracted landscapes, while Pia will discuss drawing of electronic circuits and their curious divinatory elements in 20th century radionics and their own work with electrodermal activity and audio synthesis.
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Sean O`Connell is an artist exploring the internal world of matter and the movement of electrical energy and force. He uses alternative photographic techniques, electronic circuitry, noise, energetic structures and experimental processes to visualise and sonify these spaces of interest. His work is concerned with the realms of both matter and electricity, exploring the ways they each transform, modulate, and inform one another`s nature through their interaction.
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Pia van Gelder is an electronic artist, researcher and historian at the School of Art and Design at the Australian National University. Their research investigates historical and contemporary conceptions of energy and how these shape our relationships with technologies, bodies and environments. Their scholarship has concentrated on the influence of esotericism on electronic instruments of the 20th century and their studio practice produces instruments for performance and installation contexts. Their current project *The Energies Artists Say* with co-editor Douglas Kahn, presents a methodology for understanding the polyvalence of energies in practices across the arts.
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Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025
Saturday 12 April 2025
Facture – The manner in which something is made
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Learn more about the speakers and symposium at the link in bio.
Mar 28
We’re looking for a Facilities and Risk Manager - Application Deadline Sunday 13 April
The Facilities and Risk Manager effectively manages and organises services and resources for the facilities, workshop, security, WHS, and campus operations of National Art School in Darlinghurst. In addition, they provide strategic support and advice to senior management on all issues related to facilities and campus operations.
Apply at the link in bio.
Mar 27
Introducing Kirtika Kain and Kyra Mancktelow, speakers at Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025
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Moderated by Chelsea Lehmann, Kirtika will be discussing the role of drawing in process, experimentation, and abstraction in material and socially-engaged practices, while Kyra will discuss the influence Dylan Mooney`s work has had on their practice, especially his most recent exhibition The Story of My People.
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Kirtika Kain is an artist practicing on Darug Country, New South Wales, Australia. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2016 and was awarded the Bird Holcomb Scholarship to complete her Master of Fine Art in 2018 at the National Art School, Sydney. She was a recipient of the Lloyd Rees Memorial Youth Art Award in 2017, the Art Incubator Grant and Dyason Bequest, Art Gallery of New South Wales, and a finalist in the Churchill Fellowship and numerous art prizes including Blacktown Art Prize (2017, 2019). Kirtika has been a finalist in the Create NSW Emerging Artist Fellowship at Artspace, a recipient of the Parramatta Artist Studio (2020, 2024) and an artist in residence at the British School at Rome (2019) and the Amant Siena Summer Residency (2022).
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Kyra Mancktelow’s multidisciplinary practice investigates legacies of colonialism, posing important questions such as how we remember and acknowledge Indigenous histories. A Quandamooka artist with links to the Mardigan people of Cunnamulla, Kyra’s practice includes printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture – each applying a unique and distinct aesthetic. Kyra works with various materials to share her rich heritage, stories, and traditions to educate audiences and strengthen her connection to Country. Her printmaking explores intergenerational trauma as a result of forced integration on colonial missions, and her use of local materials in her sculpture, including clay, emu features, and Talwalpin (cotton tree), strengthens her connection to Country.
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Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025
Saturday 12 April 2025
Facture – The manner in which something is made
—
Learn more about the speakers and symposium at the link in bio.
Mar 27
Introducing Anne Judell and Liz Coats, speakers at Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025
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Moderated by Margaret Roberts, Anne will discuss her decades-long exploration of the patterns and forces of the natural world and pay homage to the artist who first inspired her, while Liz will talk about the recent work of long-time friend and colleague, Margaret Roberts, together with a short description of her experiments with colour painting.
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Anne Judell was the 2011 winner of the Dobell Drawing Prize awarded by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Respect for Anne`s work has grown over a career spanning more than four decades, as a solo exhibitor and through her presence in selected group exhibitions. Her entries have been included on many occasions as a finalist in the Wynne Prize, the Dobell Drawing Prize and the Blake Prize as well as in other prestigious competitions including the Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award and Kedumba Drawing Award.
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Liz Coats has devoted her career to the exploration of colour in abstract painting as an embodied, material practice that brings organic and formal issues into relationship. Since the mid-1970s, colour has remained her central focus, in particular how it mediates her preoccupations with dimensional insight, transition and connectedness.
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Facture: Drawing Symposium 2025
Saturday 12 April 2025
Facture – The manner in which something is made
—
Learn more about the speakers and symposium at the link in bio.
Mar 26
